In Exodus 34 we read that after coming down from Mount Sinai with the new set of stone tablets, Moses’ face shone with a noticeable radiancy (v29) – a radiancy that was evident to the people whenever Moses had spent time with the Lord (v35). 
But what does this detail concerning Moses’ encounters with God have to teach us?
Well I believe that one of the things it does is to remind us that knowing God and spending time with God will inevitably lead to us being changed.
First of all, just as spending time with other people will change us and make us like them, spending time with God will change us and make us like Him.When I first returned home from university, my family and friends always used to remark on how much my accent had changed and that I was using sayings that I’d never used before. This change had occurred because I had been hanging out with people from other parts of the country & who spoke like that. Well that’s what will happen when we spend time with God – by the Spirit’s power at work in us, we will become like Him, we will reveal something of Him; we will show something of His glory to others just as Moses did.
And this is something that, as disciples of Jesus, we desire is it not? We want to become more like Jesus not only so that we glorify God by being transformed into what He has saved us to be; but we also want to become more like Jesus so that others will see Him in us & will come to Him for salvation. Spending time with Jesus will mean that we will inevitably “shine”  for Him. and that instead of elevating & promoting ourselves we will reflect His glory and the glory of the Father to those around us, just as Moses’ face reflected God’s radiance to those around him & just as those early disciples who had spent time with Jesus pointed others to Him (John 3:30; Acts 4: 13).
The second way in which spending time with Jesus changes us is that it allows us to appropriate all the blessings that are ours in Him.Wonderfully, we can (and should) have the expectation that spending time in prayer, meditating on God’s word, going about the work of God’s kingdom and living in fellowship with other believers will change us, as the Spirit uses these means of grace to make these blessings ours.Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that God’s word is a “living and active” word and as such will speak to and affect the humble & submissive heart, mind and will. By the Spirit’s power, God’s words of encouragement, comfort and hope will stop our tears, calm our fears and help us to keep on trusting, praising and serving (even when it’s hard), with joy in our hearts. His rebukes will convict us and lead us to repentance. And when we bring our troubles and petitions to God, we will know the peace of God guarding our hearts (Philippians 4:6&7). 
As we meditate upon the change that spending time with Jesus can make in our lives, may God help us to covet that change and cause us to seek Him out more and more. To Him be the glory.Amen
“As we gaze on your kingly brightness

So our faces display your likeness
Ever changing from glory to glory
Mirrored here may our lives tell your story
Shine on me, shine on me

Shine, Jesus, shine
Fill this land with the Father’s glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze
Set our hearts on fire
Flow, river, flow
Flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth your word
Lord, and let there be light”

Notices and Points for Prayer
Let us thank God for last Sunday, especially for Jim being enabled to preach at very short notice. I have heard from many of you that you were blessed by his ministry – Praise God!Let us pray for this coming Sunday as Chris Rogers visits us. Let us pray that he will come in the fullness of the Spirit and that the church will have a sense of whether it is God’s will that he take on the role of pastor in September.
Congratulations to Scott Holliday who will be celebrating his 18th birthday on Monday 1st June! We thank God for Scott, for his joyfulness and for his helpfulness; and we pray that he will know the Lord’s help and leading always.
Please find enclosed June’s RBT sheet on 1 Samuel – thank you Daphne once again!
Every Blessing
Rich

— 
Richard Jenkins 1cor6v11@gmail.com; 07761979015

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