Are You Clear Why You Are Here?
Why do you exist?
Most people can only guess at this.
But you're a believer.
So why did God make you?
May the following video clip answer such and inspire you.
Yes, you and I were created to bring glory to our glorious God. He doesn't need us to do this, but we desperately need to live for His glory. As you know, the glory of God is our amazing attribute of the month to reflect upon. But what is God's glory? It's the very the outshining of His being. It's associated in Scripture with His power, presence, His glory cloud, radiance, light, fire, splendor, majesty, fame and excellence. So the word the "glory" of God is a word saturated with God. We've seen God's glory mentioned as we're reading through 1st and 2nd Corinthians. The Corinthians had so lost sight of living to glorify (aka honor) God and it showed in their carnal, self-focused living.
Remember, we will never be able to lead others properly if we do not know what we are to be leading them to- our glorious God- and to what they are to become- reflectors and promoters of His glory. So let's learn from God Himself about His glory. Please click the following link and look over several of the verses listed there on the glory of God-
Now pick one of those verses listed, write it out and then write about it, seeking to glorify (honor) God for His glory. Write to lead/influence me, your wealth partner or others to also want to glorify our great God of glory. Feel free to write it as a prayer/praise if that approach feels more appropriate to you.
1. Please post that on the blog by Wednesday night.
2. Also tell me in a sentence or two about what wealth you've passed on to your wealth partner. (Ah, that is your God glorifying influence in action!)
PS- Want to learn more about God's glory? Then check out this minimovie on how the heavens declare the glory of God- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtCXZ4SWqkc
This video and all the other ones from the past weekly blogs are there for you to pass on to your wealth partner and others. They are great tools of influence. I'd be thankful if you passed on such to me. As a matter of fact, if you come across great minimovies, please email such to me. Thanks!
Announcements/ Reminders
How would you like a "one on one" interview with the greatest Christian leader ever? You've got it! Starting Monday March 17th, we're beginning to read a chapter a day from the most personal of all of the apostle Paul's writings- 2nd Corinthians. Be on the look out for how much he reveals about himself. Don't forget to preserve the gold you discover in your wealth catcher. It will enrich you much as you pursue a life of influence.
Ephesians 2:1-5 What a powerful passage! Please call me up as soon as you can quote it c.773-742-2694. Already got it down? Don't forget to review it or it will start to slip from your memory. "Use it or lose it." That's a good quote. Are you preserving such in your wealth catcher when you hear or read good quotes? "Take notes, collect good quotes."
"A leader knows the way, goes the way and shows the way."
Good evening, Thanks brother Dave for the inspiring video. John Piper did a awesome job putting all that together. One of the verses that really came to me was
ReplyDeletePsalms 24:7-8
Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in! Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle. The verse applies to the entrance of Jesus Christ into our hearts; 1.There are obstacles, "gates," "doors." 2. We must will to remove them: "lift up." 3. Grace must enable us: "be lifted up." 4. Our Lord will enter. 5 . He enters as "King," and "King of glory." The verse is showing us that our Lord almighty will always stand beside us in battle against our flesh and sins! I know the flood gates will open and pour into our hearts and fill our cups with joy, peace, love, peace, patience, humility, forgiveness, righteousness! The King full of Glory and Righteousness is always faithful!
I shared and passed alot of wealth to my wealth partner, especially during the last couple days. From sharing my highs and lows and how I could improve in every category. By the grace of God, I know the many obstacles we have are there to build and strengthen us. I give all the praise and glory to God of the many miracles he did in my life and the transformation on my spiritual life. Constantly, the enemy is attacking those who are doing so much for the kingdom of God. The more involved the more I see, feel and hear. I cast them out with scripture and worship,knowing God is on time and never late. I have to continue to be faithful, No matter where you are, no matter what you're doing with your life, no matter whether you've been entrusted with things big or small, your calling is to be faithful. You are to do that which God has given to you, to serve him in your daily work, your relationships, and everything else you do in life, so that one day, when you stand before the Lord, he might say to you: "Well done! You are a good servant. You have been faithful." One last thing i wanted to add is this wonderful passage from a book I'm reading called "Humility" by Andrew Murray; Fellow-Christians, do let us study the Bible portrait of the humble man. And let us ask our brethren, and ask the world, whether they recognize in us the likeness to the original. Let us be content with nothing less than taking each of these texts as the promise of what God will work in us, as the revelation in words of what the Spirit of Jesus will give as a birth within us. And let each failure and shortcoming simply urge us to turn humbly and meekly to the meek and lowly Lamb of God, in the assurance that where He is enthroned in the heart, His humility and gentleness will be one of the streams of living water that flow from within us. Reading this book has shown so much God's people has to offer. The book reminds me what Pastor Mark said today at service; "Religious or Jesus" how we are so caught up and sometimes act like "Pharisees" and tell others why do you talk or let that person do that to you" We have to constantly examine our hearts and focus our eye on Jesus Christ!
Heavenly Father, we come before you with open arms and open hearts, we praise you for all the miracles and wonderful testimonies of your grace and mercy, Holy Ghost please take over my mind and my thoughts when I am about to speak your words to others, I am weak without you Lord, you are glorious in every way, shape, word and action. Thank you for all the blessings you have given us, give us the capacity to take every word in and let your word transform us and shift us to a powerful vessel for your kingdom. Let you will be done Heavenly Father, I love you with all my heart and soul, bless your people with love and compassion for one another. Let peace be the answer to all things. Lift us up when we are down, you are the King of Glory.We pray this in Christ Jesus. Amen!
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"Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty. He is this King of glory!"
DeleteI love that repeated line in the psalm you began with. Thanks Eddie.
1 Chronicles 29:13
ReplyDelete“Now, therefore, our God, we thank you, and praise your Glorious name."
Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for everything that you have done for us, for your forgiveness, the beautiful life that you have gifted us with, everything that we have, being able to wake up another day, thanks to you we live a blissful life, we thank you Lord, we praise you, we are your servants, thank you for allowing us to have another opportunity, you gave your son to us, you showed us proof, you are the one and only mighty God, we give you thanks for allowing us to have eternal life with you, opening your kingdom gates, where there shall be no pain, nothing but happiness is what we will feel, thank you for letting us know you, for always being by our side even when times got rough, we give thanks for still loving us although we've all betrayed you in various ways, healing our hearts, protecting us when in need, helping us get through this sinful world, giving us vigor, the power to overcome the enemy that is trying to seize us away from you, O lord we thank you unconditionally
2. The wealth that I have passed down to my wealth partner is the love we should have for God, the way we should speak to one another and the way to eternal life by obeying him.
Thank you Jassmine for giving me fuel for worshiping our glorious God as well.
ReplyDeleteIsaiah 60:19-21
ReplyDelete"No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And your God for your glory. "Your sun will no longer set, Nor will your moon wane; For you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And the days of your mourning will be over. "Then all your people will be righteous; They will possess the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified.
I love these verses - they speak to my heart of the fulfillment of God's promises from the book of Genesis, the fall of man in the garden of Eden that opened the flood gates of hell and darkness over the souls of all humanity to the Book of Revelation - the New Jerusalem, the City of the Great King. From the foundation of the world God had a plan to redeem a people, holy and separated unto himself that he might reveal his glory in and through. Twice the verse states: "You will have the LORD for an EVERLASTING light", capped off with "And YOUR God for YOUR glory." I am so thankful for God's tender mercy in my life that he would choose to cover my sin and shame with His righteousness. The verse continues, "Then all your people will be righteous; They will possess the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified." This verse points directly to Eph 2:1-10. This is the hope we have in Christ alone and the finished work on the cross of Calvery... PAID in FULL.
I have been sharing with the wealth partner my hubby all of the blogs and videos, and really encouraging him/us to walk the talk and seek God's face. I told Sarah how much of an answer to prayer she has been. Prior to getting involved with the NGL program my heart was very distant from the Lord and I had been crying bring me back to my first love, and little by little he has. Thanks Brother Dave for encouraging me to press in and most of all for holding me accountable as a leader.
Thank you Bea. May the Lord continue to fill and flow through you for His glory.
ReplyDelete2 Corinthians 3:18
ReplyDeleteBut we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
This verse is packed with so much. We see here Paul's references to the Old Testament sightings of God and in His glory, just a near glimpse, of not even God's face, but of His passing, made Moses resort to wearing a veil, because he was so radiant and shiny and bright from seeing a glimpse of God's glory. Paul uses that reference to say that, we now shine like Moses did, but without a veil, allowing us to reflect God's glory, as we are being transformed. God is transforming us day-by-day little-by-little to the likeness of His Son, Jesus. This transformation process is an on-going event and it doesn't happen instantaneously.
I met a brother today who came into the church seeking help. He is a young man and although he didn't give me his full story, he said that he wanted to and needed to change. I heard the sense of urgency in his voice, as he told me that his addiction was ruining his life and his relationships. I told him that he was definitely in the right place and making the right steps to want to change, but it is a process. One that won't happen over night. As I was talking to him and thinking about my life and this verse and this week's blog, I just thought about a story I heard one time.
There was a farmer who went to the city for the first time. He came across a mall, which he had never been to before. He and his family decided to go in. They wander around and were quite amazed at what they saw. Well, inside the mall there was a bank. They walked into the bank and saw a vault. Now the farmer didn't quite know what the vault was, because his idea of saving money was hiding it under his pillow and burying it in his backyard. So they all stood trying to figure it out. At one point at, the farmer saw a little old woman enter into the vault. About thirty seconds, later a beautiful, young lady comes out of the vault. The farmer saw the old lady go in and the young lady come out. He leaned over to his son and said, " Go get your mother."
The farmer wanted instant transformation. In reality, we know that his wife wasn't going to immediately transformation into someone else. As we look at our spiritual journey, we will not transform immediately, although some of us think that we will. It is an on going process, in which, we do have control over the speed that the process occurs. And thinking back on last week's blog, specifically 2 Peter, Peter says that we need to make an effort to grow in Godliness, with steadfastness and diligence and self-control. The process does take some bit of effort.
Ultimately, we have been saved by grace, through faith, not by works, but by the gift of God. So that we can do good works to glorify God, which He prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph 2:8-10) And under the new covenant, through our faith in Jesus and His works on the cross, we can be transformed by the Lord, the Spirit that dwells in us, day-by-day to be more like Christ and bring more and more glory to God. The transformation takes a while, not overnight, so that it is not just one time he can be glorified, but so that God can be glorified every single day, with every single small or large transformation that is made in us.
Very good Eddie! I especially like your insight at the end- "The transformation takes a while, not overnight, so that it is not just one time he can be glorified, but so that God can be glorified every single day, with every single small or large transformation that is made in us." We reflect what we behold. Perhaps that is why there is so little transformation and reflection of Christ in certain Christians, because there is so little time spent beholding the Lord of glory. Keep beholding Him because you certainly are reflecting Him.
DeleteIsaiah 60:19-21
ReplyDelete"No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And your God for your glory. "Your sun will no longer set, Nor will your moon wane; For you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And the days of your mourning will be over. "Then all your people will be righteous; They will possess the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified.
I love the verse above because it gives us a visual description where we can try to imagine just how great God's Glory is. He has given us the sun for our daylight and the moon for our nightlight, but one day we will no longer need either; "For you will have the Lord for an everlasting light!! Its just so beautiful to know the great brightness our Lord represents and walks in the Glory of God. His Glory so amazing and full of light that we will no longer know or walk among darkness, but his everlasting light.
And my wealth partner and I have shared many things among each other about God's Glory and way of life. So far the one I love the most is that God has blessed us with many beautiful gifts to be used in the service of others so we must learn to use them wisely.
"Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.
-1 Chronicles 29:13
Amen Jessica! Great thought about how God has given us a visual description of His glory. It's so neat to see the way the prediction of Isaiah 60:19-21 is fulfilled in Rev.21:23; 22:5. Reading such brings a smile to my face. Thank You Father!
DeleteIsaiah 49:3 He said to Me, "You are My Servant, Israel, In Whom I will show My glory." I believe this how God sees us as believers. We are his servants and he does show his glory through all of our lives everyday. He shows his glory with us by the way we live. He shows his glory by using our mouths to speak his word and evangelize. He shows his glory by all of our individual testimonies and how we came to him. God uses all of us for his Glory.
ReplyDelete2. I have been sharing what i have been learning reading through 1st and 2nd corinthians. What he was most interested by how the corinthian women used to wear something to cover their head when they prayed because it was a disgrace to do otherwise.
Yes Lucas and Christ was the ultimate picture of Is.49:3- God's Servant in Whom God would show His glory most fully. O to reflect His glory all the more! This is what we are here for. Very good!
DeleteAmen, Lucas I agree that our lives should glorify Christ! It's funny because we just read this example in today's reading, 2 Cor. 3:2-3, "You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts."
DeleteTheir lives were being read by others and should have been bringing glory to Christ and likewise people should read/look at our lives and needs to be bringing glory to Jesus!
1. The verse that stood out to me the most was John 11:40 "Jesus *said to her, 'Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?"' I liked this verse a lot because it talked about believing. I like how he reminds us of what he has said before. I feel like if he is reminding us then we should never forget. Jesus did not come on this world just to say things that no one will worry about but if he takes the time to say it twice then it is something we should listen to. He wants us to know that if we believe we WILL see the glory of God then we WILL see his glory. It is all up to us whether or not we want to believe. As a believer I can testify that what Jesus said is true. I believe God can show his glory in my life and he has done so countless times. After experiencing his glory I do not think I could ever not believe.
ReplyDelete2. I have been telling my wealth partner about the love and blessings God has given me lately. I was telling her that I feel God calling me to Detroit and doing missionary work there. I was afraid that I would not be able to afford to go to the college located ten miles from Detroit. Later I was offered scholarships and I told my wealth partner how when God has a plan, there is nothing in his way. That was what was shown to me in the last week.
For no word from God will ever fail.” (Luke 1:37 NIV)
DeleteI am laughing in joyous amazement Araceli! How neat re. your desire to go to Detroit and then to be offered scholarships there! Martha was told to believe and she would see the glory of God. Others lacking faith also saw Lazarus raised from the dead. But by faith, Martha would see the glory of God- God's presence and power revealed in His Son, our Savior. When we believe, we give glory to God for His glorious works.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name 1 chronicles 29;13
ReplyDeleteI chose this verse because its meaningful to me in many ways. I cant thank God enough for so much he has done for me an how he has been there for me.
God has done so much for me, that i sometimes forget to thank him. Hes is an amazing God although we dont deserve his blessings, he has mercy on us. And for that i thank God and give him thanks and glory.
My wealth partner and i have talked about things that help me grow spiritually in my walk with God.
Good Jesus and welcome aboard! Glad to have you joining us. Keep close to Christ and see what great things He does in glorifying His name through you.
DeleteHebrews 1:3
ReplyDeleteAnd He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
1. I really like this verse because it shows Christ's supremacy and authority, and also because it shows that it is by His power that creation and existence hold together. It is mind-blowing .
2. I recently shared about some of the virtues and behavior that Christians should exhibit, and a little about how Jesus said that people would recognize His followers by their genuine love for one another.
Very good Alex! I agree- how mind blowing. Glad you also were able to come over this past Sunday evening. You know the word well.
DeleteJohn 11:40-44, "Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
ReplyDeleteThis miracle and account was amazing because Lazarus had already been dead for four days and He (Christ) knew that the people who witnessed this would see His glory and believe that He was God sent. This miracle and many others that he performed reminds me of the song, "You deserve the glory". The song and chorus sum up all that He did while He was on earth, His creation of the Heavens and the earth (Col. 1:15-17) and His plans for eternity (Romans 8:17-19). The song lyrics are simple yet true about His glory:
You deserve the glory
And the honor
Lord, we lift our hands in worship
As we lift your Holy name (Repeat)
Chorus:
For You are great
You do miracles so great
There is no one else like You
There is no one else like You (repeat)
Not only did He raise Lazarus from the dead, but He raised us up too because we were dead spiritually (Eph. 2:1-3 part of our memory verse). Those that are spiritually saved and born again should live to glorify Him because He saved us and not ourselves. King David understood that his life was to glorify God since He wrote, "Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness" (Psalms 115:1).
2. The thing that I just recently shared with one of my NGL guys is the importance of being devoted to fellowship (Acts 2:42) and the effects that occur when one doesn't stay encouraged and remain in consistent fellowship (Hebrews 3:12-14).
Excellent Jose! You had me raising my hands in singing out that great God glorifying song. And good connection to our memory passage. You have such a Scripture saturated post. well done!
DeleteI am choosing 2 Corinthians 3:18 but we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. This caught my attention this morning as I read and again this evening as I scrolled through the verses. I love this verse because it speaks of how we reflect Gods glory, what a privledge! I thought back to the season of my life when I was not yet saved but people in my life were beginning their journey with God. These were people I knew pretty well and some I partied with. They were not peers but older people that were friends of my parents. Right before I came to know the glory of God myself I noticed something different about them. It wasnt the fact that they weren't drinking anymore, it wasn't that they were no longer swearing or that they were now married, I had no way of tracking those things.. I clearly remember being at church for my moms baptism and I sat behind this couple. They were not a particularly attractive couple to my young eyes(sounds so terrible but keeping it real) but I was watching them worship, something I had never seen them do before. After worship, we were instructed to greet each other, so of course they turned to greet their friends daughter and I could not believe what I saw. I had no words for it at that time, no explanations, no descriptions. What I saw was the GLORY OF GOD. The woman, especially, was radiating. She had such a glow! The glory of God was evident on her face, I looked at her and thought " Wow, she's so beautiful!". She reflected Gods glory to me. Her beauty came from within, God himself was living in her and it was clear. Her beauty came from knowing her God, loving her God, obeying her God. She was the mirror image of her creator as she grew from glory to glory. She allowed the Lord to do his work in her and it was her best cosmetic! That woman would eventually lead my husband to the Lord. What a blessing she was to our life. My hearts desire is that. That as I encounter the glory of God it would continually make me more like him. That I would reflect him, draw people to him, and live a life worth duplicating.
