Okay, I've been out of sight for a couple of months but hopefully not forgotten. I have been teaching a very special series to some dedicated disciples of Jesus and focused all my mental energy on giving them the best I can. So, I backed off the blogging for a couple of months to concentrate on challenging some really good folks to experience Standing On Holy Ground with Moses, Jesus and Paul.
Well, how'd it go, you ask? Only time will tell. I saw and heard some positive signs that are encouraging, but I've also learned over a half century of ministry that listening to Satan is always easier than hearing God. Satan learned very quickly after Pentecost just how to immobilize the faith of Jesus' disciples. Ministry gradually became a profession of a few just like we see today. Most Christians just want to go to their church's building and consider that serving the Lord. Well, yeah it is, but worship, Bible study and fellowship have a purpose that transcends our common need for social interaction with others we're comfortable with.
For me, one of the absolute bedrock statements from the Holy Spirit about my life in Jesus is this -
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 NIV
The statement about "unveiled faces" is a reference to Moses' actions when he returned to the Israelite people after being in the presence of God on Mt Sinai and his face literally glowed with the shekinah, the glory of God. He put a veil over his face partly to conceal the fact that the glory was fading. Paul's statement sums up his comparison between the Law given to Moses and the freedom we now have in Jesus.
I have come to think of it more like the freedom to experiment rather than mere law keeping. As we go through the process God initiates and carries out in us through his Spirit, we are slowly transformed into a likeness, a reflection, even a living statue if you will, of his Son, of Jesus. Wow! That is absolutely and truly breathtaking. Law keeping didn't work very well. Grace won't fade like the shekinah from Moses's face.
So, now, with the guidance of his Spirit, we are transformed, changed to look and actually be like his Son. I have been challenged for a long time by this vision of just who and what God wants me to mirror in my world. Law keeping didn;t work out so well for a lot of reasons, but transformation works because it is a work of God through his Spirit. Two critical elements were missing from the Law given to Moses:
(1) Jesus, his eternal sacrifice for all sin, his example of obedience to the Father, and his teaching
(2) The Holy Spirit, all that Paul lays out carefully at Romans 8.
I'm still in the experimental stage of transformation, but I live every day without fear. I can always know that my Father is overseeing this work of his Spirit in my life and am confident that today, I look and sound a lot more like Jesus than at any time in my life. As I progress toward my end on this earth, I feel the transformation speeding up. I pray you do too! HALLELUJAH!
