Seeing Beyond the Veil

“Seeing Beyond the Veil” in the context of God’s Word is very important for us to understand. Once the veil is removed, our mind, our vision, and our heart will be free to know, see, and understand the blessed truths of our Lord and Savior.

According to the Old Covenant of God, certain unblemished animals were presented to the Jewish Levite priests to be sacrificed as the atonement for the sins of the believers. These were annual sacrifices performed beyond the veil (or as it is sometimes referenced, curtain) in the Jewish Temple.

According to the New Covenant of God, Jesus Christ offered Himself as the final sacrifice for the atonement of our sins. Through an agonizing death, Jesus Christ, the unblemished Lamb of God, took on all the sins of every one of us so that we could be given the opportunity to be forgiven of our sins.

Now to receive God’s forgiveness, we must receive Jesus Christ into our hearts and minds to accept what He has freely sacrificed and done for us. Jesus Christ willingly took our sins upon Himself. When we receive God’s forgiveness, our sin is not only forgiven, but it is also forgotten. How amazing and wonderful is this?

Do you know what else this means for us? It’s an assurance of freedom. It’s freedom from guilt. It’s freedom from the effects of sin. It’s freedom from eternal death. It’s freedom to enter into the blessed eternal life after death from this life. We can have all of this by surrendering ourselves to God and believing in Jesus Christ. This freedom also allows us to see and understand the truth so that we may live a Christ-like life.

We must speak the truth with words from our mouth, but we must also believe them in our heart. We must truly believe and trust that God is real. We must believe that we can see beyond the veil by what Jesus Christ did for us. Our words regarding God cannot simply be spoken from our lips; the words must come from our heart, too. I realized that I used to speak empty words clearly explained in the following scripture:

“And so the Lord says, ‘These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.’ ” (Isaiah 29:13)

However, we can be made new by being cleansed through the blood of Jesus Christ that He shed for us on the cross. The following scriptures awakened me to the truth when God removed the veil from my eyes and my heart due to my willingness to believe, accept, and speak the truth:

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10)

I got saved and you can, too!

“This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” (Hebrews 10:16)

“And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.” (Hebrews 10:18)

However, this does not give us the freedom to purposely sin! We must do our best (with God’s help) not to sin anymore. Please be sure to learn and understand the difference! It starts with being able to see beyond the veil.

When man sought the forgiveness of God in the days of the Old, the Jewish (Levitical) priests were the only ones allowed to perform the sacrifices in the Temple each year for the sacrificial ceremony to cleanse the people of their sins. This sacrifice would be made on the altar where the veil separated the Holy of Holies within the Temple.

The sacrificial ceremony of the priests is no longer required because Jesus Christ, Himself, came to take that place for us. This Old Testament sacrifice was replaced by Jesus Christ (God in the flesh). He became the sacrificial Lamb once and for all.

“Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.” (Hebrews 9:13-14)

“In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22)

“If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever! Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” (2 Corinthians 3:9-16)

Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God, the ultimate and final sacrifice necessary for us to be found right with God by accepting what He did for us through our belief in Him. We should be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. “He is [has] risen!” (Mark 28:6, Mark 16:6, Luke 24:6, Matthew 28:7)

Jesus Christ, Himself, is the Word (that is, the Living Word of God, the Bible). He has revealed Himself in these words through the Bible, so that we may see beyond the veil.

The most wonderful gift we could ever receive in our entire life is the free gift that God offers through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who became that ultimate sacrifice, as the Lamb of God who shed His blood for us to receive eternal life!

“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)

According to Hebrews 10:12, “... Our High Priest offered Himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then He sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.” Jesus Christ is the High Priest!

As Jesus Christ breathed His last breath of human life as He hung on the cross: “Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.” (Luke 23:45)

“If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing.” (2 Corinthians 4:3)

“... Whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”

I am so very grateful that God removed the veil from my eyes. I pray that God will remove the veil from your eyes, too. I pray that you will turn to the Lord today!

Until we virtually meet again, may God call you to Himself.

