Shining Grace

This is at Yellow Stone National park.  I loved the reflection and peacefulness of it.

Proverbs 4:18 The Path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter until the full light of day.

Galatians 2:9 James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, when they recognized the grace given to me.  They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the Jews.

Note: In Galatians 2:9  When God’s grace is within you it shines through you and others can see it readily, just as James, Peter and John could see that God’s grace was within Paul and Barnabas.

Read Judges Chapter 7: This is the story of Gideon’s obedience to God, and God showing his grace to Israel by giving the Midianites over to them in battle.  God told Gideon that he needed to use only 300 men so that Israel would know that God did this for them, and that they didn’t do it themselves by their own hands.  Evidentially the Israelites must have recognized that God was with Gideon because there were 32 thousand Israelites at that time, and there were numberless Midianites so the Israelites were outnumbered with 32 thousand people, and yet they accepted that Gideon only need 300 people to take the Midianites with God’s plan.  This indicates their recognition of God being with Gideon.  So God’s grace shined through Gideon.

Just as in these two cases in the Bible of Paul and Gideon as a person’s walk with God grows closer and the Holy Spirit is more prevalent in their lives it is easier to recognize the same Holy Spirit in someone else that you meet.  It is also very thrilling to be in fellowship with that person even if they are in other ways a perfect stranger to you because you have just met.  The Holy Spirit’s presence just shines through them to you and from you to them.