Monday, March 24, 2008

Words of Encouragement

But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 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 3:16-18

He is Risen, What Next? We can reflect Jesus. Easter or Resurrection Sunday has come and gone, but does that mean we should lose the focus we gained during this time? I believe the answer to that is no. In fact, we should begin to ask the next question, what is next for us to do? This isn’t just a question for the unsaved that have now accepted Christ, but also for the one that already believes. We should continually ask, what next Lord?

In this scripture, the New Covenant is being spoken about. Paul speaks about Moses and how he wore the veil over his face because the people could not look upon the glory of God on his face. The comparison is we do not have to place a veil on our faces, we can allow the Spirit of God to reflect through us and have the freedom of reflecting Jesus.

The glory that shown upon Moses faces faded, but this does not have to be what transpires with the believer today. We can reflect the Spirit, which is the Lord’s Spirit, and continually be transformed into his likeness with an ever-increasing glory. In other words, as we release more of ourselves into the hand of God, the more we will reflect his Son (Sanctification).

We can be changed to show the world the beauty of the Lord. We are not able to do this without the risen Christ. So what’s next? The next thing for us to day is to release ourselves into the hand of God so that He can receive glory from our lives as we walk before him and before men.

I pray for us today that we reflect on what the Lord has spoken to our hearts during this past Holy Week and then move into action on what he has shown us. Has he shown you he desires more worship? Then worship. Has he shown you he wants more commitment? Then commit, yield. Has he shown you that there are some things in your life that need to be nailed to the cross, put to death so that the new purpose in your life can be resurrected? Then nail those things to the cross and move forward in His purpose. Today, is our call to action, what will you do, what is next for you?