Charlton Heston

SHEKINAH GLORY

(March 21, 2023) Dr Robert McQuillan shares…

‘Shekinah Glory’ has been often thought of as the remarkable change in Moses that the Israelites beheld when he came down from Mount Sinai, after having been up there so long in the presence of God. Exodus 34:29ESV reads, ‘… Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.’

NIV says, ‘… he was not aware that his face was radiant…’ Verse 30 tells that all the Israelites ‘were afraid to come near him.’

Remember Charlton Heston playing Moses in the 1956 The Ten Commandments? He looked so different after being in God’s presence when he started down ‘God’s mountain’ to find ungrateful, sinning Israelites.

Moviegoers, including myself, an impressionable teenager, were immediately struck by the change in his face, his hair and beard.

But ‘Shekinah Glory’ is more than that! The presence of God highlighted above is the key!

May we know God’s presence
Now the Bible doesn’t mention the term ‘Shekinah Glory’ at all in either the Old or New Testament… it was introduced by rabbis in their writings in the period between the two testaments. Their reasoning? To explain the very presence of God in certain contexts and associated with a visible manifestation more evidently apparent at certain times.

‘Shekinah’ is from the Hebrew word shākan, which means ‘to reside or permanently stay.’ And so literature by rabbis used the term shekinah to descriptively explain the following scriptures to the Jewish people:

  • God’s presence among His people (Exodus 19:16-18; Exodus 40:34-38; I Kings 6:13).
  • God’s glory dwelling in the temple (2 Chronicles 7:1).
  • God’s dwelling in the mountain (Psalm 68.16-18; Joel 3:17).
  • God’s divine appearance on earth!

This last ‘description’ was depicted in the following seven ways as a…

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NEHEMIAH – GOD’S CALL TO BUILD THE WALL (Part 5)

(July 23, 2022) Hope Flinchbaugh shares some more insights about Nehemiah’s wall building journey, challenging us to know that God has a plan for us…

Economists predict that our world may be headed for monetary collapse. As Christians called by God to build or finance a ministry in this decade, we’ve all certainly had to, or will have to, ask God for His provision. But in doing so, we must remember that if we don’t approach God with faith, it is impossible to please Him!

The writer of Hebrews made this clear, pointing out the reward of believing faith:  ‘… without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him’ (Hebrews 11:6NASB).

Boldly believing
We have faith for our eternal salvation in heaven, but do we have faith for provision here on the earth? And let’s include finances. Finances? Yes… finance is needed to fulfil many a ministry and such could be very tight during this particular decade! Let’s learn from Nehemiah about boldly asking for provisions, and God ensuring such are arranged as His reward for our believing in faith.

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THE BUZZ

TEXAS
Ebola update

Aimee HerdBreaking Christian News’ Aimee Herd emails:
Three times now, Ebola survivor Dr Kent Brantly has donated his blood to a patient suffering with the deadly disease—the latest recipient being Texas nurse, Nina Pham, who contracted Ebola from caring for Thomas Eric Duncan who died last week.

The first person who received a blood transfusion using Dr Brantly’s blood was fellow humanitarian aid doctor Nick Sacra, who has recovered from Ebola and been released from the hospital. (more…)