God’s Word for Today: “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord — who is the Spirit — makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into his glorious image.” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)

Copyright © 2016 by Patricia Shehan

All scripture is quoted from various translations of the Holy Bible (God’s Word) and is set it italics.

Never Give Up!

The first time I thought of the subject for this month’s blog post was about 2 months ago. Actually, this post should have been completed in February, but it’s almost a whole week into March and I’m very behind my self-imposed schedule. It’s not because I gave up though!

I'm telling you this because 2 months ago, I had no clue that I’d feel the way I do now. I didn’t feel as though I needed to give up on anything then! I was actually feeling very good because I had not given up, and I believed that God had finally answered my prayer. That was then.

This is now. I am feeling defeated. I feel like giving up. I may spend some time in self-pity, but I can’t stay there. I seek to try to figure it out. Where did I go wrong? Did I go wrong? 

Maybe that was not the plan! I believe I may have taken the wrong path thinking that it was the right one. That can happen sometimes, too, especially when we jump into something just because we’ve been waiting for it for so long.

Just because I was praying when it happened doesn’t necessarily mean that it was the correct answer to my prayer. Things had drastically changed. I didn’t pause to pray. I didn’t verify it with God. Was it the correct path or not? I know that it was not the correct path now.

As difficulties came, several friends had recently and specifically told me: “Don’t give up!” I thought to myself, I’m not giving up! Now that would be so much easier to just give up and stop trying. Yet, I pressed on to win the race, as the Bible tells us to do.

So, I took a little time going along that road, and it was bumpy and difficult. It also had some excitement and wonder. It was different and somewhat encouraging, but then it began to become very discouraging with a few steep hills and a few very deep valleys. I started to want to give up. Then, what I thought I had gained was quickly snatched away from me.

I know I’m being evasive and not specific about what happened to me. Many times I share intimate details of my own life to help you with yours. This time I will refrain from sharing the details.

Within a very short time, suddenly, everything quickly changed! Any thing can change in the blink of an eye! Suddenly can be good news and suddenly can be bad news. This was suddenly bad news.

Yet, should we ever give up? No matter what came suddenly, we need to move forward. We need to keep trying. We need to stay close to God.

Are you giving up on your God-given dream? He gave you the extraordinary talent to perform some kind of creative thing and the ability to make that dream into a reality.

My Bible study teacher pointed something out to me. Not only is God the Creator of the world and the creator of every human being, but we were created in His image. As such, we were each given something special to create, too.

Furthermore, God will give us what we need, but we must make the effort. We must utilize the talents and fuel the ideas he has given to us. We must implement these ideas and make them a reality. Don't just dream it, do it!

Do you give up on eating for the fuel you need to live and move? No, of course not! Do you give up on getting out of bed each day? Maybe you do at times. But why does one stay in bed? Disappointments, failures, lack of belief in yourself, or lack of hope? Probably even more because of the lack of communion with God and seeking His direction first.

We all start questioning God. We tell Him, “If you loved me, then you’d answer my prayers.” If He doesn’t answer our prayer or doesn’t answer quite the way we expect, we seem to collapse. Why is it that God does not always answer our prayers? Or why doesn't the answer come with an affirmation in our favor?

Maybe we need to learn something. Maybe we need to learn how to be strong in the face of failure and disappointments.

Don't allow the enemy, the devil, who prowls around to kill and destroy to get you down. Just stop it!

I’d suggest you read the Biblical account of the widow who was seeking justice from the judge. That judge didn’t fear God or care about others. However, with righteous persistence and without giving up, the widow was able to receive her due justice.

With that account, “... Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.” (Luke 18:1 [added bold is my emphasis)

“Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this new way,” [to see beyond the veil] “we never give up.” (2 Corinthians 4:1 — my emphasis in red and bold).

