Thought for June 15, 2023

 History:

• 1215: King John signs Magna Carta
• 1667: First documented blood transfusion -- used sheep blood
• 1775: George Washington named Commander of the Continental Army
• 1844: Goodyear patents vulcanization of rubber
• 1851: First ice cream factory
• 1877: Harry Flipper is first black to graduate from West Point
• 1878: First moving images--12 cameras used to determine if all 4 horse hooves leave the ground at once.
• 1907: Mary Mallon identified as Typhoid Mary
• 1911: IBM incorporates
• 1916: Boy Scouts of America forms
• 1924: Hoover becomes head of the FBI
• 1934: Great Smokey Mountains National Park dedicated
• 1965: Bob Dylan records "Like a Rolling Stone"
• 1967: "The Dirty Dozen" released
• 1974: "All the President's Men" published
• 1983: Supreme Court strikes down state restrictions on abortions
• 2006: 3 million March for Jesus in Sao Paolo Brazil
• 2020: Supreme Court rules gay and transgender people may not be discriminated against in the workplace
• Born: John Marrant [African American missionary to Native Americans], Rachel Jackson, Erroll Garner, Waylon Jennings, Mike Holmgren, Wade Boggs, Helen Hunt
• Died: James K Polk, John Connally, Ella Fitzgerald, 

Thought:

Reading 2 Corinthians 3:7-18 this morning. Here Paul compares the temporary glory that shined on the face of Moses when he received the commandments and the permanent glory that is revealed in Christ. Paul reminds us that unlike Moses who put a veil over his face to hide the glory of the Lord, we are unveiled so that our lives reveal the glory of the Lord. Here is what I see in these verses:

• 3:16--when I turn to the Lord, a veil is removed so that the Christ who lives in me shines. Jesus said that we are light and salt. Here is the picture--Jesus, the God of glory, came to live in Larry. When Larry dies to self, the veil, the curtain, the lamp shade is removed and the glory of the Lord shines. When I am not light in the world, it is not because I have a bad light bulb; it is not because the bulb lacks power; it is not because the bulb has insufficient lumens, it is because Larry's fleshly self hides, blocks, obscures the light. 
• 3:17--The Lord is Spirit and where His Spirit is there is freedom. At the conclusion of his "I Have a Dream" speech, Martin Luther King says, "Free at last, free at last, Thank God Almighty, we are free at last." That should be the praise of every believer--I was a prisoner, chained to my sin, my habits, my attitudes, my thoughts. I was a slave owned by a cruel and evil master. I was in a debtor's prison, burdened by a debt I could never pay. But then Jesus came! Now all I can say is free at last, thank God Almighty, I am free at last.
• 3:18--the light of His glory transforms us into His image. Paul has written in Romans 12:1-2--do not be conformed, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The light of His glory reveals the imperfections in my life; the heat of His glory, burns away the dross. And one day the Master will look into me and see His own image. And that will be glory. We used to sing "when by His grace I shall look at His face, that will be glory, be glory for me."

Today, remove the lamp shade, drop the veil, allow the glory of the Lord to shine.

Blessings

Larry