The Glow

"The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26  

Last night I had the privilege to reintroduce to our church family a fresh ministry opportunity for us to draw close to God and one another by hosting what is affectionately known within Calvary Chapel as an “Afterglow.” An afterglow is most often referred to as a designated time of worship and waiting on the Lord following a regularly scheduled service where the gifts of the Spirit are both sought and exercised.

I only had an opportunity to speak to a few people following our service last night but those who lingered around had this look on their face like they had been basking in the presence of God and were glowing. Not the glow Moses had coming down off Mount Sinai nor like the glow on the Mount of Transfiguration. It was more like the glow a married woman has who just found out she is pregnant with their first child and was elated at the news. I received a text not long after the service ended from someone who was there and though they were home now they were still basking in the glow and felt the need to let me know the joy they were experiencing.

To say it made my night was an understatement as nothing happened out of the ordinary during in our extended time of worship. I read a passage of scripture from Luke’s Gospel account reminding us to “ask, seek, and knock” for spiritual gifts knowing that the Holy Spirit gives these gifts to all who ask. The only perquisite is repentance of sin and a desire to follow Jesus. God takes care of the rest. Interestingly, no one spoke in tongues, nor did anyone have a word of wisdom or knowledge. No, it was just a sweet time of worship with a group of people who simply made a conscience decision not to leave as the regular service ended but rather to stay and sing and pray to God.

After hearing from a couple of people this morning who just wanted to thank me for being open myself to what the Lord wants to do in our church I decided to look up the word “Afterglow” and was excited by what I found. It defined an afterglow as, “Light or radiance in the sky after the sun has set. Good feelings remaining after a pleasurable or successful experience. Basking in the afterglow of victory.” I’ll take any one of those experiences but all of them speak to me.

Do you have a desire for a fresh touch of God’s Spirit in your life? Do you want more gifts of God’s Spirit so that you can do more to serve Him and build up the body of Christ and experiecne the glow for yourself? If so, fall in love with Jesus all over again today. Read His Word, praise His name and worship Him out loud regardless of what you think your voice sounds like. Your voice is beautiful to Jesus. Seek Him in prayer and study the Word of God in places like Romans 12, 1Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4 and others regarding spiritual gifts. Ask God to give you the greatest gifts so that when you get with other believers that you might stregthen and build them up in their faith. Just know my hope for you is you have such a joy today in Jesus when people see you they see the glow that comes from spending time in His presence. Have a blessed day and shine on!


“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all”

1 Corinthians 12:7


I LOVE YOU!