Glen Dawursk, Jr. – www.yuthguy.com
Bible
Exodus 24:12, 15-18 (NIV)
(Moses ascends
12 The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay
here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands Ihave written for their instruction." ... 15 When
Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16 and the glory of
the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain,
and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. 17
To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the
mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain.
And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Matthew 17:1-9 (NIV)
(Jesus is transfigured on the mountaintop.)
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured
before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as
the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah,
talking with Jesus. 4 Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us
to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters-one for you, one for
Moses and one for Elijah." 5 While he was still speaking, a bright
cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son,
whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified.
7 But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be
afraid." 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed
them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been
raised from the dead."
Devotion:
It’s your birthday and dad
wants to take a picture of you before you blow out the candles on your birthday
cake. He lifts the camera to his eye and
proceeds to shout, “Smile and say cheese!”
You respond with a great big smile and the simple word, “Cheese.” Suddenly a dazzling light from the camera’s
flash bulb brightens the room with so much light, it seems brighter than
daylight. The flash momentarily “blinds”
you and you can see nothing but the glow of the camera’s bulb in your eyesight
– an image of the actual flash seems to be imprinted on your eyes. For the moment, this transparent image makes
it difficult to see the room clearly as you see the “flash spot” wherever you
look; but just as quickly as the flash filled the space, the normal dullness of
the room returns and you proceed to blow out the candles as your family and friends
sing “Happy Birthday.”
Does this sound
familiar? Have you ever had a “flash” of
light that seemed to blind you for a moment?
Maybe a car on a dark highway has its “brights” on as it approaches your car or maybe a
lightning bolt flashes across a darkened sky and catches you off guard.
In our Bible stories for
today, we read about two times were God’s followers climbed a mountain and saw
the “Glory of God.” In both cases, God’s
Glory caused a brightness and radiance which exceeded any “flash” from a
camera.
When Moses went up to be
with God, God initially used a cloud to represent His presence, or his “Glory”
before the people. Many chapters later
(Exodus 34:29), we read about how when Moses stood before God again, God’s
presence caused Moses’ face to glow. This radiance or brightness scared many of
the people, so whenever Moses came down from the mountain he wore a vale, a
piece of cloth, over his face. This
brightness was caused by the “perfect ness and power” of God. It was simply because Moses was in God’s
presence. The “Glory of God” caused
Moses’ radiance.
Almost 1500 years later,
Jesus’ disciples also saw this brightness or “God’s Glory” when they were with
Jesus on the mountain praying. The word
used in the Bible is “transfigured” which simply means that Jesus
“changed.” For a moment, Jesus’ clothes
became as bright as the sun or a lightning bolt, brighter than any camera
flash. In that moment, the disciples saw
God’s Glory in Jesus. Jesus, who lived
with the disciples as a man, was really God. He chose to take the form of a
man, because He wanted to live the perfect life we could not live. When Moses came down from the mountain, we
learned that if we could not be perfect, we could not go to Heaven; but God
loved us so much that He lived the perfect life for us through Jesus and then
died for our sinfulness, our imperfectness, on the cross. He took upon Himself our darkness so that we
could experience His brightness someday in Heaven. So the next time you see a bright light, think
of the brightness of the Glory of God, which we will see someday in
heaven.
Family Discussion:
How do we share the “light” of Christ with others?
What can we do to let “God’s Glory” shine through us?
Prayer:
Dear God, Thank you for the “light” of Jesus.
Thank you that because of your love for us, we will someday experience
your “radiance” in heaven. Please help
us to “shine” the light of Jesus to others around us. May we be your bright lights in a darkened world. In Jesus name, Amen.
"We shall be like Him,
for we shall see Him as He is." (I John 3:2)
Glen Dawursk, Jr. – www.yuthguy.com
Bible
Exodus 24:12, 15-18 (NIV)
(Moses ascends
12 The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay
here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I
have written for their instruction." ... 15 When Moses went up on the
mountain, the cloud covered it, 16 and
the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered
the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the
cloud. 17 To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming
fire on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went
on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Matthew 17:1-9 (NIV)
(Jesus is transfigured on the mountaintop.)
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of
James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was
transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became
as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and
Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good
for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters-one for you, one
for Moses and one for Elijah." 5 While he was still speaking, a
bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my
Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him! 6 When the
disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But
Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be
afraid." 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed
them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been
raised from the dead."
