SaphyreSkyes

Q1. (2 Corinthians 3:7-11) Why did Moses’ face glow? Why did he cover it when he was out with the people? Why didn’t more people’s face glow in Moses’ time? What’s the difference between the spread of God’s glory in Moses’ time when compared to our own time? Moses' face took on a glow because he was communing with God and was being "changed into His likeness" by God's spirit. Moses veiled his face because the people were afraid of the glow of God, they were in fact afraid of God and refused to come into communion with Him-this is why more people did not experience that glow. The difference between the spread of God's glory in Moses’ time when compared to our own, is that now, when we accept Christ, the spirit dwells in us and is always with us. We don't have to go to a sacred place or seek God out because His spirit stays in us. This outward display of God's glory is similar to the concept of the "fragrance" or "aroma" of Christ in that it is another physical manifestation of a spiritual experience and it also can draw others to Christ through us, or repel others; depending on their individual choice to either seek after truth, or close it out.

Without obedience, slavery is only imprisonment. Slavery requires an action, doing something for the "Master". It requires obedience. In life, our choices can only fall under two categories..."Pleasing to God", and "Not pleasing to God". Sometimes the choices we make are made so quickly, so subtly that it almost seems out of our control. We dont think about it, we just do it. Afterwards, we may wonder "what made me say or think or do such a thing?" That is because we are born into slavery to sin. It is part of us and we may not even think about it. But when we turn our hearts and minds over to God, we have a new Master. One who loves us and has blessing and life and wholeness in store for us. We become a new creation and sin no longer has us in bondage. Very quickly, God begins to show us-gently, where we need to change. He reveals those areas in our lives that are not pleasing to Him. He disciplines us as a loving father does his children and requires our obedience in order to be able to bless us abundantly. God is speaking to me recently about Discipline. Being an artist and a creative spirit, I tend to rebel against discipline in my life. I DESIRE to have more of it; sometimes I dont even recognize where or when I am undisciplined, but God has been pointing it out to me and I have been able to see the areas in which I need more of it. I think He requires it of me so that I can be a better person, so that I can be a better witness for Him.

As I have said before, sin comes naturally to us. We dont have to think about it or plan it. When something happens that we dont like, it is very easy to react in anger. When someone hurts us, it is a natural reaction to lash out. But when we make Jesus Lord of our lives, we must allow the Holy Spirit to change us. Often this seems to happen from the outside in. What I mean is that after we become a Christian, we must become aware of our thoughts and actions and take them captive. We must make a concious effort to change. With God's help we can begin to see where we are not in line with Him and make the efforts to bring our hearts and minds into line with Him. Sometimes He will assist us in very obvious and final ways, other times He allows us to work it out over time. For example, I was living with a cursing problem. I knew that it wasnt pleasing to God, but I chose those words at first. As time when on, it became so natural to me that I was almost unaware of it and would use the language even at the most inappropriate times. Even though I considered myself a Christian, I thought nothing of the language I used, how it affected others or how it made me look. But when I finally fully surrendered myself to the Lord, he took that habit from me instantly. I didnt even realize it for a few days, until one of my friends pointed out that I had not been swearing. It was a miracle to me and gave me encouragement and hope. But there are other things that I have struggled with for months or even years before the change was complete. I think the key to making these changes lies in our willingness to please God. If we are committed to God and truly choose to please Him, He will open our eyes to the things He wants changed. He will convict us, mold us and refine us as we turn to Him. This must be the cry of our hearts and we must stay focused on Him. He is waiting to make these changes and has so much better planned for us than we can ever imagine on our own!

In order for sin to "reign", we must be obedient to it. Otherwise it has no diminion or power over us. Every thing we do and say is a choice. We can choose God's way or the enemies way-sin, but there is no neutral ground. God has given us His laws and His commands so that we can have the best life possible. He has laid out His blessing for us each day and all we have to do is choose it. The difficulty for us as human beings is that sin is our nature. Before we are saved, we dont have to plan how to sin, it comes naturally to us. A baby does not have to learn how to throw a tantrum when it does not get it's way, it is natural. But when we put off the old man and give our hearts and minds to Christ, we must learn new ways. We must allow God to change our Spirit by changing our habits.

Through our obedience, baptism brings about our union with Christ. It is because we are acting in obedience to God's word that we are united with Christ in His death and resurrection. Symbolically, baptism puts our old sinful nature under the blood, (under the water) including not necessarily the consequences of those actions, but certainly the punishment and judgement we have coming. And we are reborn (come out of the water) to a new life, one free from the judgment and punishment of sin; A life of Grace and Mercy. Our sins are "remembered no more". We are spotless and righteous in God's eyes. Thank you Lord.

Each day we are faced with choices. Once we have made the decision to follow Christ and allow Him to be Lord of our lives, we still must continue to make that choice every day. Each time a difficulty or temptation arises, we have to make a choice...to choose to believe God and trust Him and continue to follow Him, or to turn away. Perseverance is simply making the choice over and over to follow God... even when things are ugly and are not going the way we think they should. This is how we learn and grow in the Lord. It is like building muscle...the more we use a particular muscle, the stronger it becomes. As we grow stronger in the Lord, our knowledge grows and our hope increases. We begin to seek His wisdom and truth and it makes us stronger still. The more we know, the more confident we are in our decisions.

Jesus died for the sins of ALL. But that fact alone cannot save us. Jesus' death and resurrection is only effective when combined with our faith. When we choose to believe IN Jesus, by placing our life in His control, then we are Justified to God as righteous creatures.