The Phil Files

I have always been moved by 2 Corinthians 3:1-18, as the apostle of grace is emphatic: a written code cannot save us, redeem us, change us, or make us like God. Clearly, Paul believes that the Law is good in that it shows us the holiness God expects of us, but he is emphatic (Galatians brings it home powerfully) that the Law — or any law for that matter — can only convict us of our failures.

Jesus is clearly the answer for our shortfall and sinfulness, but with Jesus comes more than just forgiveness and cleansing. With Jesus comes the freedom and power to be what we could not be trying to fulfill law’s demands to be right with God (Romans 8:1-4; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18). This power is not some impersonal force, but is God’s presence in us, the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). This glorious freedom the Spirit brings us, to be what the written code could never make us, means that all of our goodness is the reflected goodness that comes from our glorious God who provided Jesus as our sacrifice and Jesus who sent the Holy Spirit to us to complete God’s perfection in us. I have tried often to capture this concept visually, never to my satisfaction. However, the old image below with the text of 2 Corinthians 3:18 is a helpful reminder that any glory in us and on us and from us, is always the reflected glory of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit to make that reflected glory genuine in our lives.

We are reflections of His glory, but through the Spirit, that reflection grows brighter each day as we know Jesus more!

This image is available in 1024 x 768 size in several options on Heartlight.org and can be used for any non-commercial use by churches, non-profits and individuals as longs as it is unaltered:

1. Text Version — Like Above Image
2. Title Version — “Reflected Grace”
3. Plain Version — Ideal for PPT Backgrounds

For a list of hundreds of images check out Heartlight.org Backgrounds Page and use the search window on the right.

For several days, the weather forecasters had warned that last night could be a rough one. It seemed fitting that this might be true, since our family’s had a bit of a rough road with medical issues for the last several weeks. Yet last night passed without the typical spring thunderstorm fury we’ve come to expect out here in west Texas. The morning broke bright and clear with a touch of cool in the air and sun streaming down. What a beautiful morning!

As I worked on images and meandered around some Bible verses for my own quiet time this morning, the Lord led me to this verse from Psalm 143:8. It seemed appropriate and it fit an image I was working with for Heartlight graphics:

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

The image below is much small version of the image I posted to Heartlight’s PowerPoint background Scripture graphics (you can use the search feature to look through thousands of images that can be used in worship or as your computer wallpaper.) This small image gives you the idea, but I hope you can make the prayer your own whether the image interests you or not. Blessings for the weekend and for seeing the way the Lord wants you to go!

You can find three versions of this image, Title (picture above), Text (with the Scripture), and Plain (only the image).