2 Corinthians 4:4

THE LIGHT HAS COME!

(Sunday December 03, 2023) Dr Jim McClure shares … 

Today is the first day of the season called Advent which many churches observe throughout the world. Often associated with Advent is the lighting of a candle each Sunday with a final one being lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

The lighting of the candles is not just a decorative novelty – but symbolic of light that banishes darkness.

One of the values of Advent is that it encourages us to –

  • Reflect on Christmas’ spiritual significance in the midst of so many distractions and anxieties in the world.
  • Remember that Christmas really has nothing to do with Santa Clause but has everything to do with the birth of Jesus.
  • Read afresh John’s summary of 2000 years ago: ‘The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him’ (John 1:9-10).
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GLORY!

(March 20, 2023) Dr Jim McClure explains about God’s glory… 

Christians often use the word ‘glory’ but usually do not have much idea of what it means! The Hebrew word for glory, kabod, is found 200 times in the Old Testament and its development is interesting.

Development
The root of kabod actually means ‘heavy’ and is associated with the liver (Exodus 29:13) which is the heaviest of the internal organs. The use of the word as ‘heavy’ is seen in a number of Old Testament passages such as Psalm 38:4, ‘For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me’(KJV).

Glory developed into the concept of splendour.It referred to material wealth, that is, being ‘heavy with riches.’  Note Isaiah 10:3, ‘To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth?’  Here ‘wealth’ is ‘kabod.’ 

The word continued to develop to mean honour. In Malachi 1:6 God asks, ‘A son honours (kabod) his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honour (kabod) due to me?’ 

Glory also came to be recognised as a characteristic of God’s splendour — ‘The heavens declare the glory of God’ (Psalm 19:1).

Regarding the word ‘Shekinah’, although some people use this when referring to God’s glory, it does not refer to a special dimension of divine glory.  In fact this Hebrew word is not found in the Bible. It literally means ‘presence’ but doesn’t add anything to the concept that God’s glory reveals His presence.

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