Bright, Shiny Faces

Surely some of you remember the children’s song we used to sing first thing in the mornings: “Good morning to you, Good morning to you, We’re all in our places With bright, shiny faces, Good morning to you.” I had no strong feelings either way about the song, but I remember wondering if my face was really shining? Then I began to hear phrases like, “Her face was radiant (radiant: sending out light; shining or glowing brightly) and, “He was beaming (beaming: shining brightly). Seems a bright, shiny face was one that shed light, like into the darkness around it. A few years later I came across a Bible verse about a shining face. It was actually a part of the first benediction in the Bible, a benediction being a declaration of blessing from God upon His people. In this benediction prayer, spoken first to Aaron, and repeated at the conclusion of worship services through the ages, Moses said, “The Lord make His face shine upon you” (Numbers 6:25). The shining face of God was to be desired as opposed to God hiding His face, as with Job (Job 13:24), and with Israel (Deut. 31:17-18); and as opposed to God’s face being against someone (Lev. 17:10, Psalm 34:16). I don’t know about you, but I pray that God’s face will shine upon me today to brighten my path, to give me direction, and to reflect off of me on to others.

Join me today in praying for the following global needs:
• Pray for Kimberly, who serves in Hungary, and is suffering from a re-herniated disk.
• Pray for Lori and others who serve in West Africa. According to the World Health Organization, as of August 31, the total number of probable, confirmed, and suspected cases of Ebola in West Africa was 3685, with 1841 deaths.
• Join Tom and Bonnie praying for the Greek Tatars of Georgia who have a population of 98,000, less than 2% evangelical.
• Pray for church leaders who will participate in a Vision Tour next week in Vancouver, Canada to determine partnerships with new church starts.