Just a reminder that on Saturday night we turn out clocks back! Enjoy the extra hour of sleep!!!

Consider Him…

“For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself,  Lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls” Hebrews 12:3

The one question that I never want to hear again is “what were you thinking”? It would often come after a bad decision or an uncontrolled act would be performed in such a way that someone would look at me with disgust and a shaking of the head.

Last time I spoke about the notion of hindsight and the yearning for a “do over”. I’d like to continue the idea of what the command in the Bible means when we see the word “consider”. In the text in Hebrews 12:3, it seems the word used here is the only time we see it in the New Testament.  This is different than the word used in Hebrews 10:24 where it refers to thinking about each other. In chapter 12 it seems to ask us to think about God, I guess there’s a difference.

When asked “who is man?” we can easily answer according to Scripture that in Genesis 2, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” Genesis 2:7. Although a unique and marvelous work, it is still explainable. So when we are asked to “consider one another” we have a basis because of experience and know for the most part what we’re dealing with. We can have relationships with each other but, understand the risk of disappointment and unmet expectations. That’s where we run into problems.

That’s why I believe after reading Hebrews 10:24 the writer takes some time to ponder a command and knowing that some of us may have a problem when it comes to considering others based on past experiences.

After walking us thru the “Hall of Faith” in chapter 11, we read in chapter 12:3, “Consider Him”, a whole different thought process. Try answering the question “who is God?” not so easy.

“For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.” This verse should bring us back to level ground with anyone we are dealing with. How do you say to God “Lord, you don’t understand”. The idea is to consider the things God has done for us, taking time to ponder the Love He has shown and to respond in such a way that our next move can be easily explained when asked “what were you thinking?”.

From Psalm 94, a good follow up to these thoughts.

“For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work;
I will triumph in the works of Your hands.”  Rob Russomano is a full-time servant at America’s Keswick and is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. You can email him at rrussomano@americaskeswick.org

Daily Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 14-15; 1 John 4

Think About This: There is more grace in Christ than sin in you. —Burk Parsons

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Psalm 31:20

The Overt Kindness of God

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. ~ paul, The Least of The Apostles, in Titus 3

Oh beloved, it is true. There grows within us an understanding that The Father is a very good father indeed. However, there is a dynamic that both brings us great comfort, and threatens to tear us apart all at once. We say that G_d is good, and this He is.

But… We really have no idea, just how good He is.

We fail and He forgives.
We doubt and He overwhelms our fears.
We begin to believe and He tests us.
We cry and it is His tears that sooth our soul.
We learn and He shows us more.
We laugh and He shares His smile.
We start to love and He lavishes us with the same.
We open our tiny little, balled-up fists – and He pours oceans of goodness into our palms.

We. Have. No. Idea.

It really is something within us. Some sort of tenacious hubris that will not give in to the idea that we are (are you ready for this?) – not just Loved with an everlasting Love. We are liked by G_d. He is particularly fond of us. Each of us. And He does not give that we might like Him back. No, He simply gives from a needlessness of which we have no comprehension.

And then it gets better.

Everything about G_d is not a thing at all. Every attribute and activity and emotion of His is completely whole and simple in its infinite pervasiveness. Said more simply, He is not generous or good to us on occasion. No, He is Who He is, and this does not change.

So, when the wonderful things that He does for us in our asking (and even without our asking) happen, they are not events. Rather, they are simply eternal actions which flow from the state of being of a Being unbounded even by infinity and eternity. So, any measure we could try to put up against His goodness would have to fall pitifully short of the reality of Who He Is.

Can we see it? What does this mean? It means exactly what His Word says: We ask too little, and we simply won’t believe that His goodness and generosity is exceedingly and abundantly beyond our wildest imagination.

So, what if we asked Him for something He has always wanted to give us? What if we have been holding back, thinking the time was not right? Could we just stop? Just ask beloved. Fear not as the tests come and the waiting begins. Just keep asking and know that what He already has in store for you (and me) will make our requests seem a bit silly in their smallness.

Tonight is your night. Time to let G_d be the infinitely gracious G_d He is. