MONDAY 1  FEBRUARY
Exodus 34:29-35
The radiant face of Moses

Next Sunday we will be keeping the feast of the Transfiguration when we remember the visions Peter, James and John had of Jesus displayed in all His glory, together with Moses and Elijah. In today’s reading we are remembering how Moses’ face shone after he had spent a long time in the presence of God. The glory and the splendor of the Almighty rubbed off onto Moses when he went up a mountain to receive the Ten Commandments from the Lord. Moses’ face shone so brightly it made the Israelites afraid of him; he had to make a veil to cover his face when he spoke to the people!

Why were the people so afraid of God’s reflected radiance? Whenever God allows His light to shine it shows up man’s sinfulness and it makes him feel very unworthy. We, too, get frightened when our wrong-doings have been found out. It makes us want to hide from God like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. However, when Jesus lets His light shine into our hearts, we do not have to be afraid. The cross of Jesus has removed all fear. When Jesus shed His blood for us, all our sins were washed away. We can walk boldly into the presence of God and really enjoy the fantastic sight that it is!

Several years ago I was at a conference where Bishop Arthur and Colleen Malcolm were speakers (Arthur is an Aboriginal Bishop married to a white Australian). When Colleen spoke I saw a light shining from her. When I told her about this light later on, she said to me, “several people tell me that, it’s what keeps me going!” At that conference we learnt how God’s light had transformed many people at Yarabah. Colleen and Arthur spent a lot of time close to the Lord in prayer – then the light began to shine – people and their children had visions of Jesus. Many were converted when they confessed their sins and opened their hearts to receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Let’s pray that as we get close to God in prayer, His light will reflect from us and beckon people to give their lives to Jesus.

PRAYER: Shine Jesus shine, shine on us that we may reflect your light to the world. Amen.

TUESDAY 2 FEBRUARY
Psalm 99
Exalt the Lord our God
Worship at His footstool

God is awesome! When we begin to catch a glimpse of Him and let His light shine for us, our hearts are filled with total joy; we have an overwhelming desire to worship Him.

Once a preacher in America said a prayer like this, “O God, so many thousands of people come out to see a football being kicked around a field. If only we could see thousands coming out to worship you.” His prayer was answered. God showed how great He was and soon thousands were coming to worship God at his meetings!

In 1959 when the evangelist Billy Graham visited every state in Australia, a quarter of the Australian population came out to Christian meetings held in football stadiums and show grounds all over the country. When he went to Korea over a million people gathered for one meeting.

As Australian people get excited about cricket and football, my prayer is that lots of them will get just as excited about Jesus and flock back to church. The excitement of watching football is very temporary. Contrast it with the excitement of knowing Jesus and being with His Father; that excitement is eternal. The Holy Spirit speaks to us in John 17:3 and says, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent!”

Many people feel they are not good enough for God but all who receive Jesus and let him get rid of their sins have a fantastic surprise waiting for them when they die. St John, Jesus’ best friend, tells us, “We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). I can’t wait for that day; it’s going to be so fantastic, but I feel so sorry for those who ignore Jesus. They will be so sad on that day. Let’s do all we can to let Jesus’ light shine through us, and encourage them to come to Him!

PRAYER: Awesome God, move in Australia; give all Australians the desire to exalt you the Lord their God and to worship you with much enthusiasm, through Jesus our awesome Saviour. Amen.

WEDNESDAY 3 FEBRUARY
2 Corinthians 3:12 – 4:2
Take the veils off your faces

It’s quite common for Christians to hide the fact that they believe in Jesus and are too frightened to tell others about Him. They are like Moses who put that veil over his face to hide God’s radiance. Let’s all make sure that we don’t fall into this trap. Let’s make sure all veils are taken away! How do we do this? The Bible has the answer - look at verse 16. It says, “Whenever anyone turns to the Lord the veil is taken away!”

When we turn to the Lord He gives us true freedom. He sets us free from the fear of what other people think. He enables us to talk about Him to others very freely!

If you let Jesus take the veil away, if you let His light really and truly shine through you to other people, then a fantastic thing happens to you. You find that you are being transformed into His likeness with ever increasing glory which comes from the Lord.

Sometimes when we tell others about Jesus and let His light shine, we can lose heart if the people do not respond. Today, God tells us not to lose heart but to persevere. He promises us that every seed we sow will one day germinate and bear fruit.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, as we all turn to you right now, take the veil from our faces and let your glory shine through us to others that they, too, may join us in being transformed into your likeness radiating with your eternal Glory. Amen.

THURSDAY 4  FEBRUARY
John 12:23-41
Jesus is Glorified

Jesus told His disciples that He would be glorified. Everyone would see how truly fantastic He is. Jesus said He would show forth His glory in His death. He would be like a grain of wheat that had to fall onto the ground and die before it could grow into a plant and produce lots of new grains. As He was speaking to them many heard God speaking, some thought that it had thundered but others heard plainly that God was truly glorifying Jesus!

As Jesus was lifted up on the cross His glory and light shone brighter and brighter. He was drawing all men to himself. Millions and millions of people will be in heaven only because Jesus went to the cross and let His glory shine into their hearts.

