Glory’s Reflection

2 Corinthians 3: Glory’s Reflection

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“But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18, NASB

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? The wrinkles of time? The weariness of carrying a weight that is not yours to carry?  A weight that has robbed you of joy? Then it is time to heed Jesus’s promise.

“Come to Me,

all who are weary and heavy-laden,

and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28

Now, look again. The wrinkles of time aren’t gone, but the worry causing them are now laid upon Jesus as you walk together. Now, you see the glory of the Lord resting your spirit giving you His strength, peace, and everlasting joy. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit in you. It is His transforming you into His image from glory to glory.

Two more promises for today:

“And Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;

• and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
• For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off,
• as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself.” Acts 2:38,39

“His divine power has granted to us everything

pertaining to life and godliness,

through the true knowledge of Him who called us

by His own glory and excellence.

For by these He has granted to us

His precious and magnificent promises,

in order that by them

you might become partakers of the divine nature,

having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

2 Peter 1:3,4

Our Praise now and forever:

“Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed,

‘The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth … Exodus 34:6;

And one called out to another and said,

• ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory … Isaiah 6:3;
  • Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name;
  • Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
  • Tell of His glory among the nations,
  • His wonderful deeds among all the peoples …
  • Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
  • Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
  • Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name;
  • Bring an offering, and come into His courts.
  • Worship the LORD in holy attire;
  • Tremble before Him, all the earth …
  • Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice …
  • for He is coming to judge the earth.
  • He will judge the world in righteousness,
  • and the peoples in His faithfulness.” Psalm 96:1-3,7-9,11,13

Our Prayer:

Heavenly Father, how gracious and kind you are to us. You have given us all we stand in need of to come before you dressed in the holy attire of Christ. He has taken our weight of sin upon His shoulders and given us His Holy Spirit for our strength and comfort. May we bring ourselves to you as an offering and worship you in the righteousness of  Jesus Christ. May we see a reflection of your glory when we look in the mirror. May the lost see your reflection in our hearts.

The Way, The Truth, The Life

All praise, glory, and honor to Christ Jesus the living Son of God who said –

”I am the way,

the truth,

and the life;

no man cometh unto the Father,

but by me.”  

John 14:6

The apostle John wrote in 1 John 1:2 –

“(For the life was manifested,

and we have seen it,

and bear witness,

and shew unto you that eternal life,

which was with the Father,

and was manifested unto us.)”

Our Prayer:

Our Father God, you have shown us who you are through your Son, Jesus Christ. He came and he showed us your glory and goodness. He has given us life – eternal life.

• “For the Father judgeth no man,
• but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
• That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.
• He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.” John 5:22,23

Help us who have heard your word and received it into our hearts bear witness to the lost and dying of the Life. May we show them the Way to Life. May we speak the Truth concerning the Life. May we reflect the Life in us.

And to borrow from David Guzik in his commentary on John 14:6 remember when  –

“I don’t know where I’m going, Jesus is the way;

When I am confused and don’t know what to think, Jesus is the truth;

When I am dead inside and don’t know if I can go on, Jesus is the life.”

Jesus gives us this promise:

“Verily, Verily, I say unto you,

He that heareth my word,

and believeth on him that sent me,

hath everlasting life,

and shall not  come into condemnation;

but is passed from death unto life.”

John 5:24

May we today, and always honor Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life, who has loved us and suffered our death, to give us life now and for all eternity. He has made it possible for us to know him, the great “I Am”.

Praising the Great I Am:

“O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together …

Whom have I in heaven but thee?

And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee …

For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light …

And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof:

for thou was slain, and hast redeemed us to God

by thy blood

out of every kindred and tongue, and people, and nation;

And hast made us unto our God kings and priests:

and we shall reign on the earth …

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain

to receive power, and riches, and wisdom,

and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing …

Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power,

be unto him that sitteth on the throne,

and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

And the four beasts said, Amen.

And the four and twenty elders

fell down and worshipped him

that liveth for ever and ever.”  

