October 24th

Exodus 33:7-34:35, Mark 7:1-30, Psalm 25:8-15

Apparently smiles are contagious and if you smile at someone then they are likely to smile at someone else and it can go all the way around the world. Well Moses didn’t have to smile, he just glowed like he had a monster case of sunburn. He even had to wear a veil after he had spoken to God because his skin was that bright.

There are so many themes that we see continuing to role through our reading of the Bible. One that we will always see is the nature of God. This interaction with Moses, and not being able to see his face, the whole idea that we can only see his back and it will almost be too much. To talk about this all the time sometimes feels a bit repetitive but it is one of those things that we just can’t get away from and one of those things that the Bible reminds us for a reason. It helps us to know God and we should always aim to know God more deeply. We sometimes talk of the “fear of God” and although he is the God of true grace and our father, remembering the awesome nature reminds us that we need a certain amount of healthy respect. So the Bible never ceases in helping us to understand the nature of who God is.

The other thing that we have already mentioned but crops up again here is the challenge to live in such a way that others see Jesus in us. I’m not saying that we should go out and get “Christian” tattooed across our foreheads (that would not be good) but we do need to radiate like Moses. Jesus quotes a prophesy from Isaiah which challenges people who say the right things but live the wrong things. That is a challenge that comes right out to us, do we walk the walk or just talk the talk? Do we radiate the love of God, do our faces and our lives speak out that Christ is alive and active in our lives?

So, having gained a deeper knowledge of God, how are you going to walk today?