Unveiled

"But whenever he (Moses) went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with the Lord, he would remove the veil until he came out again. Then he would give the people whatever instructions the Lord had given him, and the people of Israel would see the radiant glow of his face. So he would put the veil over his face until he returned to speak with the Lord." Exodus 34:34-35

Can you imagine having your face glowing and radiant from being in the presence of the Lord? This is what happened to Moses when he had an encounter with the Lord. Moses would go into the Tent of Meeting without a veil over his face until he came out to speak to the people. After he spoke to the people he veiled his face again. I think of many women today whom wear veils. This is not the veil that the women of the far east wear because of their faith. I am speaking of the mask that women use to cover up who they really are. I think of the veil as a mask that shows others only what they want you to see. It is a mask that they wear and when someone asks, "How are you?" they smile and say "Okay". In reality, they are not okay. I recently went to a store in Hawaii that specializes in koa wood. They have what you call koa veneer. When I asked what that was, it was explained to me that the veneer is a thin top layer that lays over another wood. The koa  that I was viewing was koa wood only on the surface, but underneath it was a piece of  wood that was not of the same high quality as koa. This concept resonated in my soul, for I realized that many people may have a veneer to cover up who they really are.  That veneer covering is like a mask or veil. What God wants for us is to be unveiled, to be authentic and to be 100% of who we really are. As we go into prayer, do we approach God with a veil like everything is okay or do we take away that veil and show him everything in our hearts that is deep down, underneath the surface. That is what the Lord wants us to do, and that is to unveil ourselves before him. Are you ready? Let's get real!

Question: Are you being real or do you have a veil? What can you do to get unveiled?

God is our Refuge

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.  So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.  Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge." Psalm 46:1-3

When I saw this image, I had to gasp! Look at the man that is standing at the door and the waves are crashing around him. I wanted to know more about this one picture so I had to google the topic. What I came up with was a series of pictures of this situation. What really happened? This man was waiting to be rescued and a helicopter was hovering above. The man had come out to check on the helicopter and a huge monster wave began to engulf him. What happened? Did he live or die? The series of photos from U-Tube showed that the wave closed in on him but on the very last frame, he closed the door and retreated to the safety inside the lighthuse. He was saved. I think about the storms in life that may come against us and it may seem impossible to ever survive. We have a God that says that all we have to do is knock on the door and the door will be opened. That is exactly what we need to do, and that is to run to the safety of the Lord and shut the door. May you find comfort in the Lord today, amidst the storms of life.

Question: Have you ever felt like this man on the lighthouse and the seas are closing in on you? If you are in this spot today, seek the Lord with all you heart and you will find the one that is our refuge and strength in times of need.

Reference:  "Oceans Fury Unleashed"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fapXUqagiFQ

Angels Among Us

"See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him." Exodus 23:2021

Do you believe in Angels? They are mentioned in God's Word and one of the passages that mentions an Angel is in Exodus 23. I have come to realize that angels have assignments that have been given to them from God. The specific task that was given to this Angel in Exodus, was to guard, lead and communicate with the Israelites so that they were protected in their journey to the Promised Land. When does God send his messengers? I think that God sends his Angels to minister to us in those times when He sees that we need that guidance and support. Just as this picture shows, at the times when you are just worn out and not able to do anything more in your own efforts but to take one breath at a time, the Lord may send Angels to surround you and to minister to you! In Exodus, the Lord sent an Angel to guard and to bring the people to the place where God wanted them to go. I looked at the words that showed the task for the Angel and that word was to "guard". We have those Angels that are able to take their mighty swords and to fight for us and guard us! The other task that scripture identified in Exodus was to "bring you" and that phrase means that the Angel was to lead and direct our paths to a place where God needs us to be. Another task the Angel was assigned and that was to communicate to the people because the people had to "listen" to what he said. It is interesting here, that scripture used the word "him", which reflects a male gender. There are Angels that are sent by God to do God's purpose in our lives! I think about how comforting those thoughts are to me. To know that God watches over me, cares enough about me to send His messengers down to earth to do His will on this planet. If I think of all the tasks that this Angel did in Exodus, I can honestly say that this is an Angel that is here to guard us and therefore the word "guardian angel" really does have meaning to me. There are Angels directed by the Lord to guard and protect us.

Question: Do you believe in Angels? Can you think of a time when an Angel had ministered to you?  Psalm 91:10-11 "no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For He will command His Angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."

Incredible Healings

"And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they willd rive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt then at all; they will place their hands on sick people and they will get well." Mark 16:17-18

I have read many books about healings that occur in this day and age. There are many authors that write about healings, but one that stands out to me, is Dr. Francis MacNutt. He wrote the classic book called, "Healing". God will use ordinary people like you and me to lay hands on the sick and with the authority that was given to us and in the name of Jesus, people will be healed. There also needs to be an element of faith. After you watch this video, you will see a young man that heard the Holy Spirit tell him to lay hands on a lady and her hearing was restored. The lady was standing in front of him in the check out aisle in Safeway. After he laid hands on her, another lady came up to him in a wheelchair and there was another healing in Safeway. Then the young man, stood out in faith and announced over the loud speaker, that anyone that needed healing was to come to the check out counter! What an amazing God we have!

Question: Do you have the faith, that we can lay hands on the sick and they will be healed? Have you ever stepped out in faith and prayed for healing for others? If not, what is stopping you? Go for it!