ReplyDeleteSharing with my wealth partner has been so good for both of us. Like I said last week, I mentored her for marriage but at that season she was not as open to the things of God. She was trying but she struggled. Now that Im talking with her weekly, sharing with her the assignments from the blog she is so encouraged. Almost every assignment is exactly something she can relate to and is causing her to hunger more for God's word. Its so awesome to hear her say " Can you text me those bible verses". It has been a blessing to me because I didnt realize she was now in this place. Being able to see the change of heart is an extra benefit to reconnecting with her.
Oh Lisette, this is all so good! 2 Cor.3;18 has been a favorite of mine too. Dr. John MacArthur said he includes it when asked to sign books. So glad to hear how things are going with your wealth partner too. Thanks again.
DeleteHebrews 2:9 But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
ReplyDeleteOne truth that will always move me to my core, Christ tasted death so that I would never have to. Justice would be served if it was I on that cross. Everything about my life deserved the wrath of God and it would be right for ME to taste death. It would be right for me to be heading towards hell but today that’s no longer relevant. I stand as a woman whose veil was completely torn, who has been made new and I have full confidence in that price that was paid for me. My debt has been paid in full, he has reconciled me to Him and I will see my God on His throne. One word, GLORY.
My love for Him only grows as I ponder on that truth, and my desire for Him to have his way only burns within me, that his glory would be revealed. I’m thankful the word he has started in me He will finish, because of His righteousness I can live for Him and by His grace be a representation of Him. Lord I pray your will be done in and through us, may we never forget what you have done and what you have positioned us to do. May our eyes be fixed on you and may we want you more than we want our own lives. May the glory of what you have done for us continue to change our hearts. In Jesus Name.
I pray my wealth partner has understood we can attract people to Christ with our lives, anastrophe.
Thank you Nori for your rich sharing and deep love for the Lord of glory. We reflect what we behold and thus your light shines bright. Thanks for joining us this past Sunday evening.
DeleteAfter this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.” (Revelation 19:1) Yes Lord, only You can save us from our sins, only You have power in and from Yourself, and only You deserve ultimate glory. The idols and false gods of this world receive glory that belongs to you. People, including me, rob You of the glory that belongs to You for You are the Creator and Sustainer of Life. You are the Authority and Final Judge. You exist on Your own, before time, independent and above everything else. All creatures, all life, in all of history, live only because you chose to give them life. Every breath, every heartbeat in the 7 billion+ people on this planet is a gift of Your grace. Lord, we acknowledge that salvation, glory, and power truly do belong to You and You alone.
ReplyDeleteWow Mike! Thank you for leading me in raised hands worship! This would be a great Sunday moring church prayer. I pictured you leading us in such. To God be the eternal glory!
DeleteMatthew 24:30
ReplyDelete"And the the sign of the Son Of Man will appear in the sky, then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDES OF THE SKY WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY.
YES seeing it now and being alert to the day of your return Father that your radiance gives light to our Sun and we will not need any daylight because you are our light! Your Holiness sanctifies us us One with Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You Jesus coming on the clouds with great power and glory that are matchless and will devour the enemy and all who are against You! You, Father anoint me with your blood and I AM SAVED, REDEEMED, I AM REBORN, all to give honor and all the Glory pointing back to you. And to you I will shout, proclaim and rejoice in your name because you are my Father in Heaven who has dominion over all things! The day will come when I will have the honor to walk in your pearl gates, walking on the streets of gold, giving all the praise, all the honor and all the glory, to be in awe of all your splendor! For YOU LORD ARE GLORIOUS! AMEN!
To my wealth partner, I've been hatting with him a few timesoffering prayer but most of all he is not alone in this journey. Have been sharing couple video clips, couple morning devotional. But most of all letting him know that my intention and the power of influence IN CHRIST will draw us near to Him, but also will lead us to follow and lead others to Christ.
Amen Ismael! What a great verse you picked. And how glorious to think that we will see our glorious God face to face. "And Lord haste the day when the faith shall be sight..."
DeleteAMEN!!!
