An Unveiled Lifestyle

　　Weekly Overview:

　　Living an unveiled lifestyle is the way in which we experience the fullness of what’s available to us in our restored relationship with God. It’s a powerful lifestyle of faith, direct encounters with our heavenly Father, and life transformation. It’s when we live our lives in light of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus that we begin to experience all his death was purposed to bring us. God longs for his children to walk in intimacy with him directly connected to his wellspring of love for us. May you experience a more tangible, loving, and powerful connection with your heavenly Father this week.

　　Scripture:“But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.” 2 Corinthians 3:16

　　Devotional:

　　By the grace of God the veil that represented our sin and shame has been replaced with shameless, limitless, and face-to-face encounters with our heavenly Father. Scripture says,

　　Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit(2 Corinthians 3:12-18).

　　God longs for us to live an unveiled lifestyle. He longs for us to behold his glory and be transformed into the same image: a reflection of his glorious Son, Jesus. The idea of looking like Jesus used to seem utterly impossible. How could I ever look anything like Jesus? In my sin and shame, how could I ever resemble the perfect, sinless Son of God? But God has an enjoyable and perfect process by which he transforms us. As we seek out all that God has for us in an unveiled lifestyle, God longs to renew our minds to his plans for our transformation.

　　2 Corinthians 3:18 makes it clear that in “beholding the glory of the Lord”we are transformed. Just as Moses went into the tent of meeting and came out with his face shining (Exodus 33:7-11), we are to go into our own tent of meeting and come out having met with God with unveiled face. Allow the truth of Scripture to define what spending time with God is meant to look like for you. When we spend time alone with God, the Holy Spirit longs to lead us into direct, tangible, and transformative encounters with the glory of God. Christian spirituality is all about direct connection with our heavenly Father and not about engaging in religious practices just because we feel we should. The death of Christ has made unveiled encounters with God completely available to you whenever, wherever. We enter into our tent of meeting clothed with Christ, washed completely clean of our sin by the power of his blood.

　　And 2 Corinthians 3:18 also makes it clear that when we see God’s glory we are “transformed into the same image,” the image of Jesus. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”God’s intention was always for us to represent him well. When sin entered into humanity that image became grossly distorted. But through the death of Jesus and encounters with our heavenly Father that image is being restored. We can now be reflections of God to a world that is desperately searching for relationship with its Creator. We now bear the image of the one who has saved and redeemed us.

　　Living an unveiled lifestyle is simply encountering our heavenly Father and living our lives as a response to his love for us. Every encounter with God changes us and makes us more like him. Every taste of his presence fills us with his love and equips us to love others. To live an unveiled lifestyle is to experience the abundant life Jesus came to bring us. May you behold the glory of your heavenly Father and be a reflection of his love to a lost and dying world today.

　　Spend time in prayer practicing what 2 Corinthians 3 describes for us: beholding and being transformed by the glory of God.

　　Guided Prayer:

　　1. Meditate on the availability for you to encounter God face-to-face, unveiled.

　　“But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.” 2 Corinthians 3:16

　　2. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you into the tangible presence of your heavenly Father.Ask God to make his nearness known to you.

　　“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

　　“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14

　　3. Spend time in God’s presence being transformed by his love.Ask the Holy Spirit to make you more like Jesus. Ask God to reveal himself in a way that would mold and shape you into his likeness.

　　“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”2 Corinthians 3:18

　　“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Romans 8:29

　　How incredible is our God that he would make transformation such an accessible and enjoyable process. Fully letting go of our sin and shame is difficult to be sure, but the depth of grace, love, and relationship he offers us in return makes it all worthwhile. Allow God to continue to heal any areas of your life where you feel brokenness and shame. Open up your heart to him completely today in faith and allow him to create in you a new foundation of his on which you can live freely and healed.

　　Extended Reading:2 Corinthians 3

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