Friday, December 20, 2024

Read Psalm 11

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

The word ‘BEHOLD’ is used 1,298 times in the King James version of the Bible. Since it’s now an archaic word, modern translations use current synonyms that don’t always convey the richness of meaning. In both Old and New Testaments, it means ‘be sure to see, look on.’ The key Old Testament word for ‘BEHELD’ means 'look closely at, discern, gaze, look upon, joyfully take heed.' The New Testament uses five different words, and I’m especially interested that the word for ‘beheld’ in the John 1:14 passage listed above is ONLY used in that one verse and has a stronger meaning than the others: ‘to gaze with wide-open eyes, as at something remarkable’!

This brings me to exciting, wonderful GOOD NEWS! True joy is found in God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ! 2 Corinthians 4:6 says, “For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory DISPLAYED IN THE FACE OF CHRIST” (emphasis mine). We behold the face of Christ in worshiping him, delighting to be in his presence, in his creation, in his written word, and in the faces of other people. Brain science is now finding the importance of joy for healthy brain development. Joy is relational! Our brains are designed to run on joy. Our right brains keep waiting for our eyes to send them the message that they see someone whose eyes light up because they are glad to see us and be with us!

Let us behold the glory of the Lord—his face shining upon us. THEN, the light of Christ shines out of us as we focus on really HEARING and SEEING and LOVING the other person! It is SO FREEING when our eyes are off ourselves and we stop working so hard in our OWN strength. The light of Christ can then shine out of us so others can see CHRIST.

Prayer:  Oh, Lord, may we truly LONG to BEHOLD your face, your glory shining upon us! YOU are the LIGHT OF THE WORLD and we are to let YOUR light shine from us that YOU are glorified and others are drawn to YOU, the ONLY true source of JOY! In Your glorious name, Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Margie Cleaver

PRAYER FOCUS:  That everyone would find Joy today and every day.