If you don’t understand my words in brackets: “to see beyond the veil,” maybe you can let me know by joining the site as a follower of my blog and posting a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

Here are several more Biblical scriptures about not giving up:

“So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.”(Galations 6:9)

“... Have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, ‘My child, don't make light of the Lord's discipline, and don't give up when he corrects you.’ ” (Hebrews 12:5)

“But when the judge died, the people returned to their corrupt ways, behaving worse than those who had lived before them. They went after other gods, serving and worshiping them. And they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.” (Judges 2:19)

“Satan replied to the Lord, “Skin for skin! A man will give up everything he has to save his life.” (Job 2:4)

“If you give up your lust for money and throw your precious gold into the river, the Almighty himself will be your treasure. He will be your precious silver! Then you will take delight in the Almighty and look up to God. You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows to Him. You will succeed in whatever you choose to do, and light will shine on the road ahead of you. If people are in trouble and you say, ‘Help them,’ God will save them. Even sinners will be rescued; they will be rescued because your hands are pure.” (Job 22:24-30)

“We know what real love is because Jesus gave up His life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.” (1 John 3:16)

“Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways.” (Isaiah 1:16)

“If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” (Matthew 10:39)

“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.” (Mark 8:35)

“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” (Luke 9:24)

In the last three Bible verses, three different disciples (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are all telling us God’s Word in nearly the same way.

Do you believe it? I sure hope so, and I'm praying for you and for me, too. Then we won’t give up. We will keep trying. We will move forward. We will use our God-given talents to create something wonderful and beautiful that will count for eternity.

Until we virtually meet again, may God call you to Himself.

God’s Word for Today: “Think of all the hostility He [Jesus Christ] endured from sinful people; then you won't become weary and give up.” (Hebrews 12:3)

Copyright © 2016 by Patricia Shehan

All scripture is quoted from various translations of the Holy Bible (God’s Word) and is set it italics.

Are You Listening?

What do you hear? As the popular Christmas song goes, the lyrics are:

“Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?”

You may not be hearing any sleigh bells, but I really wonder who it is that you’re listening to these days. Is it God? He does speak to our hearts. He even speaks audibly to some. He wants to guide us. We may not seem to think so because oftentimes He is silent. Yet, many times, He is speaking and guiding, but I believe we’re just not listening. We need to be attentive.

In many parts of the world, as it is here in mine, did you hear the countdown to the New Year? It’s 2016! People shout it out: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Happy New Year!

Are you listening? What do you hear?

When you attended school, you were supposed to be listening to the teacher. You were told to be quiet. If you weren’t listening, you were talking when you shouldn’t have been or you were listening to someone else. Or maybe you just got lost in your own thoughts.

We are lost without our Savior, who is the Great Shepherd. He leads us where we need to go. We need to hear Him to be able to follow Him. However, if we’re not listening, we won’t hear Him, and we won’t be guided onto the right path.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)

In the Bible, in Revelation, the following is stated repeatedly when this reference is made to each of the churches: “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.”

When Jesus Christ walked the earth, He said: “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.” (John 5:24)

To pass from death into life while already alive means we have died to our sins and our old “flesh” has been buried with our sins. Then we get baptized and our sins are washed away. Now we live in our spirit, so that we can please God and follow Him in obedience. Sometimes, we slip and fail, but He never lets us fall away completely, as long as we don’t turn away from Him.

We are warned: “Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don't listen because you don't belong to God.” (John 8:47)

We live in a time in which the following scripture clearly states what has now happened. The time is here:

“For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Titus 4:3)

This is the reason why we must be even more attentive to listening to God.

“So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. (Hebrews 2:1)

In fact, we are told: “Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven!” (Hebrews 12:25)

“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” (James 1:19)

“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.” (James 1:22-23)

So, I will ask you again: Are you listening? Who are you listening to now? What do you hear? Are you staying quiet at all, so that you can hear?

In 1 Kings 19, we learn that Elijah heard the voice of God, and His voice was not like the strong wind or the earthquake. Elijah heard God’s “still, small voice.” We may need to be silent before God, listening to hear Him clearly. Our future depends on it.

Until we virtually meet again, may God call you to Himself, and may you be attentive to hear His call and His guidance. 

God’s Word for Today: “Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and you turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them.” (Deuteronomy 11:6); “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27) 

Copyright © 2016 by Patricia Shehan

All scripture is quoted from various translations of the Holy Bible (God’s Word) and is set it italics.