Delete2 Corinthians 4:6 "For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." God's Glory is shown in His power to allow light to shine out of darkness. He had the power to remove the veil from the darkness that was in our minds before we knew Him and grant us wisdom to see the world the way He sees it. He is glorious because He has the mercy and the patience to do this with all of us and we glorify Him because we now have the knowledge through Him to understand what our lives are for and knowledge to understand all that He did, is doing and will do for us. Thanks be to God that His power and Holy Light continues to shine and save people each and every day!
ReplyDeleteAmen Socorro! Inspiring words to worship and thank glorious God and Savior.
ReplyDeleteYour wealth partner will be enriched by such good sharing from you. Blessings!
Acts 7:2
ReplyDeleteAnd he said, "Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
I absolutely love the Bible. As brother Dave said at our last monthly meeting, the Bible is really one connected story. My boyfriend and I were talking about this over our last Skype date and we were both just blown away by the fact that God revealed himself to men in Scripture. One of the most glorious things about God is the fact that He keeps His promises, ancient covenants. That is beautiful, that is glorious! To read Scripture from the beginning all the way to the end is an AMAZING privilege that leaves me with tears. To see our heavenly Father continually bless and restore and take the burden upon himself and never ever be out of character or lose control of a situation is glorious! And the ending! The last chapter of the book of Revelations, which prophesies His victory is the epitome of glorious. For my music class we just finished listening to Handel’s Messiah/. The Hallelujah chorus is breathtaking, but it is nothing compared to that day when our Lord gathers all of His children, his beloved friends to celebrate for eternity in his glory! I anticipate that day with great enthusiasm.
While I was unable to meet up with my “official wealth partner” I have been sharing with my family and my boyfriend. As I said we were both just in awe of God as we discussed the Biblical timeline. How awesome to be the Lord of time! We couldn’t even put our awe into words to think that God has been there and will always be there and has a plan that will always triumph is absolutely glorious!
Thank you Sarah for your heartfelt love for God and His word. Yes, "when we all see Jesus, what a day of rejoicing that will be!" He is the God of power and great glory.
Delete"While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!"- Matthew 17:5. Life is a beautiful, crazy thing. We were born sinners and will ALWAYS be sinners. No one is perfect except the perfect God. The Holy, most spotless one. Once you examine your heart, it is always scary. No matter how hard we try not to, we will always find selfishness, greed and a controlling spirit us, in our hearts. We tend to make our life our own. We don't mind having to please a God and giving Him somethings but, our flesh makes us rather not to. Self pleasure leads to self harm. My prayer would be that we finish the race well. That we find peace in the life that God has called us to. That we do not waste our life striving for success in other things but to please God. If we live for God and please him, he will be pleased with us. I always feel disappointed when I feel like I let God down. There's nothing like the satisfaction when you know, you are following God's plan for you and you're exactly where you're suppose to be!!
ReplyDeleteP.S: I am extremely sorry for being late! I was on campus all week at Moody starting the last of my classes and was running out of time.
Great post Genesis!
DeleteThanks Genesis. The bright cloud in your verse of Mt.17:5, Peter, who was there to see it, says the voice came to Jesus from the Majestic Glory. And Jesus received honor and glory from God the Father. (cf.2Peter 1:16-18) What great visualizations of God's glory!
ReplyDeleteJohn 17:5
ReplyDelete”And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” (Words of Jesus Christ)
What an incredible thought, “…the glory I had with you before the world began”. So often when we think of Christ, we think of the term “Son of God”. It becomes almost subconscious in many ways for us to think this way. May we never compromise the knowledge that Jesus Christ is also GOD. He existed in full before time, one of the distinct personas of an omniscient, omnipotent, eternal God. Christ was there, as the world was created. Christ was there, as Satan was cast down from the heavens like lightning. Christ was there, as mankind fell to the lull of Sin. Christ was there, as God poured out his wrath on an evil world with the Flood. Christ was there, as fire fell from the heavens to consume Sodom & Gomorrah. Christ was there. It is just as the first two verses of the Gospel of John state:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”
What was this “Glory” that Jesus prayed to be restored to him? Many times in the Bible, the word glory is used, and many times the meaning can elude us. It can depend on the context, the location, the type of writing…..but there are some common characteristics that I believe are consistent. Excellence, Purity, Power, Majesty, Grace, Peace, Healing, Truth. I love the way it was put in this week’s blog post:
“So the word the "glory" of God is a word saturated with God.”
