August 23, 2022

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE REFERENCE:

“So all of us who have had the veil removed from our eyes can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord- who is the Spirit- makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.” (2 Corinthians 3.18)

“No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden or under a bowl where it cannot be seen. Instead they put it on its stand so that those who come in may see all that is in the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your [lamp] is healthy, your whole body is full of light. But, when your [lamp] is unhealthy, your body is filled with darkness. See to it, then, that the light in you is not darkness.” (Luke 11.33-35)

TODAY’S REFLECTION:

Intonations and implications from previous reflections revealed in the passages of scripture we have just listened to in our hearts, minds and lives:

1. If the veil has been removed from our eyes so that we can “see the world” and “reflect the glory of God,” then it is by the releasing and unleashing of the Holy Spirit within us that is at work. As members of the royal priesthood of all believers, we are granted access into His Holiness and by the name of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God and our Messiah to the very presence of God. He is Immanuel, God with us. In the unity of the Spirit which is shared by God and Jesus allowed those in the first century A.D. and all generations which follow the very truth of Immanuel, God is with us. It is the fulfillment of the promise which the resurrected Jesus made to the Eleven disciples at the Mount of Transfiguration in Galilee as He declared, “And without question, I AM with you always to the close of the age [of the Church].” All those who would be His disciples, who have taken up their cross to follow the course of ministry in life, share equally in the receiving and the fulfillment of that promise. It is established by the very indwelling and on-dwelling of the Holy Spirit. The shekinah, glory of God, radiates from within the believer as God has taken His place on the throne of our hearts, in the court of our mind and in the seat of our soul. And while we cannot look upon the face of God this side of Heaven, we can see the Father in and through the Son and that is enough. This is further evidence of our rightful place in the administration of God’s Kingdom on earth as priests of the Word.
2. While the initial image, as it was presented to the disciples who were Jewish and thus of Israel, was the Temple in Jerusalem as the light which beamed from “a city set on a hill,” it is also a descriptor of the believer in Jesus as the Christ. A “mountain” is a term used to identify a seat of governance. For the believer, the place where God is to be found would be deemed a mountain. Mount Zion bears this designation as the “dwelling place of God.” But, a “hill” bears this particular difference in that it is a lesser seat of governance subservient only to that which is greater. The disciples would represent such a spiritual governance as commissioned and granted by Jesus Christ. The “world” governments would be hills as well; by example, literally, Jerusalem, Rome, Paris, Washington D.C. and many other “capital” cities. Each of them have a “capitol” building located as the place where the government is seated. While I am sure they would love to believe they are mountainous in their importance among and over the people of their countries and in the world, they remain lesser seats of government and will be subject to the greater which is forever the “mountain of God.” (Note: that does not mean Jerusalem and the Rebuilt Temple.) Thus, the mountain would represent the “greater light” which is reflected by those who are the “lesser lights.” God is forever the greater light. Jesus is the only being who can claim to have been both the “lesser light” reflecting God as man in this world and the “greater light” as the glory of God the Father is in Christ the Son. The believers are the lesser lights as they reflect the glory of God as did the Son of God, the true man of God. The true people of God are filled with the light of God by the testimony of His Son, the Word of His Revelation and the Spirit of His inspiration. Those who are in the light are being purified by the light and the darkness will flee and it does the work of God who is the greater light.
3. Let me make this reflection point one on its own. Isaiah hears the declaration of God concerning Lucifer, the Chief Worship Leader in Heaven, who calls him “a morning star.” He was one filled with the light of God. He was a lesser light. He was a lesser light who desired to be a greater light. In his rebellion then against God who is the “Greatest Light,” he was defeated by the Word of God and cast out of Heaven. He fell like lightning. Perhaps another way of describing that “falling” would be a “shooting star.” Its trail across the sky as it plummets to earth is brilliant and, depending on the chemistry in the rock, multi-colored. But, once it collides with the ground of “our” being, it is a rock. It has no light in it. It reflects no light. It is fragmented. And while it may make an impact on the earth and the world that lives on it, sometimes with devastating effect such as the decimation of the age of dinosaurs 66 million years ago, it becomes only a remnant of the past and has no “influence on the future.” Look at it this way. When a meteor strikes the earth, as it does other solid astronomical entities such as moons and planets, it leaves a crater, a depression. It is not a hill and it is not a mountain. The ridge of that crater actually looms above it in almost all instances which can look like mountains and hills from inside the depression. Perhaps, they represent “sentinels” who bear witness that that which created the hole remains beneath them. They reflect the light and cast a shadow over that which does not have the light in it. Maybe we can glean from that how we are intended to dwell in perspective to Satan, the Fallen Lucifer. In us is the light and those who dwelt in darkness have seen a great light and pursued it to be one in the light and thus of the light. We can shine into the darkness of doubt. We can shine through the valley of the shadow of death. We can reflect the greater light and thus show the glory of God which is the light and life of all people who are called by His Name and call upon His name. That would not be Satan. He is defeated. Give Him no further credit and do not dare to afford him the place in the light. Resist the temptation and he will flee. The darkness hates the light. Those who have the “light of darkness” is unhealthy, broken and without hope…unless they turn to the light of life- Jesus the Christ.

OUR CALL TO PRAYER:

Light of Life and Love and Peace and Hope and Joy and Everlasting to Everlasting, we call upon Your Name with favor. We give you the name “Glory” because You are the true light of Heaven and Earth. Hear our praise. Hear our decision to step into the light and depart from the shadows of death in all its manifestations. You are the greater and we are the lesser. That does not make us insignificant nor unimportant. It unifies us with the Father in the Son by the Holy Spirit which makes us one. To God be the glory, great things He has done, is doing and will continue to do. AMEN!