¹²Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, ¹³and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. ¹⁴But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. ¹⁵But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; ¹⁶but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. ¹⁸But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:12-18

John, to my dear friends in Christ; in 2 Corinthians 3:12-15 Paul tells how a veil will cover an unbeliever's heart. Have you ever had a hard time telling a relative or friend about Jesus and they don't want to hear about it or they look at you with a blank face. You read the Bible to them and they are clueless to understand. They may have even gone to church for years and read the Bible, but they still don't understand. You see their hearts are veiled, and for whatever reason they refuse to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ (verse 16). That is why it is generally better to keep the salvation message simple. If we try to explain the details of end time theology you'll lose them. Their eyes need to be turned to Christ and the veil removed before they can start to understand the spirituality of God's Word. You may ask, "How do I do this?" You tell people of Jesus Christ though the power (infilling) of the Holy Spirit. First, make sure your relationship with God is in good order. When your life is in disorder with God you will have a hard time hearing the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Second, have faith that God will help you to witness, and He will.  Third, when you approach someone (or someone approaches you) pray to the Holy Spirit to open your eyes, to help you talk clearly and simply, and follow the Holy Spirit's prompting, and stay within the bounds of what you know (i.e., "Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see." John 9:25). You may not lead them to Jesus, but you may plant seeds, and there will be fewer arguments. And hopefully they will see how in the veil being lifted from your eyes you have freedom in Christ (verse 17) and they will see the glory of Jesus reflected in your very person and your life (verse 18) and they themselves turn to Jesus Christ. 

Did you see the promise above?  When we turn our hearts to God he lifts the veil that covers our face and reveals the Spirit of Himself to us. We come to understand the things of God because He reveals this to us as we read His word, Pray, fellowship with other believers, hear His word being taught, and dwell on Him. Isn't this awesome!

Dear Heavenly Father, help us to learn without Your power, Your Holy Spirit we are powerless. Let us find joy in following the and in the infilling of the Holy Spirit as we tell others of Jesus Christ, no matter the outcome, in Jesus name I Pray, Amen.

God's Many Blessings to You,

john
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The above message is sent to you as an encouragement.  Please pass this on to friends and family.  To add yourself or a loved one to the mailing list reply to  [email protected]  Subject:  "add to"  (or to be removed indicate  "remove")

Encouragement >From The Heart Website updated January 11, 2001.
http://www.geocities.com/correiaville/encourag.html   Check out "The Master's Garden"!

Scripture references (unless noted otherwise): The Open Bible, New American Standard
copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++