DATE POSTED Wednesday, 2022-03-02
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Exodus 34:29-35
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: ²⁹ Moses came down from Mount Sinai, carrying the Ten Commandments. His face was shining brightly because the Lord had been speaking to him. But Moses did not know at first that his face was shining. ³⁰ When Aaron and the others looked at Moses, they saw that his face was shining, and they were afraid to go near him. ³¹ Moses called out for Aaron and the leaders to come to him, and he spoke with them. ³² Then the rest of the people of Israel gathered around Moses, and he gave them the laws that the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.
³³ The face of Moses kept shining, and after he had spoken with the people, he covered his face with a veil. ³⁴ Moses would always remove the veil when he went into the sacred tent to speak with the Lord. And when he came out, he would tell the people everything the Lord had told him to say. ³⁵ They could see that his face was still shining…..

APPLICATION: Pastors live in glass houses! For their every move and every word is examined closely by their parishioners. Unfortunately we hear more about the unmet expectations of church members, but occasionally we may hear about the pastor’s fiery sermons aimed at everyone else in the church! But how often do we hear about the true man of God and what is evident in their character and seen by their community? I wonder what characteristics we may look at, if we were asked to choose the most godly person that we encounter each day? I feel doubtful that we could say like the Israelites that we look for ‘the glow, or radiance, on their face’, but I believe if we concentrated on their God-like qualities, instead of constantly criticizing their every word and/or action, perhaps we might start appreciating and praising God for His awesome presence in their lives. I remember serving on a few Pastor Search Committees, and as I reflect back on some of the questions we asked of prospects, in an effort to determine if the man’s heart was right with God, I can only say that I’m glad the tables weren’t reversed and I had to answer some of those questions! Friends, too often we judge the spiritual condition of a person based on the legalistic questions about the practices they follow. Notice that in the case of Moses, there was nothing that he did other than to present himself humbly and respectfully before the God that he worshipped, and whose commandments he followed innocently. Moses expected his ‘real’ God to have a ‘real’ impact on his life and even more importantly Moses seemed more concerned about God’s hand being upon the people he was appointed to lead. We may quickly retort that we might be the same way if we saw God in operation like Moses did. Do you suppose we would really like for that to happen in our lives? Do you suppose our relationship with God is such that we could have a truly unadulterated, honest and humble one-on-one experience with Almighty God? Can we truly handle ‘Your will be done, oh Lord. Not mine’? Or are we way too busy telling God how everything should go? We ask God for things, then we complain when His answer is not what we expect. Are we truly elevating Him to the position of God over everything? Oh that God might be so evident in our lives, that others will be afraid to come near, just from the fear of God’s holy presence, and who He is. May that ‘glow’ be evident on our faces, and in our lives, showing that we’ve been with God!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Moses had to provide a veil over his face because of the radiance that showed after his real-life experiences with God! Wow! It would be awesome to still see that ‘glow’ today when we encounter Christians who have been with God!

PRAYER: Precious Lord, please help us to examine our lives, and may we allow You to declare the changes needed in our lives to truly experience Your presence. Please Lord, help us to remove the things that keep us from experiencing intimacy with you. With a holy heart may we approach Your throne often for a fresh anointing by You. The world needs Jesus, not a pretender or a want-to-be Christian. For You are still capable of leading us through every obstacle in life, even those things that might be comparable to the things the Israelites faced in the Wilderness. May the ‘glow’ of Your presence be evident to those who need the God we serve, adore and worship. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!