Psalm 34:3; 73:25; 36:9; From Revelation 5:9-14

Jesus is the way – follow him.

Jesus is the truth – believe him.

Jesus is the life – receive him.

May we forever praise his name.

Jesus is the way – there is no other.

Jesus is the truth – hear him.

Jesus is the life – his victory over death is mine.

May we praise his name forever.

Three “Ps” for Abundant Life

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,

and cometh down from the Father of lights,

with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

James 1:17

This week during our Day Camp for children, they heard about a few of the many good and perfect gifts our heavenly Father abundantly gives to those who will receive them. One of which was the abundant life available to all who come through the Door.

“Then Jesus said unto them … I am the door …”

John 10:7a, 9a

Jesus’ Promises to those who enter through the door:
“If any man enter in,

• he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” John 10:9b
• “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” Ephesians 2:18
• “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way: which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;” Hebrews 10:19,20 “
• … These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, HE THAT HATH THE KEY OF DAVID, HE THAT OPENETH, AND NO MAN SHUTTETH AND SHUTTETH, AND NO MAN OPENETH:I know thy works behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it … “ Revelation 3:7,8
• “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” John 10:28

Praise to the Open Door:

For His abundance of –

Life: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10b

Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, you are worthy of praise for in your death we have been made free from death. In your resurrection we receive the abundance of life now through your Holy Spirit living in us, and in the future when all things are made new.*

Grace:

“But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead,

much more the grace of God,

and the gift by grace,

which is by one man, Jesus Christ,

hath abounded unto many.”

Romans 5:15

All praise belongs to you for your gift of not just sufficiency of grace but to abounding grace which has brought abundant life to all who believe.

Justification:

“And not as it was by one that sinned so is the gift:

for the judgment was by one to condemnation,

but the free gift

is of many offences unto justification.”

Romans 5:16

Your gift of abundant grace works the abundance of justification in us. As you look on us, you see our judgment placed on your holy Son, and we are declared just before you.

Righteousness:

“For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one;

much more they which receive abundance of grace

and of the gift of righteousness

shall reign in life by one,

Jesus Christ.”

Romans 5:17

And your abundant grace extended to us the abundant righteousness of Christ as our clothing that we might stand before you unashamed and unafraid. You alone are worthy of praise.

Supply, including promise:

“But my God shall supply all your need

according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus …

For the LORD God is a sun and shield:

The LORD will give grace and glory;

no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”

Philippians 4:19; Psalm 84:11

Love:

“The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying,

Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love:

therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee …

For God so loved the world,

that he gave his only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,

but have everlasting life.”

Jeremiah 31:3; John 3:16

Our Prayer:

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,

having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience,

and our bodies washed with pure water …

Heavenly Father, you have poured out your abundance on us through Jesus Christ, the door to abundant life. As we have walked through the door into your presence may we draw near to you. For you have cleansed us from all sin through the blood of Christ. May all who have not entered into a relationship with you come the only way they can – the door of Jesus Christ- and know the abundance of your grace.

“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering;

(for he is faithful that promised:) …

Your strong hand and abundant love hold us. May we be diligent to know you more as you take us from faith to faith until you have completed the work of faith in us.

“And let us consider one another

to provoke unto love and to good works:”

Hebrews 10:22-24

May the life of Christ you have poured into us overflow into all we meet and all we do to your praise and glory.

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above

all that we ask or think,

according to the power that worketh in us,

Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus

throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”

Ephesians 3:20,21

May all who have entered through the Door, give praise for the salvation given through Jesus Christ. May those who do not know the abundant life found in Christ, be quick to enter.

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*For more on the abundant life see my previous post, The Door to an Abundant Life.

 

Prayer, Promise, Praise, and Offended

Our world today is filled with voices of the offended. Words of truth offend. Words of love offend. Words confronting the lack in ourselves offend. Jesus Christ speaks words that offend the unbelieving, when in fact, they are meant to fill the lack in their lives.