These are attributes that emanate and settle over wherever God’s Glory focuses on. It brings forth great joy, and great fear (of God). I feel like it is something that manifests itself in the Words of the Angels written in the book of Isaiah, “ And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” Where God’s presence is, His Glory surrounds it. I think our personal experience with God’s Glory is mentioned wonderfully in the song “Here in Your Presence”:
Found in Your hands, fullness of joy
Every fear suddenly wiped away here in Your presence
All of my gains now fade away
Every crown no longer on display, here in Your presence
Heaven is trembling in awe of Your wonders
The kings and their kingdom are standing amazed
Chorus:
Here in Your presence, we are undone
Here in Your presence, Heaven and Earth become one
Here in Your presence, all things are new
Here in Your presence, everything bows before You
Bridge:
Wonderful, beautiful, glorious, matchless in every way
Wonderful, beautiful, glorious, matchless in every way
This song was very special to me, as I remember when I was sick, singing it at church, and vividly thinking being in God’s presence and glory, where any illness, the effect of a fallen world, could not penetrate….where any sin, could not stand. Leaving us exactly in the state that God intended us when we were created (“we are undone”, “all things are new”). The Glory of an Eternal God is something with should always crave to bask in, should always search for. We must nurture His presence in our hearts and lives, as where His presence is, His Glory is not far away.
I am sending my wealth partner different notes, or interesting thoughts or things I read in the Bible or though devotions, and am starting to engage with questions to help him grow in interpreting and learning.
So excellent William! Great writing about our great and glorious God and coming King.
DeleteJohn 11:40-44..."Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
ReplyDeleteI honestly would not know how to react if I would have seen this miracle in real life. I would probably be so amazed because raising someone from the dead is impossible for a human to do. I see the parallel in raising someone from the dead with nature and the indirect show of God's nature, which is, the same way I think it is impossible for a man to raise someone from the dead, is the same way I think it is impossible for a man to create the beauty of an ocean or the beauty of a sunrise. This is why I agree with God's glory being displayed through nature: no man but God can create such an indescribable galaxy!
Jesus, in this scenario, despite the fact that He verbally tells us that He will raise someone from the dead, He shows it. So He walks the talk. God tells us that He gives us life so that we can enjoy it and He also shows it by creating nature and miracles. The things I want to say cannot get out there and I believe that God creates an unspeakable glory haha! But I wish I can describe what my thoughts are but it just can't come out.
PS: I shared the video on facebook to all of my friends because it touched my heart and I bleive that it will touch others' hearts as well.
I have been sharing to my wealth partner not to fear persecution because reading through Corinthians showed me the guts that Paul had when he traveled preaching the Word not fearing rejection. So, other than that, I will be sharing with him about this glory of God chapter that we are going through. I am excited!
Very good Ivan. Glad you're sharing the wealth. Best of blessings on your mission trip. Look forward to seeing you when you get back.
DeletePsalms 29:3 "The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, The LORD is over many waters."
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of the mysteries of the ocean, the words freedom, power, and strength come to mind. The waters of the ocean are powerful and so deep that we are still exploring the depths of its mystery. My problems are but a grain of sand compared to His greatness and glory. How much more is he able to do for me! His voice is loud and clear like waves and rain drops we hear. If all I am is a grain of sand, how much greater is He? Lord, you are more than able to carry me and free me from what is holding me because you are high above any problem or circumstance. How can I control the waters of the earth on my own? You cover parts of the earth with water just like you cover me with your everlasting glory and love. You command the biggest bodies of water known to man! Of whom should I be afraid?? If you're for me, who can be against me??
Yes, Lynn, the God of glory rules over all, including our quite small problems compared to the oceans, let alone His greatness. "Cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you." Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDelete1. Habakkuk 3:4 His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power.
ReplyDeleteThis week I was in gym class with my student and his class. It was a sunny day outside and I was desperately wanting to be outside so I went to the window and stood in the sunlight. The students saw me and they were so happy to see the sun since its been so gloomy out. Their smiles lit up and I was telling them about the sun and then warned them to not look directly at it. But just like how I would have done, they attempted to look and made a game out of it. RIGHT THEN it hit me. I try and look for connections to spiritual life but the best come when I least expect it. The connection was glory shone brighter than the sun. We are so finite, so sinful, so insignificant, so unworthy, so distant, so shriveled, so lost, so restricted, so limited, so in need that we can't even take a full glance directly at the Son because its true entire beauty is beyond us. We try but can't fathom or grasp His radiance and power because it is just too much. BUT we can delight in His Son-light and feel joy of His warmth presence.
