Years ago, I put up a poster in my room near the ceiling. I can see it easily from my bed. The poster has streams of color that rise like smoke. It says “Encountering God’s Glory.” And something deep inside me yearns for this.
“...they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.” (Ex 16:10b NKJV)
What cloud?
Moses exclaimed to God: “They have heard that You, LORD, are among these people; that You, LORD, are seen face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.” (Num 14:14b)
So, its apparent that a cloud from God also travelled with the Israelites - possibly to provide shade. And sometimes, God’s glory - His splendorous presence - filled the cloud or filled the Tent of Meeting.
And many of us have heard of a mysterious cloud that has appeared in the main sanctuary of Bethel Church in Redding. Bill Hernandez witnessed this in person. It is more than a mist - there are swirling, sparkling things in the cloud. Beni Johnson observed that when she looked into this cloud, she felt the peace of Heaven - and she couldn’t be concerned or worried about anything while looking into this cloud.
I sense that 2012 will a time when those who love Jesus will experience Isaiah 60 in greater ways. Here are the first few verses:
1 Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the LORD will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
That glory is rising upon us because Jesus lives in us! Col 1:27: “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which[a] is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
The prophet Habakkuk records this declaration from God in Hab 2:14: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge (the “yada” - the experiential, relational “knowing”) of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
The glory of Yahweh already fills His creation! What is missing has been our ability to perceive and relationally experience more of His glory. Yahweh’s plan is that humanity will see Him and His glory in His Son Jesus:
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
But since that time, the eyes of many have been blinded by the enemy from seeing this glory in the person of Jesus. And this is where you and I come in. We are called and empowered to shine that experiential, relational knowledge of Jesus wherever we go:
3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Cor 4:3-4 & 6 NKJV)
Many people this year will be looking for anyone who is walking in peace and is shining hope in the midst of difficult circumstances. It is our great privilege to turn the amazing grace that we’ve received - into eternal life and peace for them - and more joy and glory for Jesus.
He is the King of Glory!
Russ Fochler
P.S. To look further into God’s glory, I recommend Paul Manwaring’s new book: “What On Earth Is Glory?”.
“...they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.” (Ex 16:10b NKJV)
What cloud?
Moses exclaimed to God: “They have heard that You, LORD, are among these people; that You, LORD, are seen face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.” (Num 14:14b)
So, its apparent that a cloud from God also travelled with the Israelites - possibly to provide shade. And sometimes, God’s glory - His splendorous presence - filled the cloud or filled the Tent of Meeting.
And many of us have heard of a mysterious cloud that has appeared in the main sanctuary of Bethel Church in Redding. Bill Hernandez witnessed this in person. It is more than a mist - there are swirling, sparkling things in the cloud. Beni Johnson observed that when she looked into this cloud, she felt the peace of Heaven - and she couldn’t be concerned or worried about anything while looking into this cloud.
I sense that 2012 will a time when those who love Jesus will experience Isaiah 60 in greater ways. Here are the first few verses:
1 Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the LORD will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
That glory is rising upon us because Jesus lives in us! Col 1:27: “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which[a] is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
The prophet Habakkuk records this declaration from God in Hab 2:14: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge (the “yada” - the experiential, relational “knowing”) of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
The glory of Yahweh already fills His creation! What is missing has been our ability to perceive and relationally experience more of His glory. Yahweh’s plan is that humanity will see Him and His glory in His Son Jesus:
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
But since that time, the eyes of many have been blinded by the enemy from seeing this glory in the person of Jesus. And this is where you and I come in. We are called and empowered to shine that experiential, relational knowledge of Jesus wherever we go:
3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Cor 4:3-4 & 6 NKJV)
Many people this year will be looking for anyone who is walking in peace and is shining hope in the midst of difficult circumstances. It is our great privilege to turn the amazing grace that we’ve received - into eternal life and peace for them - and more joy and glory for Jesus.
He is the King of Glory!
Russ Fochler
P.S. To look further into God’s glory, I recommend Paul Manwaring’s new book: “What On Earth Is Glory?”.
No comments:
Post a Comment