Many of those who heard Jesus speak on being the, “I am that bread of life,”  were offended and walked away – walked away from words of life.

We began this week’s posts with the John 6:63 –

“It is the Spirit who gives life;

the flesh profits nothing:

the words that  I have spoken to you,

are spirit, and life.” (NASB)

In the next verse Jesus concludes –

“But there are some of you that believe not.”

Our Prayer:

“Living Father,

You are that great I Am, the possessor of life and giver of life  – “It is the Spirit who gives life”.

Without the breath of your Spirit we are a walking shell of what you created us to be. But your Spirit awakens our spirit to you when we believe and receive the words Jesus spoke. He is our living bread. His flesh and blood are life-giving to all who will receive them. For, as Jesus says, all who –

“will come after me,

let him deny himself,

and take up his cross,

and follow me.

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:

and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world,

and lose his own soul?

Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul.”

Matthew 16:24-26

As you, Jesus, gave your flesh to be broken for us, may we surrender our flesh to your Spirit and follow you. May we seek only to find life in you counting as the Apostle Paul said,

“all things but loss

for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:

For whom I have suffered the loss of all things,

and do count them but dung,

that I may win Christ.”

Philippians 3:8

Fill us with you, the living bread. So as you prayed, we –

“all may be one:

as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,

that they also may be one in us:

that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”

John 17:21

As we eat on the life-giving bread of Jesus Christ, conform us to his image, that the world will see Jesus in us. May we bear witness you have sent him for all who will receive him.

“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because,

when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us,

ye received it,

not as the word of men, but as it is in truth,

the word of God,

which effectually worketh also in you that believe.”

1 Thessalonians 2:13

God’s Promises –

1. “He that hath the Son hath life; and
2. he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” 1 John 5:12

Our Praise to Jesus who said, “I am that bread of life.”

“Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD,

praise the name of the LORD.

Blessed be the name of the LORD

from this time forth and for evermore.

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same

the LORD’s name is to be praised …

For – Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness,

for they shall be filled.”

Psalm 113:1-3; Matthew 5:6

One of my grandsons has a phrase he uses often when speaking of truth – “Speak truth in love.” But even then there are times the truth offends. We say, “The truth hurts.” But when it hurts, we don’t need turn away from it, but embrace it. For then true life begins.

May this weekend find us each feasting on the Bread of Life in all the fulness of God and praising his name.

A Promise, Prayer, and Praise

Can we know God, the great I Am? Jehovah? We can and we will – now or in the time to come.

God’s Promise:

 “All flesh shall know that I the LORD

am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer,

the mighty One of Jacob.”

Isaiah 49:26

• “Look unto me, and be ye saved,
• all the ends of the earth:
• for I am God, and there is none else.
• I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return,

That unto me every knee shall  bow, every tongue shall swear …

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

of things in heaven, and things in earth,

and things under the earth;

And that every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Isaiah 45:22,23; Philippians 2:10,11

Our Prayer:

Our Father in heaven, may I –

“Count all things but loss

for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:

for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,

and do count them but dung,

that I may win Christ…

May there be no thing, no thought, no desire, nor person take your rightful place in my heart, in my life – for you are my life. Help me remember you are my reward, my Savior, Redeemer, and King.

May my hope be as Paul’s to –

… Be found in him,

not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law,

but that which is through the faith of Christ,

the righteousness which is of God by faith …

Keep me steadfastly growing from faith to faith knowing I have no righteousness of my own, but all my righteousness is of God by faith. In Christ I stand in righteousness before my Father.

By faith –

• … I may know him, (Christ),
• and the power of his resurrection,
• and the fellowship of his sufferings,
• being made conformable unto his death:
• If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” Philippians 3:8-11

Father, you have given us Jesus revealing yourself to us –

• knowing him, we know you. May we continue to grow in the knowledge of your power – the new life we’ve been given;
• may your power in us be our strength in suffering that we do not faint but look to the One who suffered all things for us;
• may your power be our victory over the weaknesses of our flesh;
• and be that which we look to for our resurrection from death to life eternal.

