So Easter has come and gone. Now what?!
Now . . . what an opportunity we have to reflect His glory and share the Good News of Jesus!
Jesus changes our relationships and ministry. And in all honesty, this statement is redundant because our relationships are our ministry. And our ministry is our relationships. We have the opportunity to reflect Jesus in each interaction and relationship the Lord has provided.
We are all ministers as followers of Jesus Christ. (Again, if you are on the fence about following Jesus and believing in all Easter embodies, please comment at the end of this text. I’d be honored to listen to your story and your thoughts around it all.). For those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus, listen up! It’s time to remove the veil and burn bright!
The ‘veil’ I’m referring to was present from the very beginning. The moment Adam & Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, a veil was created between God and man. This veil separated people from the Lord because our sin separated us from His holiness and glory.
Even when Moses had the honor of talking to the Lord face-to-face, he had to cover his face with a veil when interacting with everyone else because his face shown too brightly with the glory of the Lord. When the Lord gave Moses the instructions for building the Tabernacle, the veil or curtain was hung to separate the priests from the ‘Holy of Holies’, the residing place of our God. And this veil remained until Jesus.
Jesus passionately cried out, took his last breath, and gave up His spirit.
Matthew 27:50-51 TPT
At that moment the veil in the Holy of Holies was torn in two from the top to the bottom. The earth shook violently, rocks were violently split apart,
The veil in the Holy of Holies was torn in two . . .
The veil was destroyed. All that separated man from the Lord was removed. Thanks to His torture and death on the cross (which Hebrews refers to as the ‘joy set before Him’) and the resurrection that followed, we can now draw near to Him and have the Holy Spirit dwell within us. We can worship in Spirit and in truth as our relationship with Jesus is real and near. (John 4:24) The Lord gives us freedom from sin and shame!
Now, the “Lord” I’m referring to is the Holy Spirit, and wherever he is Lord, there is freedom.
2 Corinthians 3:17 TPT
While Jesus overcame death and all evil by dying on the cross, our enemy clings to all the veil represents and continues to try to shade His glory. Just like in the Garden of Eden, our shame and the lies that follow continue to separate us from His freedom.
So my question for you is, as we move forward from Easter, to what veil are you clinging? What lies are you believing? What shame are you carrying?
As we worship in Sprit and TRUTH, we much replace the shame and lies of the veil with His truth. And share this TRUTH with others! In relationships, the veil is torn as well! Let’s go deeper in relationships, being real and authentic with each other. There’s no need to hide because Jesus changes everything!
We can all draw close to Him with the veil removed from our faces. And with no veil we all become like mirrors who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus. We are being transfigured into His very image as we move from one brighter level of glory to another. And this glorious transfiguration comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18 TPT
Jesus changes our relationships and our ministry by calling us to be mirrors who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Himself! I love how being a reflection doesn’t take effort. Burning bright doesn’t take effort. It’s only an act of surrender. and obedience. The word ‘transfigured’ in the scripture above is the same Hebrew word found in Romans 12:2, being transfigured or transformed by the renewing of our mind. This verse follows the powerful statement of our call to be a living sacrifice.
While this might sound crazy in regards to ‘transfigured’ and ‘living sacrifice’, I challenge you to reflect on the results of your own efforts. And your perception of ‘religion’. Are you tired?
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
matthew 11:28-30
Think about what veil of shame or lies you are unintentionally clinging to now. And how you can replace this veil with the truth that Jesus has set you free.
2 Corinthians 4:1-6 CSB
The Light of the Gospel
Therefore, since we have this ministry because we were shown mercy, we do not give up. Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful things, not acting deceitfully or distorting the word of God, but commending ourselves before God to everyone’s conscience by an open display of the truth. But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the god of this age (the enemy) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’s sake. For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ
So as we move forward from Easter 2023, let’s not give the ‘god of this age’ the opportunity to hinder His light. The veil is torn. While there is plenty of darkness around us, we choose to ‘let light shine out of darkness’ and share His hope, freedom, and joy with all the relationships the Lord has provided. This is our ministry! Let’s burn bright, better together!
Holy Barre 