As we put our trust in Jesus, The Light of the World, His glory rubs off onto us and we become children of light. It’s important for us to go on letting the light of Jesus shine through us, even if we get little response. Don’t be put off if people don’t seem to listen if you witness to them about Jesus. Verses 37-41 tell us how many Jews still rejected the light after it had shone so brightly from the cross. Many people are spiritually blind. Even if we reflect the light of Jesus and shine very brightly they cannot see it. As we let Jesus’ light shine, we need to pray Paul’s prayer, “that the eyes of their hearts may be enlightened” to enable them to see God’s glory and believe in Him (Ephesians 1:18). As Jesus died to let His light shine so we, too, have to die to self before His light can reflect from us. This means always putting others before ourselves and to be willing to suffer for the sake of others.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, we put our faith and trust in you lifted on the cross to take all our sins away. Make us children of light, willing to go on dying to self to let your light shine and your glory be known. Enable us to show everyone how fantastic you are. Amen.

FRIDAY 5 FEBRUARY
Luke 9:28-33
Jesus Transfigured

The Disciples had just been given the shattering news by Jesus that He was soon to suffer and die. This news really shattered them and they felt like giving up following Jesus.

Jesus could see that they needed a boost of faith. They needed to be shown that it was God’s will for Him to suffer and that they should go on following Him. Jesus took them up a mountain and let them see how He really looked with the veil of His earthly body taken away to reveal His glorious splendor. It was so bright; it was dazzling like lightening.

As they saw this vision of Jesus being transfigured before their eyes, they also saw Moses and Elijah with Him. Moses and Elijah represented the law and the prophets of the old covenant. This assured the Disciples that Jesus was indeed the Messiah and the fulfillment of the predictions in the books of the old Testament. Moses and Elijah were talking to Jesus about His imminent death on the cross. As Peter looked at this wonderful light he was filled with so much joy. He didn’t know what to say. He just wanted to stay there forever. He asked if he could build three shrines, one for Jesus, one for Moses and one for Elijah. He wanted to bask in the sheer joy of this experience.

As we look back over our shoulders at our spiritual journeys, we can remember many times when Jesus gave us mountain-top experiences. We may have had visions, or experienced healings or we may have felt so clean after Jesus had removed all guilt from our hearts. All these experiences make us 100% sure that we are on the right track and there is no other way but to follow Jesus.

PRAYER: Father, thank you for the wonderful vision that really helped the Disciples have so much faith in you. When we are down and feeling low, please show us in some way how real you really are, even if it’s only in our mind’s eye. May we see your brightness and your glory, through Jesus our wonderful Saviour. Amen.

SATURDAY 6 FEBRUARY
Luke 9:34-36
This is my Son – Listen to Him

Jesus did not give the Disciples that vision on the mountain just for them to enjoy. He wanted to show them who He really was. Suddenly, as the light appeared, a cloud came and covered the brilliance. They were plunged into darkness. Their joy soon turned into fear. Then God spoke to them. They could hear His voice saying, “This is my Son, the chosen one, listen to Him.” It is important that we learn to listen to God. The wonderful experiences of worship in church and prayer meetings, the very joy of the presence of Jesus that we so often experience, wasn’t given just for our enjoyment. Jesus is recruiting an army to fight for Him. We must be ever ready to listen for all His orders and be ever ready to obey Him. The more obedient we become, the closer to Him we will get and the closer the experiences of the very real presence of Jesus in our lives. As we do, we will indeed experience the light and the glory of Jesus shining through us. We will have the joy of leading others to faith in Jesus.

Let’s all fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who endured the cross to bring us all to the awesome experience of sharing in His Glory.

PRAYER: Father, when we do feel your presence and the presence of Jesus in our prayers and in our Communion Services, help us to really listen so that we can receive your orders and be ready to obey them, through Jesus our Saviour. Amen.

SUNDAY 7 FEBRUARY
THIS WEEK’S MESSAGE
The Transfiguration – God shows us Jesus’ Glory

Christianity is unique among all the world’s religions because it’s about God revealing Himself to the peoples of the world and making Himself known to them. All other religions are about men trying to find gods.

We know what God is like because He became a human being in Jesus, His Son. We can get to know Him by reading the Bible. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the authors of the Bible wrote down words that came from God. As we read through its pages, God speaks to us. Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit who makes the Bible come alive for us and enables us to understand what God is saying to us.

Many times in history God has revealed Himself to people through special visions and dreams. This happens in difficult situations where people are searching for God and when God wants to give them the assurance of His reality. Many modern day people have come to faith in God after they have experienced a vision of Jesus. In Islamic countries, where people are often put to death if they convert to Christianity, Jesus has made Himself known to many through such visions.

A very difficult situation arose for the Disciples. After following Jesus for three years and seeing how fantastic He was and being convinced that He was the Messiah (God’s anointed King and saviour of the world), Jesus said something that rocked their faith.

He told them he was soon to be crucified, but that He would rise from the dead. It was impossible for them to believe that the Messiah could be so defeated and executed!

To boost their faith Jesus took their leaders up onto a hight mountain and gave them a most wonderful spiritual experience. God revealed the Glory of Jesus to them in a spectacular vision. They saw Him as He was to be after his glorious Ascension into Heaven. He was standing with Moses and Elijah, two Old Testament Saints.

God also spoke to them and told them Jesus was indeed His well loved son and told them to listen to Him and believe what He said. They came down from the mountain with their faith greatly strengthened, utterly convinced that He was the Devine Son of God and with lots of courage to keep following Him.

Saint Paul reminds us that as well as revealing God’s glory through visions and spiritual experiences God also reveals it through the lives of those who love Him and Follow Him.

The closer we get to Jesus the more like Him we become and we become like mirrors reflecting His Glory to the world. Paul says this: “We, who reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2Corinthians 3:18)

PRAYER: Father God thank you so much for revealing Jesus to the Disciples as the glorified Christ, the Messiah.Please open the ears and eyes of our hearts that may see Jesus and listen to Him and be filled with the amazing joy of His presence. Amen.