Message:
It is amazing to me how our society’s conveniences have shaped who we
are and how we live. I came across a commentary on the Internet the other day
that demonstrated this. The writer,
David Roher talks about how society has even changed
how we camp.
“The motor
home has allowed us to put all the conveniences of home on wheels. A camper no
longer needs to contend with sleeping in a sleeping bag, cooking over a fire,
or hauling water from a stream. Now we can park a fully equipped home on a
cement slab in the midst of a few pine trees and hook up to a water line, a
sewer line and electricity. One motor home I saw recently had a satellite dish
attached on top. No more bother with dirt, no more smoke from the fire, no more
drudgery of walking to the stream. Now it is possible to go camping and never
have to go outside. We buy a motor home with the hope of seeing new places, of
getting out into the world. Yet we deck it out with the same furnishings as in
our living room. Thus nothing really changes. We may drive to a new place, set
ourselves in new surrounding, but the newness goes unnoticed, for we've only carried
along our old setting.”
The author then goes on to say that “the adventure of new life in Christ
begins when the comfortable patterns of the old life are left behind.” To me
this is a perfect application of Transfiguration Sunday.
It is a pleasant
day for a hike, and Jesus leads three of His disciples up
Moses,
representing the old covenant and the need for a savior, and Elijah, the
prophet who was called the “restorer of all things” (Malachi 4:5-6) appeared
with Jesus. The Jewish concept of the scriptures being the “Law and Prophets”
was being represented on this mountain top; but even more, the fulfillment of
the Law and Prophets” was represented through Jesus. But the story does not end here. After Peter offers to put-up some tents for
the visitors, God the Father speaks to the disciples with a booming voice from
heaven: “This is my son…listen to Him.”
Just as quickly as this “change” took place, it was over and the
disciples were left with obvious amazement and extreme trepidation. Knowing their hearts, Jesus touched them and
comforted them saying, “Do not fear.”
God consistently
offered “mountain top” experiences to His people throughout scripture. They are examples of God’s manifestation and
Jesus’ glory and demonstrate the “power of God,” and more importantly
demonstrate the fulfillment of the law in Jesus Christ. He is the “mountain top” experience for all
believers. Through Him, we can all
receive a “transformation” from our sinful condition toward the glory He has
prepared for us. These examples of
“glory” are significant. In the Old
Testament, I firmly believe that Moses did not want to leave the presence of
God on the mountain. Even Peter was
prepared to put up tents. He wanted to
stay on the mountain. Can we blame
him? We want to stay on the mountain
also? Who would want to leave the
presence of God? Not me.
So what does a motor home camper have to do with Transfiguration? Simply, they both involved a
“transformation.” While Jesus was
affirming His God-side, I think He was also emphasizing our need for a
“transfiguration” in our lives and then in our ministry approaches.
The theme of the Transfiguration is not simply the majesty and glory of
God, or the fulfillment of the Law in Jesus, but more importantly the fact that
God’s disciples had to return to earth.
God does not want for us to simply and exclusively dwell in the presence
of the Glory of God on the mountain – at least not now. Why?
Simply stated, ministry takes place at the base of the mountain. This starts when we are willing to
demonstrate the “transfiguration” in our lives to others. We must show that Jesus is apart of us; that
the glow of our lives is from the source of all power and light, God
himself.
What is the real focus of our church’s ministry? Are we making every effort to “touch” people
as Jesus did? Are we seeking to offer
relief from their fear? This type of
ministry makes Jesus real not just to our members, but also to our
community. Are we willing to minister
within our church’s wilderness, or are we still seeking the inward comforts of
our traditional “church motor home”.
Does our board seek to teach faith formation within the context of the
needs and experiences of the people we minister to now, or is it tied to the
traditions and culture of 20 or 30 years ago?
Just like the motor home analogy, true ministry and Christian education
begin “when the comfortable patterns of the old life are left behind.” The message of these verses is the necessity
to meet the needs of people who desire to meet God on the mountain. To seek God, but know that touching lives and
real ministry takes place at the base of the mountain. Here we will see people transformed, as the
glory of God is made known to them. May
it be so within this board and throughout our church for Jesus sake. Amen.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the
new life we receive through your Son Jesus Christ. We come before you tonight, asking that your
Holy Spirit would empower us to make decisions that are pleasing to you. May we as a board seek out ways to
demonstrate to others the “change” you have made in our lives. May we “touch” others the way you touched us
and may we be used by your Holy Spirit to be Jesus with “skin on” to a
community in need of your love and salvation.
Thank you Father. In your Son’s name, Jesus, we pray.
Amen.