2. My wealth partner and I have been texting back and forth for a good few weeks and are establishing a good relationship. He is at Mount Vernon Nazarene in Ohio.
How true Ken- the sun is a good reminder of the far greater brilliance of the Son of God. And the second minimovie link I included in the PS is mind blowing re. the sun in comparison, isn't it?! Best of blessings.
Delete2 Chronicles 5:13-14
ReplyDeleteVerse Concepts
in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised the LORD saying, "He indeed is good for His loving-kindness is everlasting," then the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.
This verse is so amazing to me, that when the Spirit of the Lord comes you can not function right. You are so overtaken by his glory that you fall on your face because you don’t know what to do. His glory consumes everything! The people call upon him by giving praise and worshiping him with instruments, and he shows up and his glory leaves everyone awestruck. I love how the verse outlines what needs to be done before the Lord fills the house. “In unison”, “with one voice”. The people came together to give glory to God, and God showed up with his glory.
Lord God your glory is overwhelming, your presence is so strong that when you show up nothing else matters. Your glory God is amazing, the things that you’ve created: the heavens and the earth, galaxies and stars and all of creation! There is no one like you! There is no one with your power! There is no one with your design! No one or thing compares to your glory! God let my heart, my mind, and my thoughts never forget how powerful and majestic you are. You are no small God! You are the God of the universe Creator of all things, words cannot describe your glory! You make the mute speak, you make the deaf hear, you make the blind to see ,you set the captives free you make things new, you bring death to life. Lord your glory is like no other I just want to be in your presence and surrounded by your glory. I want to be overtaken with your power And continually be in the presence of Almighty God. Lord you ride the clouds you send fire from heaven your glory is magnificent. You are the King of glory! Everything bows before you. If you are for us who can be against us? Your power is so great whom shall I fear? My God so full of glory and power who should I be afraid of? No one!. Thank you Lord for loving and setting me free. Thank you Lord that you are a mighty God, you are our rescuer our Savior. Thank you Lord!
As for my wealth partner, I have not really connected with him this week. But I would definitely share this with him today.
I am on my knees worshiping our glorious God with you Jesse!
ReplyDeleteJohn 1:14
ReplyDeleteAnd the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Wow, thank you Lord for fulfilling all your promises. Thank you for sending your Son to become Man to live among us and teach us of your unconditional love! To have your Son degrade himself to human form and then go through the humiliation of crucifixion tells me of how much you would give to have us love you and live for you. Lord, I will never be able to out-give you and I thank you for all these gifts we have been blessed with in our lives even though we are so undeserving! Lord, it is through the sacrifice of your Son that I will be able to live with you for eternity in all of your glory forever praising you! I thank you for these gifts you have bestowed on the sinfulness of man!
As for my wealth partner we talked about what God has done for us in our lives and what we hope God's plan in our lives will be. But not our will be done but his and his alone!
Thanks Nick! That's a favorite verse of mine from the gospel of John. How worthy of worship is our Savior!
DeleteHebrews 1-3
ReplyDeleteAnd He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high
For me, God's glory is challenging to write about. It encompasses so much. It's almost indescribable how amazing, sincere, genuine, grand, unique He is. That's why I like this verse a lot - "HE is the radiance of His glory." Jesus is the radiance of God's glory. Jesus is "the exact representation of His nature" - He is beautiful, He is magnificent, He is in ALL creation because He is creation, and all of it is GOOD. God's glory is all of that - how He shows us His goodness and love in all His glory.
The verse continues with "and upholds all things by the word of His power"... To me, this means through His word (His promises, His truth, His example) all his glory is made evident. Piggybacking off what Lisette shared, his power allows people to grow from glory to glory and its His promise, truth, and example that makes us be glorified in that way.
Finally, "When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high", He washed us clean with his glory and now sits at the throne in all His glory unified, sitting as the Holy Trinity.
The message is beautiful - it is glorious. :)
Sharing with my wealth partners has been a huge blessing to me (and hopefully to them). I just feel an overflowing amount of love from my God in Him leading me, revealing hings to me and my wealth partners that we wouldn't call-out if it weren't for His grace. Specifically, one of my wealth partners who has been in a rut of depression has made great steps toward self-reflection and recognized her need to change her perspective to be thankful for her blessings instead of cursing what she doesn't have. It's awesome to see God move in all of us.
Yes Christina, Heb.1:3 is a great verse revealing that Jesus is God, who perfectly reflects the nature of God the Father. He is also the co-creator of creation, who later became man and purified us by His own blood. All glory to Jesus- like no other!
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