2023-09-22
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I defined the word “doxology,” as a hymn of praise to God, arising from the Greek word doxa, which means “opinion” or “glory.” Today, I’m commanded by the Holy Spirit to write about what glory is and how it affects the life of a believer. God wants us to acknowledge His accomplishments, His blessings given, and learn about how He can reward us in heaven. In other words, He wants us to have a dynamic, open, honest, and faithfully obedient relationship with Him and with other people. That’s why Christ gives us, JN 13: 34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples if you love one another.” The people had already been told, in DT 6: 4-5, “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all you heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” Together, these passages reveal God’s love and His heart. I’m sure you are wondering what this has to do with glory. It is at the very heart of glorifying God, something He richly deserves from us.
The noun “glory” means high renown or honor won by notable achievements—fame; prestige; brightness; honor distinction; kudos; eminence. There are more meanings that apply to our God. Another is magnificence or great beauty—splendor; resplendence; grandeur; majesty. The verb “to take great pride or pleasure in”—exult; rejoice in; delight in; revel in; relish. All of these are involved in the kind of relationship that, as believers in Jesus Christ, should have with our God. One example of this was king Davd’s being “a man after God’s own heart” [1 SAM 13: 14; AC 13: 22]. When we praise or honor God, this can be done by common consent.
Now, let’s look at why God deserves our praise, glory, and thanks. 1) At His perfect time, He sent our Lord Jesus [His second personality of three, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, which constitutes the Trinity], to do a three-year ministry in humility and grace and then, to make the ultimate atoning sacrifice of His physical life after much suffering. 2) GA 4: 4-7, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent His son, born of a woman [Mary], born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. 3) Because you are His sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit Who calls out, “Abba, Father.” [“Abba” is an Aramaic word that is meant to be informal and a loving, intimate epithet, as “daddy” is]. You are no longer a slave, but God’s child, and since you are His child, God has made you also an heir.” Some explanation is appropriate. Paul was comparing the law to Christ’s teaching here. 4) The law is a curse, which never saved anyone [see GA 3: 13]. When He died on the cross, He became the curse, so we could be made free of it. On the other hand, receiving Christ as one’s Savior not only grants us salvation [JN 3: 16], but also justification [RO 4: 3], and eternal forgiveness [1JN 1: 9]. 5) This act is so important that Christ spoke to us in JN 15: 13-16, which I hope you will read now. That’s why we were told we are no longer slaves but have been adopted into God’s own family and are heirs as any child would be. We are free in Christ [GA 4: 3, 30-31]. 6) God unites His people with Christ, so that we can enjoy all the benefits gaining eternal life has. There are a couple of times, when Jesus was seen in His glorified state by people still on earth. This happened at His transfiguration [MT 17: 1-13] and another was after Christ had left the tomb [JN 20: 11-17].
PRAYER: O Lord, we are so grateful for what you give us today and next week on glory. You are a God who not only has glory, but also shares it with those who are true believers in Your perfect time and way. COL 3: 3-4, “For you have died [to sin] and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ Who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” This is tremendous motivation for us to be firm in our belief in Him and to faithfully obey His teaching. We offer You thanks and praise for all You are and all You do. Let us repeat David’s words, in PS 96: 1-3, to express what is in our hearts. “Sing a new song to the Lord! Sing to the Lord and praise Him! Sing to the Lord, all the world! Proclaim every day the Good News that He has saved us. Proclaim His glory to the nations; His mighty acts to all peoples.” You alone bring us the great blessings of our lives, every day. We love You, Lord, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen
NEXT WEEK: The Holy Spirit has been giving me a rich and amazing series of topics, all connected with His glory. While we can’t see the Holy Spirit, we receive what God, the Father, wants us to know through Him. So, I will continue to write about glory, adding comments on patience and hope. I am so grateful for the presence of our Trinitarian God in my life that my cup is running over! We’ll look at ways to put God’s glory on display in our own lives and what becoming familiar with the Scripture does for a believer. We’ll also see the purpose for which the heavens and earth were created. We can see why we were created too. I feel blessed to share my devotion for God with you each week. He blesses each of us every day. It’s my hope that if you aren’t sure about these blessings, you might try to start what Thomas and Nanette Kinkaid called a “glow book.” They purposely looked for how and with what God was blessing them every day. These were listed in their “glow books.” Then, they would share the blessings listed in them with each other. In the beginning, they didn’t recognize very many, but as they practiced, they found more and more each day. If we ask God to fill our cups, He will be only too glad to do this. Let me end with HE 12: 28, “Therefore, since we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.”
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2023. All Rights Reserved.
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