The Christmas Stockings

Verbal abuse is horrible and usually explosive! Sometimes it's just the words that come barreling out of a mouth that can take on a different meaning than the way they were intended. Someone always gets hurt. The pain may be unintentional, but it stings nevertheless.

The Bible tells us that the tongue can be a very poisonous member of our body (see James 3:8). Do we choose our words and our actions carefully? Do we speak, but do so without thinking first? Do we always act impulsively?

I'm sure that we have all said things we regretted after it was too late. Speaking without forethought and taking action without contemplation can result in terrible abuses.

Alcohol and drugs can have a detrimental effect on the body and the mind. Often the abusers are also physical. There is great pain and scars left behind upon others in the their path.

Why can't we be more like the Holy Spirit? If we are saved by God, then God is within us, and we are to be gentle, kind, and loving with self-control. If we are not saved, then we need to find our salvation through God's holy, loving grace.

"... The Holy Spirit produced this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!" (Galatians 5:22-23)

When abuses occur, we must seek God. We need to lean on the Rock and truly only the Rock, who holds the foundation of the earth together. He keeps us from sinking sand. The Rock is Jesus Christ. He is also God, our Heavenly Father.

"My God is my Rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.
He is my refuge, my Savior, the One who saves me from violence." (2 Samuel 22:3)

By now, you're probably wondering what this has to do with Christmas stockings. A few years ago, I saw a post on Facebook about a knitting group that knits slippers for children and their mothers who have been through domestic violence.

Just reading about this group and what they have been doing really touched my heart. Furthermore, slippers caused me to think about stockings. I prayed to God, as my thoughts developed into an idea, and then a plan was formed.

I approached my church through the pastor's daughter about the idea of doing something similar for a local shelter of domestic violence for mothers and their children, that is, if I could find one in time. Instead of knitting slippers, I'd purchase some Christmas stockings and we could ask the women of the church to donate items to fill them. The pastor agreed that if I could organize this plan quickly, then we could do it. Christmas was fast approaching.

The idea grew from there, as we decided to host a Women's Ministry meeting through the church at my home. We could then fill all the stockings for the children while praying for children and their parents that would be in the shelter that year during Christmas.

Surprisingly, I was able to quickly find a shelter in time and make all the arrangements. When God has a plan that he plants in your heart, miracles occur, and the plans came together with ease.

The pastor announced the plan to the church, and we passed out fliers that I had typed up, asking the women for donations and inviting them to join the Women's Ministry event.

The shelter provided me with a list of how many girls and boys were presently at the shelter, along with their ages, and the total number of moms. We had already begun collecting a few stocking stuffers the first week after the announcement.

Then the pastor announced that we were going to "go big" and ask the whole church to get involved (the men, too). As small as the church was at the time (with an average of about 50 people), we collected a huge amount of donations.

I began to get a little concerned because the collections were more big gifts than they were stocking stuffers! That's when I realized that I was beginning to worry. I had to stop and trust God through prayer.

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done." (Philippians 4:6)

God answered our prayers, of course, by having more than enough of everything! We had plenty of stocking stuffers and gifts galore! We had lots of items for both the kids and the moms. In fact, we had so many donations that we were able to touch the hearts beyond those in the shelter.

As Christmas Day approached, there would be more families that would be affected by domestic violence each year. These kids and their moms would be housed in the emergency hotel/motel program funded by the shelter program. Those kids and their moms, who weren't even there yet, had gifts awaiting their arrival!

A friend who saw the pictures (below) said it looked just like "the fishes and the loaves of bread that Jesus miraculously multiplied." Thanks be to our God!

For those who experience the horrible abuses, God tells us that it doesn't go without something good coming from it.

"But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive." (Genesis 50:20)

Until we virtually meet again, may God call you to Himself.

God's Word for Today: I pray this will be said of everything I do for God in my life, as I want to glorify Him and help others know how much He loves each and every one of us. "As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you. Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!"

Copyright © 2015 by Patricia Shehan

All scripture is quoted from various translations of the Holy Bible (God’s Word) and is set it bold or italics.

There were even more donations than these pictures reveal, such as a stroller and clothes. I was amazed at all the generous donations.