“And God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness … So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” Genesis 1:26, 27

The LORD God created the first man and woman in His own image and after His likeness. Since God is a spirit, the image and likeness spoken of here refer not to a visible likeness, but to a spiritual likeness. We learn of this image of God in the New Testament.

Colossians 3:10 says of the new man or new nature in Christians, that it “is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.” Ephesians 4:24 says of this same new nature that it “after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

Thus, we see that the image of God is having a knowledge of God and His perfect will and also being truly righteous and holy. Adam and Eve were created with perfect knowledge of God and His will and, in the beginning, had only holy and pure thoughts, desires, words and deeds.

Of course, the fall recorded in Genesis 3 changed all that. Man’s knowledge and understanding of God and His perfect will became darkened so that he came up with his own ideas and beliefs about God and even worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator (Rom. 1:18ff.). Instead of being holy and righteous and wholly devoted to the service of the Almighty, man became turned in upon himself and lived in disobedience and rebellion against God’s holy commandments. Thus, the image of God was lost!

In believers, those who acknowledge their utter sinfulness and trust in the shed blood of Christ Jesus for their salvation, the image of God is being restored. They have a new nature which is being “renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created” them, a nature that “after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” They, “with open face beholding as in a glass [mirror] the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18).

But believers in Jesus will not achieve sinless perfection here in this world. They will not perfectly reflect the glory of the Lord. The Bible plainly tells us that “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8); and we are encouraged to confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness in Christ Jesus (1 John 1:9; 2:1-2).

However, when the Last Day shall come, all who have trusted in Christ Jesus will be raised up with perfect knowledge of God and in perfect righteousness and holiness. The Scriptures tell us: “As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness” (Psalm 17:15); “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2); and “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Cor. 13:12).

And so, dear friend, you and I were created in God’s image, created to know God and His perfect will and created to serve God in accord with His will and design. Adam’s sin took from all of us the image of God. Instead of reflecting the holiness and righteousness of God our Maker, we have each gone our own way, seeking to gratify our own fallen and sinful nature and to glorify ourselves.

In Christ Jesus, God’s own dear Son made man, God provided a sacrifice for our sins and offers to us pardon and forgiveness. God the Holy Spirit, working through the good news of forgiveness in Christ, regenerates us, bringing us to faith in Christ and working in our lives to restore the image and glory of God which we had lost. And, when Christ returns and the dead are raised up, then all who have placed their hope in Him will reflect His image and serve Him in everlasting righteousness and holiness!

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that my life does not perfectly reflect Your holiness or Your glory. Wash away my sins in Your shed blood and create in me a new heart and nature which loves You, seeks Your will and lives for Your glory. Amen.

[Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible]

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish … this is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:22-27).

While we recognize the message of Scripture to husbands and wives, we sometimes fail to read on far enough — to verse 32 — to see the mystery and see the significance of these verses for us in our relationship to Jesus Christ. We see that wives are commanded to submit to their husbands and that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the Church, but do we see what these words teach is also in regard to our relationship with Christ Jesus?

The Church, which is made up of all true believers in Christ, is to submit to Christ in all things. This is, of course, what Jesus commanded in the Great Commission. His apostles were to disciple the nations by going out, baptizing in the name of the Triune God and by teaching them to observe all that Christ commanded (cf. Matt. 28:18-20).

Christ is the Savior and Head of the Church, and we, as believers, are His body and submit to His headship by listening to and obeying all that He teaches in His Word.

And why do we do so? It is because He loves us, His Church, and gave Himself for us when He died on the cross for the sins of the world. And He did this in order that He might set us apart as His own and cleanse us from our sins in Holy Baptism and present us to Himself “a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”

In other words, Jesus Christ so loved the world that He suffered and died and made atonement for the sins of all. And He did this that, through the preaching of the Gospel and the right administration of Holy Baptism, He might bring us and all the elect to repent of our sinful ways, trust in Him and be baptized and so have our sins washed away in His blood. And He did this that the Holy Spirit who brought us to faith might keep us trusting in Christ unto the end and that we might be presented to Him holy and blameless on the Last Day and dwell with Him forever in heaven!

And because Christ loves us and is working for our eternal salvation, we trust that what He teaches and commands in His Word is true and right and for our good. Thus, as the bride of Christ, we submit to His Word in all things.

Jesus said, “He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God” (John 8:47). In fact, it is a mark of believers to hear and believe God’s Word, and it is a mark of unbelievers to reject and argue against the clear Word of God.

When we speak of the true (or faithful) visible church in this world, we speak of the church that preaches and teaches the Gospel in its truth and purity and administers the Sacraments in accord with Christ’s institution. Any ongoing compromise of the Word of God, any ongoing unfaithfulness to what He teaches and commands, makes a church unfaithful and untrue to Christ, our Head.