Our Praise:

“But let the righteous be glad:

let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.

Sing unto God, sing praises to his name:

extol him that rideth upon the heavens

by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.”

Psalm 68:3,4 (JAH – short for Jehovah – I Am – the one who possess life and the one who gives life)

May we join the song of victory with Moses, the Lamb and those who overcome through the great tribulation, remembering it is a song for the victorious but all will worship the King.

“GREAT AND MARVELLOUS ARE THY WORKS,

LORD GOD ALMIGHTY,

JUST AND TRUE ARE THY WAYS,

THOU KING OF SAINTS.

WHO SHALL NOT FEAR THEE, O LORD,

AND GLORIFY THY NAME?

FOR THOU ONLY ARE HOLY:

FOR ALL NATIONS SHALL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE THEE;

for thy judgments are made manifest.”

Revelation 15:3,4

The Apostle John tells us how we can sing the victory song –

“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world:

and this is the victory that overcometh the world,

even our faith.

Who is he that overcometh the world,

but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”

1 John 5:4,5

Yes, yes, yes, we can know the great I Am through Christ who dwells –

“in your hearts by faith:

that ye, being rooted and grounded in love;

May be able to comprehend with all saints

what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

and to know the love of Christ,

which passeth knowledge,

that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

Ephesians 3:17-19

May the children of God sing songs of victory together as we raise our voices in praise and prayer this weekend and throughout each day.

A Prayer, Promise, and Praise for His Kingdom

Image by pixabay.

“The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens;

and his kingdom ruleth over all.”

Psalm 103:19

A kingdom means little if there are no people to fill it. We, the children of God, are the kingdom of God in this world until Jesus returns and completely saves and renews his creation.

“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:5

Our Prayer:

“Thy kingdom come …” Matthew 6:10

Father, you know how we are when life comes against us in this world. Our hearts grow homesick for what you are preparing for us. A kingdom where you –

“shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;

and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,

neither shall there be any more pain:

for the former things are passed away.”

Revelation 21:4

Until then help us remember –

“These things I have spoken unto you,

that in me ye might have peace.

In the world ye shall have tribulation:

but be of good cheer;

I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33

Help us remember we are children of your kingdom not of this world. May we live that others might see your kingdom reigning in us. May our –

“light so shine before men,

that they may see your good works,

and glorify your Father which is in heaven …

May we lay up – treasures in heaven,

and Beloved, if God so loved us,

we ought also to love one another.”

Matthew 5:16;6:20;1John 4:11

And Father, as Jesus was as he walked in this world, may we be.

“I must work the works of him that sent me,

while it is day:

the night cometh,

when no man can work.”

John 9:4

His Promise:

• “Behold the days come, saith the LORD,
• that I will raise unto David a righteous branch,
• and a King shall reign and prosper,
• and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth …

And he said unto me,

• It is done.
• I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
• I will give unto him that is athirst
• of the fountain of the water of life freely.
• He that overcometh shall inherit all things:
• and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” Jeremiah 23:5; Revelation 21:6,7

Our Praise:

“Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD:

we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.

God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

Thou art my God, and I will praise thee:

thou art my God, I will exalt thee.

O give thanks unto the LORD;

for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever…

Giving thanks unto the Father,

which hath made us meet to be partakers

of the inheritance of the saints in light:

who hath delivered us from the power of darkness,

and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

In whom we have redemption through his blood,

even the forgiveness of sins …

And a voice came out of the throne, saying,

PRAISE OUR GOD, ALL YE HIS SERVANTS,

AND YE THAT FEAR HIM, BOTH SMALL AND GREAT.

And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude,

and as the voice of many waters,

and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying,

Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”

Psalm 118:26-29; Colossians 1:13; Revelation 19:5,6

May our voices rise to heaven in praise as we reflect on His promises, and fill this world of darkness with His kingdom of light until all of salvation is fulfilled. Have a blessed weekend.