Exodus 34:29-35 Christian Standard Bible
Moses’s Radiant Face
29 As Moses descended from Mount Sinai—with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands as he descended the mountain—he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the Lord.[a] 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone! They were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called out to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he commanded them to do everything the Lord had told him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever Moses went before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out. After he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 and the Israelites would see that Moses’s face[b] was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil over his face again until he went to speak with the Lord.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
As the Word of God reveals, living an unveiled lifestyle is the way in which we experience the fullness of what’s available to us in our restored relationship with God. It’s a powerful lifestyle of faith, direct encounters with our heavenly Father, and life transformation. It’s when we live our lives in light of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus we begin to experience all his death was purposed to bring us.
God longs for his children to, like an unveiled Moses did, radiate His glory, walk confidently in intimacy with him directly connected to his wellspring of love for us, that those who are veiled, those who are walking with sins blinders guiding them through their spiritually narrowed life, may walk in the same confidence.
As we make an elevated effort, to enlighten each other with the Word of God for his Children, May you, me, we, come to experience a more tangible, loving, and powerful connection with your heavenly Father in these days and weeks ahead.
My Hope is Built on Nothing Less than…Rock or Sinking Sand?
My hope is built on nothing less Author: Edward Mote (1834)
Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand:
all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand.
2 When darkness veils his lovely face,
I rest on his unchanging grace;
in every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil. [Refrain]
Our heavenly Father is both entirely full of love and completely holy. And in the greatest tragedy of all time, our sin caused the love and holiness of our God to be at opposition with one another. His greatest desire was for unadulterated, perfect relationship with us. And with Adam and Eve that longing was fulfilled.
He could enjoy communion with us without separation. But when sin entered the grand narrative of human history God’s unshakable, holy nature could not allow him to walk in perfect communion with us any longer. Our sin caused an wide impassable rift between us and him that his love could not yet overcome.
Genesis 3:22-24 Holman Christian Standard Bible
22 The Lord God said, “Since man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God sent him away from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove man out and stationed the cherubim and the flaming, whirling sword east of the garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life.
So great and unsearchable and unviewable, is the holiness of our God and so great was the depth, enormity of our sin that a veil was placed between us and our heavenly Father, a veil signifying the horrific separation of God and man.
In a description of the veil, Exodus 26:31-33 says, “And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of silver. And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy.”
Only one man, chosen to go before God as Israel’s representative, was allowed to pass through the veil once a year on the Day of Atonement.
And so great was God’s holiness and unsearchable the un-holiness of our sin that if anyone else was to enter, the power of God’s holiness would kill them.
In Leviticus 16:2, God commanded Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.”
In order to appreciate the power of Christ’s sacrifice, we must acknowledge the status from which we have been redeemed.
In Luke 7:47, in reference to the depth of a prostitute’s love for him, Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
We have been forgiven much regardless of what lifestyle you have come from.
So great was the chasm our sin created we were incapable of communion with our Creator.
Luke 16:19-31 Christian Standard Bible
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who would dress in purple and fine linen, feasting lavishly every day. 20 But a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, was lying at his gate. 21 He longed to be filled with what fell from the rich man’s table, but instead the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side.[a] The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side. 24 ‘Father Abraham!’ he called out, ‘Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this flame!’
25 “‘Son,’[b] Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony. 26 Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’
27 “‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house— 28 because I have five brothers—to warn them, so that they won’t also come to this place of torment.’
29 “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”
Without the sacrifice of Christ we would have no restored relationship with God, no Holy Spirit dwelling within us, no grace, mercy, or total forgiveness.
So that we might be enlightened, that we might be unburdened, recall, greatly love your heavenly Father today, spend time in prayer focusing on the depth of our sin, which has been sacrificially redeemed by the love of Savior Jesus Christ.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Guided Prayer:
1. Meditate on the depth of your inherited sin.
We were, by nature, utterly separated from the love of your heavenly Father.
“We all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” > Ephesians 2:3
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” > Romans 6:23
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” > Romans 3:23
2. Take time to reflect on what your life would be like without relationship with your heavenly Father.
What would it be like to be without God’s grace and forgiveness? What would it be like to be without his presence for all our days? How thick was Moses’s Veil that it would completely contain and hide the unviewable glory of God from us? Did God just “dull their minds” to quell the significance of their sin, their fears?
3. Take time to thank God for the abundance of his goodness.
Worship him for his sacrifice.
Love him greatly in response to the depth of your sins.
“I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.” Psalm 138:1-3
“So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.” Psalm 63:2-4
“The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.” Psalm 145:8-9
Hebrews 6:17-20 Christian Standard Bible
17 Because God wanted to show his unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. 20 Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner, because he has become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Seeing our sin in light of God’s holiness is a difficult, hardcore, but wonderful reminder of how greatly God has loved us.
Jesus sacrificed everything when we were deserving of nothing.
May we live today in response to God’s unmerited favor and grace on your life.
Psalm 103 Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 103
The Forgiving God
Of David.
1 My soul, bless the Lord,
and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 My soul, bless the Lord,
and do not forget all his benefits.
3 He forgives all your iniquity;
he heals all your diseases.
4 He redeems your life from the Pit;
he crowns you with faithful love and compassion.
5 He satisfies you[a] with good things;
your youth is renewed like the eagle.
6 The Lord executes acts of righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He revealed his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in faithful love.
9 He will not always accuse us
or be angry forever.
10 He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve
or repaid us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his faithful love
toward those who fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed
our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
14 For he knows what we are made of,
remembering that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass—
he blooms like a flower of the field;
16 when the wind passes over it, it vanishes,
and its place is no longer known.[b]
17 But from eternity to eternity
the Lord’s faithful love is toward those who fear him,
and his righteousness toward the grandchildren
18 of those who keep his covenant,
who remember to observe his precepts.
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord,
all his angels of great strength,
who do his word,
obedient to his command.
21 Bless the Lord, all his armies,
his servants who do his will.
22 Bless the Lord, all his works
in all the places where he rules.
My soul, bless the Lord!
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 