And, it often happens that people turn away and are unwilling to submit to Christ and His Word. Instead of listening to Christ, the Savior and Head, they follow their own thoughts and opinions. Jesus encountered it in His ministry when many of His own disciples were troubled over a part of His teaching and turned back: “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66).

“Then Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you also want to go away?’ But Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’” (John 6:67-69).

Do you see the mystery?

“Lord, keep us steadfast in Thy Word; curb those who fain by craft or sword, would wrest the kingdom from Thy Son and set at naught all He hath done.” — Martin Luther, 1542

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

It is a sad fact that many who were led by Moses out of the land of Egypt, who “were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea …[who] ate the same spiritual food, and … drank the same spiritual drink” did not enter into the promised land. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.”

So also it is today. Not all who are outwardly affiliated with a church — even with a faithful church — not all who have been baptized or who have partaken of the Lord’s Supper will be saved. Why? Because they do not believe! And, if they did once believe, they failed to continue in the hearing of God’s Word and in the reception of Christ’s Supper and their faith in the promises of the Gospel grew weaker and weaker until it died!

This is why St. Paul writes to the believers in Corinth: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

It is why he adds the warning in the following verses (10:6-12): “Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.’ Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”

And there is the warning in our Gospel reading for today in which the kingdom of heaven is compared to a landowner who hired workers to go out and work in his vineyard, going out early in the morning and agreeing to pay a denarius per day; again at 9 a.m. offering to pay what is right; at noon; at 3 in the afternoon and at 5 p.m. (only an hour before quitting time). And when he graciously paid those who had only worked a short time a denarius, those who worked all day thought they deserved more and grumbled when they were only given a denarius.

What had happened? Those who had gladly accepted the landowner’s gracious offer of a denarius a day now thought they deserved more because of their hard work all day long in the heat of the sun. Instead of being thankful for what they were given and rejoicing that those who came later were also treated graciously, they grumbled and complained and, as a result, were told to take their pay — “what is yours” — and leave.

So also it is in the kingdom of God. God finds us wasting our lives in the marketplace and employs us in His kingdom. Some are baptized as little children and spend their whole lives in God’s service, and others do not come to faith until late in life and serve only a short time before they are called home and stand before God. Yet, because their reward depends not upon their own works but upon the merit of Christ — upon Christ’s holy life and His innocent suffering and death for the sins of the world — those who came to faith late in life receive the same eternal reward, the everlasting joys of heaven!

As Jesus said, “The last will be first, and the first last.” The rewards God gives us are of His grace and mercy in Christ, not of works (cf. Eph. 2:8-10).

And, if we begin to think that God owes us heaven and all its blessings or that we deserve more blessings and glory than others because of all our devotion and service to Christ, we may find that we are cast out. Why? Because of unbelief, because we ceased trusting in Christ and God’s grace and favor for Christ’s sake and began to trust in our own life and works!

As Jesus said, “For many are called, but few chosen.” Though God calls all to repent of their fruitless ways and come work for Him in His kingdom, trusting in His grace and mercy which are offered and given to us for the sake of Christ and His cross, not all believe. Some turn away from Christ in order to continue on in their sinful ways, and some fail to trust in Christ because they feel deserving of God’s favor on account of their own works and service to God. The end result, of course, is the same: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16; John 3:18,36; 1 John 5:11-12).

Many are called. Christ died for all and atoned for the sins of all — He won forgiveness for all. God’s call goes out to all, calling upon them to repent of their sinful ways and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and a place in God’s everlasting kingdom. The Holy Spirit graciously works through the Gospel to bring all who hear it to believe its promises and to place their faith in Christ Jesus that they might be justified, absolved and forgiven of all their sins.

Few are chosen. Only those who, by the grace of God, believe are justified, forgiven and absolved. Through the continued use of Word and Sacraments, they are preserved in the true and saving faith and remain possessors of God’s gifts. And those who are preserved in the true and saving faith through God’s life-giving Word and Sacraments are also those who will be glorified and partake of the eternal joys of heaven!

“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30; cf. John 17:1ff.; Eph. 1:3ff.; Col. 1:19-23; 2 Thess. 2:13-14; 2 Tim. 1:9-10; Phil. 1:6).

O gracious and merciful God, grant that we hear Your Gospel call and trust in Christ our Savior unto life everlasting. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth.” Daniel 9:13 (Read Daniel 9)

Have you ever known a church or a church body to admit and confess its sin and seek the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness? Even though they may not claim it to be so, the attitudes and actions of church bodies often give the appearance that they count themselves infallible in their official actions.

