Exodus 34:29-35; II Corinthians 3:12-18 This Sunday was Transfiguration Sunday which celebrates the time Jesus and his disciples went up to the mountain to pray. Jesus begins to shine brightly and is seen in conversation with Elijah and Moses. Our Exodus account talks about Moses experience with talking directly with God and returning with a shining face so bright it scared the Israelites. After telling the people God’s commandments for them he puts a veil over his face until he talks with God again. Our Corinthians passage uses this figurative language of a spiritual veil saying that the Israelite minds have been hardened and a veil lies over their minds. Paul goes on to say that in Christ the veil has been set aside since when one turns to the Lord the veil is removed. He goes on to say that where the Spirit of the Lord is – who we receive when we turn to the Lord – is freedom. We are freed from having to submit to the law – accomplishing everything on it to earn our salvat...
Psalm 91:1-2, 4-16; Luke 4: 1-13 Psalm 91 talks about having great trust in the Lord. It tells how God is our refuge–protection or shelter from danger and distress. Going along with this theme of protection is the image of being safely surrounded by a fortress. Because of this we are told that no evil will befall us. The idea of guardian angels comes from this passage when it says, “The Lord will command God’s angels concerning you to guard in all your ways. They will bear you up so you won’t even dash your foot against a stone.” The Lord will protect those who know God’s name and when they call God will answer – will be them in trouble, will rescue, honor them, and show them God’s salvation. Our Luke account tells of the Temptation of Christ. I am impressed by how Jesus when tempted with food after a 40 day fast, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 “Thou shall not live by bread alone.” When the devil tempts him with power only if he will worship him, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:13 saying ...
Psalm 32, II Corinthians 5:16-21 The Psalmist in Psalm 32 tells how happy he is since his trespasses/wrongdoings are forgiven and his sin covered over. He tells how awful his life was before he repented and asked forgiveness including groaning and aching bones. Yet when he confessed- admitted his sin to God – then God forgave his sin and removed the guilt which was tearing him apart. This theme of forgiveness comes out in II Corinthians where we are not just forgiven but made a new creation due to being reconciled to God through Christ’s work on the cross. It says that God made Christ the one who knew no sin to be sin – take on all our sin so that in Christ we might become righteous. This reflects the Psalm when it talks about his sin being covered over. Jesus blood on the cross covers all our sins so that we can be reconciled to God. Being reconciled means mending a broken relationship. Due to our sin, our relationship with God was broken. This is the old spoken of. The new is o...
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