As I am reminded of the glory of this high call, I pray that in every nation God raises up faithful and attentive “street shepherds”—ones who will carry the glory outside of the church into the darkest areas of society. Andrew White
A breezy, mild morning. Great to be out on the bike.
The truth is there is more power in the faith-filled song of a weak believer than there is in a billion missile explosions. Andrew White
A ride to Eulah Creek Road this morning. It’s overcast but most of the rain has moved on.
Scripture
If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God!
Observation
The old way had its laws etched in stone and led to death. Even in the old way, Moses was so close to God that his face shone with the glory. Now we have the Holy Spirit and we should expect even greater glory.
We are not like Moses who veiled his face so that the people of Israel would not see the glory. Their minds were hardened, so that the same veil still covers their minds, and they cannot receive the truth. Only Christ can remove the veil.
Whenever a person turns to Christ, the veil is taken away. The Spirit of the Lord brings freedom, so that everyone who is in Christ can see the glory and reflect the glory of the Lord.
Application
The old way, the way of the law, brings death and condemnation. The way of Christ brings life and freedom.
Moses would talk to the lord face to face, and his face would light up with the glory of God.
We who are redeemed by Christ have the Holy Spirit in us all the time. We can talk face to face at any time, and our faces therefore reflect the glory of God.
Moses had only a partial fellowship with God. We have full fellowship with Him. We have an intimate relationship, a deep friendship with our God because of what Christ has done for us.
Prayer
Thank you Lord for the greater glory you give to your people. Amen
Western incoherence and Russian opportunism have led Ukraine into disaster.
As Russian troops pile into Ukraine, and Russian bombs fall on Ukrainian cities, what are the security services in the UK focusing on? White privilege. This is not a joke. As the Daily Mail reports today, ‘Britain’s spies are being urged to consider their “white privilege” and declare their pronouns as Europe descends into war’. This comes from a leaked report on ‘improving diversity’ in the security services, written by Sir Stephen Lovegrove, the UK’s national security adviser. It also advises against using gendered terms like ‘manpower’ and even words like ‘strong’ and ‘grip’, which can ‘reinforce dominant cultural patterns’. And there you have it: as Putin plays the strongman, our security bosses are saying ze and zir and advising against inappropriate usage of upsetting words like… ‘strength’.
You couldn’t ask for a clearer snapshot of the divide between the West and Russia today. In the West, institutions are riddled with political correctness, incapacitated by wokeness, and increasingly incapable of being serious about any almost any issue, including geopolitics. And in Russia there is a leader who is a keen observer of this Western ‘decay’, as he sees it. The West is beset by ‘sociocultural disturbances’, Putin recently said. Where Russia under Putin is reviving pride and nostalgia for Russian history – at least the version of history that the Putin regime prefers – in the West they pursue ‘the aggressive deletion of whole pages of their own history’, Putin says. The West is too busy ‘[teaching] that a boy can become a girl and vice versa’ to be able to defend its own traditions and truths, Putin chastises. And now we have British security bosses obsessing over pronouns as Putin spies more territory for the Russian Federation. Fiddling while Ukraine burns.
What has become clear in recent years is that there is a strange symbiotic relationship between Western incoherence and Russian opportunism. Between this ‘decay’ in the West that has led to a rejection of our own history and founding values, and even of basic scientific truth, and a seemingly emboldened Putin regime that increasingly positions itself as the opposite to all of that, as the political grown-up to the infantile West rocked by ‘sociocultural disturbances’. On sex, family, tradition and history, Putin put it as clearly as he could towards the end of last year. ‘We have a different viewpoint’, he said, addressing virtually the entire West.
Read the rest of the article at spiked
I believe that the real trigger for miracles is the expression of our love for the Godhead, which we can only do by first receiving His love. Our first call is to minister to Him and to love Him simply for who He is. Andrew White
Reflection on Exodus 34:29-35
Scripture
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the Covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord.
Observation
Moses comes down from Mount Sinai carrying the tablets with the covenant on them. As he approaches the people of Israel, they see the radiance of his face from speaking to the Lord. They are terrified and refused to come near him.
Moses calls Aaron and the other leaders of the community to come over to him. Then the rest of the people approach him. Moses instruct them about the Lord.
Moses and covers his face with a veil. He would remove the veil when in the presence of the Lord. The people would see the radiance on his face, and then he would cover his face until the next time he went to speak with the Lord.
Application
Moses was unaware that his conversation with the Lord transformed his appearance.
Christians likewise at transformed by our interacting with the Lord. We carry the presence of the Holy Spirit wherever we go, and that changes the way we look.
I once knew a man who claimed he could tell from a group photo who the Christians were. There is an appearance about their face as the glory of the presence of the Lord shines through.
People who do not know Jesus can see this too. For some who hate God this leads them to hate us. Others are drawn to us, intrigued by the presence of God in our lives.
We take these things for granted, but, aware of it or not, the presence of God is a visible mark all believers carry.
Prayer
Thank you Lord that your presence is changing me, even to the point of changing my appearance. Amen
An Aghan woman speaking under a pseudonym for fear of retribution said the Taliban are going “door-to-door” in Afghanistan, snatching up young girls, and killing Christians “on the spot.”
A woman named Gulshan shared her harrowing experience in an interview with persecution watchdog Open Doors USA, revealing the dire state of affairs and the ongoing hunger plight that has raged since the Taliban took back power last August.
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“The Taliban are going door-to-door snatching young girls and destroying families,” she said in an emotional video. “They are conducting a door-to-door search to find us, and if they find us, they kill believers on the spot.”
Gulshan said Christians in Afghanistan “live in fear” that they will either be killed by the Taliban or “die of hunger.” To underscore the severity of the situation, she shared how she and her family have been forced to live on one bowl of lentils over a three-day period.
“Jesus has called us to bear much suffering,” she said. “But when I see my son and daughter, my heart sinks, and I lose courage. Dear Lord, do not let them lose hope in a better tomorrow.”
Gulshan said she and her fellow Christians cannot worship together and must meet in the “dead of night” so that neither the preacher nor Christ-followers can be identified.
The grieving woman spoke about how her faith — and the beliefs of Christian Americans — are the same.
“I know that my Jesus and yours is one,” Gulshan said, speaking to American viewers.
The tragic interview comes as Afghanistan is now rated the worst nation in the world for Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA’s 2022 World Watch List.
The shocking development is undoubtedly the “biggest seismic shift” in decades, as North Korea, the reclusive and oppressive East Asian country, was bumped from the top spot it had occupied for 20 years.
“This year’s 2022 World Watch List, we think, is the biggest seismic shift in over 20 years because Afghanistan is now the No. 1 country on the World Watch List, supplanting North Korea,” Open Doors USA CEO David Curry recently told Faithwire.
It also comes as women’s rights are reportedly under attack in Afghanistan. And The Associated Press reported In December that Afghanistan, which has lost the support of international funding, is slipping “deeper into desperate times.” Food lines, cold, and a lack of resources abound, as millions live in temporary camps, and nearly 97% could soon be living below the poverty line.
Continue to pray for the Afghan people as poverty and chaos rage inside the nation’s borders. To find out more about how you can help, visit Open Doors USA.
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