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December 19, 2018

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HIS FACE WAS RADIANT

"When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD." Exodus 34:29

Our lives are most effective spiritually when we are unaware of God's hand upon us and the manifesting of His love and grace through us. It is His life being lived in unconscious reality in and through us. Whenever we try to project some measure of a holy life we only destroy what should be the natural flow of the virtues of Christ through one with a pure heart and contrite spirit. We cannot do what only He can do. The lives that have been the greatest blessing and mightily used of God are those who were unconscious of it. If any work for God is to take place or any measure of His life is to be seen in us, HE must do it; we cannot.

Moses had been with God on Mount Sinai where God gave him the Ten Commandments. The might of God's presence so impacted Moses that when he came down from the mount "he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord." That was holy, unconscious reality. Wouldn't it be wonderful if our time with the Lord would so transform our entire countenance as Moses?

So often when we begin to progress in our spiritual life the old sin nature plays its role and we take a distorted view of being sanctified. We become proud of being humble. We take pride in taking the back seat and are self-congratulatory for being so lowly.
We should be more concerned and conscious of the evil that yet remains in our life than the good we have shown. We are so prone to look at our achievements which will be but hay, wood, and stubble when the righteous judgment of God penetrates them. It is only what HE does through us that will count for eternity and for His glory, not what WE do for Him. Paul was very conscious that whatever measure of spiritual stature he had attained, he was so far from all God wanted him to be. He said, "One thing I do...I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14).

Only God can do the sanctifying work of grace we need in our lives. The Holy Spirit awakens within our hearts this need of being "set apart" to the Lord. It will be a crucifixion of our self-life, when God strips us of all that is not of Him. Paul said, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life that I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

We can only be radiant with the love of God by intimate and searching fellowship in the solitude of His presence. Moses had been in the presence of God and he reflected the glory of God. The extent that God will manifest His life in and through us will be in direct relation to the time in His presence. God consumes our very being and fills us to overflowing with His love, grace and mercy. It is in the "secret place of His presence" He will reveal to us the glories of His grace, the joy of His salvation, and the vision of His heart. Oh, for a greater revelation of HIM and a deeper devotion and commitment to all He wants us to be. May we have a hunger and thirst for His Word. Let us persevere without reservation that the whole of our being be filled by the Holy Spirit with the adequacy of Christ.

Oswald Chambers says, "A holy life lies not in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfections of Jesus manifest themselves in my mortal flesh. Sanctification is Christ in you, the impartation of the qualities of Jesus Christ." May HIS life be radiantly manifested in our countenance with the reality of an intimate fellowship with our blessed Lord.

© 2007 by Ed Powell. Used by permission.


This page was reprinted by permission from: http://litmin.org/dare.php?date=2018-12-19


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