Consider what happened to the visible church in the Old Testament — to God’s people Israel. They turned aside from following after the LORD God and from His Word and commandments. Again and again, God warned them and called upon them to repent, but did they heed God’s Word spoken to them by the prophets? Finally, God’s judgments spoken of by Moses in Deuteronomy (see Deut. 28:15ff.) and by the prophets came true and the land was made desolate, the temple and Jerusalem destroyed and the people scattered among the nations.

Daniel recognized from the Scriptures that God was righteous and that it was his own people who had sinned and brought all this evil upon themselves. Thus, He prayed that God would have mercy and forgive the sins of his people and that, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah (Jer. 25:11-12; 29:10; 2 Chron. 36:21f.), God would restore them to their land and to true worship and service of God.

How true this is today as well! Not only have we and God’s people sinned as individuals, but we have also sinned as churches and church bodies in departing from the Word of the Lord and from true worship and service to the LORD God who has both created and redeemed us!

Instead of faithfully proclaiming God’s Word and calling all to repentance and faith in Christ Jesus and His blood shed upon the cross for the sins of the world, we have failed to preach God’s Law in all its severity and His Gospel in all its sweetness, leaving people with the false belief that God is satisfied with our own righteousnesses rather than directing people to the only righteousness which avails before God — that which is imputed to us through faith in Jesus Christ (cf. Tit. 3:3-7; Phil. 3:8-9; Rom. 3:19-26).

And, when it comes to teaching all that Christ has commanded us (Matt. 28:19-20), we have often neglected to hold fast to every article of Christian doctrine, conforming to the world and popular opinion rather than following Christ our head and holding fast to His Word (cf. Eph. 5:22ff.; Rom. 12:1-2).

In Daniel, we have a beautiful example — an example for us to follow in regard to our prayers and petitions to the Lord God. We pray, acknowledging not only our sins as individuals but our corporate sins as a congregation, as Lutherans, as members of Christ’s visible church in this world, even as a nation. We confess our sins and pray that God would pardon our sins and turn us from our iniquities and to a right understanding of His truth (cf. 2 Chron. 7:14). We pray for His mercy in Christ Jesus!

O LORD God, have mercy upon us, upon our churches and upon our nation. We have sinned in turning aside from Your Word and from Your salvation in Christ Jesus. You are righteous; we have gone astray. Pardon our sin and restore us to a right understanding of Your truth, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

St. Paul warned Timothy: “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (1 Tim. 3:12); and Jesus warned His disciples: “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me” (John 15:18-21).

And it’s true, the world is becoming more and more evil. Though many churches are accepted by the world because they no longer preach and teach all that the Bible teaches, believers who hold fast to Christ and His Word are suffering rejection and persecution and may even face death in this world.

And the true preaching of the Gospel? It’s seldom heard in churches any more. The number of faithful preachers has become fewer and fewer so that, in most places, a gospel of “God loves and accepts everybody as they are” is being preached, and the people feel good about their version of Christianity even though they continue on in mortal sin and stand condemned by God! And when the truth about our sinfulness and the condemnation of the Law is preached, and when the Gospel of a righteousness and forgiveness which become ours through faith alone in Jesus Christ is preached, who listens, who cares to hear?

And to those who continue to hold fast to salvation through repentance and faith alone in Christ Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross, to those who continue to preach the Word of God in its truth and purity and rightly administer the Sacraments, this world has become a pretty discouraging place. We might even be tempted to think all is lost, the Church in this place has been stamped out, all our efforts to preach the truth are for naught.

Now think about what Jesus had just told His disciples. In Matthew 16:21 and 24, we read: “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day … If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

Jesus had promised eternal life and the glories of heaven to all who placed their faith in Him and now He tells His disciples that He would suffer many things, be killed and be raised from the dead on the third day! And He tells them that they too would be persecuted and suffer as His followers.

So, was all lost? Would there be no heaven and no glory? Was the faith they were preaching without hope!

That’s where Jesus’ transfiguration comes in (Matthew 17:1-9; cf. Mark 9:1-9; Luke 9:28-36): “Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’ And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, ‘Arise, and do not be afraid.’ When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, ‘Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.’”

Jesus took Peter, James and John, His inner circle of disciples — perhaps so that “by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established” (Deut. 19:15) — with Him on a high mountain alone. And there, Jesus’ appearance changed. Instead of seeing Jesus in His humble state in which He did not always or fully use the divine power and glory which were His as the eternal Son of God, Jesus appeared in His divine glory. Mark describes it this way: “He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them” (Mark 9:2,3).

Though Jesus’ disciples had seen glimpses of His divine glory through His miracles, they had not yet seen Him in the glory He possesses as the eternal Son of God — the glory in which we will see Him when He returns on the Last day!

And Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus in glory and talked with Jesus about the sufferings and death to atone for the sins of the world which He would accomplish in Jerusalem (cf. Luke 9:29-31).

Moses, through whom God gave the Law (also the human author of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible), led the children of Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness. And because of their unbelief and rebellion against God, Moses saw a generation of them die in the wilderness, and he too was prohibited from entering into the land of promise because of his anger against the unbelief of the people (cf. Num. 20:1ff.). He was only allowed to see from across the Jordan, and then he died and was buried in the land of Moab by God (Deut. 34:1ff.).

Elijah, a prophet of God, lived in a time in Israel’s history when most had turned away from following the true God. He challenged the prophets of Baal and proved Jehovah God to be the true God and then had to flee for his life because of wicked queen Jezebel (cf. 1 Kings 18 and 19). Elijah despaired and thought he was the last true believer in Israel until God told him He still had 7,000 in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:18). Elijah was taken alive to heaven in a fiery chariot (cf. 2 Kings 2:1ff.).

Moses and Elijah, who called upon God’s people to repent of their sinful ways and directed them to look in faith to the coming Messiah and Savior for forgiveness and life, did not receive glory during their earthly lives and ministries, but on the Mount of Transfiguration, they appeared with Jesus and shared in His glory.

And when “Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’ … a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’”

God the Father testified of Jesus that He is none other than the eternal, beloved Son of God! He exhorted Jesus’ disciples and all of us to hear Him — to listen to His Word of truth and to place our hope and confidence in Him, for He alone is our Savior!

What’s the point of the account? And why do we revisit it each year on Transfiguration Sunday?

1. First of all, it reveals to us who Jesus really is. Though He is true man, born of the Virgin Mary, He is also true God, conceived by the miraculous working of the Holy Ghost. Here on the mount, through the eyewitness account of Peter, James and John which we have recorded for us in the words of Scripture, we see Jesus for who He truly is: Jehovah God in the flesh. His miracles and His revealed glory on the mount prove it!

2. Secondly, lest we become overwhelmed with doubts about ever receiving glory, we see Jesus in glory and we see Moses and Elijah in glory. In this world, they endured suffering and tribulation, but in the world and kingdom to come, glory! It is as St. Paul writes (2 Tim. 4:6-8): “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (Cf. John 16:33; also Rev. 7:9-17 for a similar revelation of the saints in glory.)

3. Thirdly, we have the assurance that our faith rests upon God’s truth — the Holy Scriptures are true. Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:16-21: “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”

4. Fourthly, God the Father testifies to the identity of Jesus — His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased — and urges and commands us to listen to and hear Jesus’ words. And, it is through Jesus’ Word and His Sacraments that we are brought to faith and preserved in the faith in Christ Jesus (cf. John 6:63; 8:31-32). Thus, we are to “hear Him” and heed His Word, because only in Him and in the truth of the Gospel is there salvation for sinful human beings like you and like me.

5. Fifthly, even though Peter and his fellow eyewitnesses desired to stay on the mountain and see Jesus in His glory, God had them go down from the mountain into the dark and sinful world below — they were not even allowed to speak of what they had seen until after Jesus’ resurrection. And so, we must live our lives in this dark and sinful world and bear witness to Christ Jesus and the glory that He has prepared for all who trust in Him. Christ still sends His ministers of the Gospel not to mountaintop monasteries but to the nations and peoples below to disciple the nations by proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom and baptizing in His name.

It was on a mountain in Galilee, after Jesus’ death and resurrection and just before His ascension, that Jesus said to His chosen disciples: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).

We live in the valley now, in a dark and sinful world that knows little of Jesus and His glory, and that knows little of the salvation He won for all by His atoning sacrifice on the cross. As His Church, we have the command to call and send men to preach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments in Jesus’ name that the Holy Spirit might bring people to repent of their sinful ways and look to Jesus and His cross in faith for God’s mercy, forgiveness and the everlasting joys of heaven.

In this life, in this world, we can expect no glory — only suffering and persecution from the enemies of the truth. But glory will come when Jesus is revealed again in glory. It will come to all who trust in Jesus’ name, as it came to Moses and Elijah!

God grant that we hold fast to Christ Jesus, trusting in Him alone for pardon, forgiveness and the eternal glories of heaven. And though, in this world, we know no glory, all who trust in Christ Jesus will be glorified with Him when He comes again in all His glory!

O God of all glory, we thank You for revealing to us on the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus in His divine glory, and Moses and Elijah with Him in glory. Grant that we hear Him and His Word and bear witness to Him in this dark and sinful world until we too, join Him in glory. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]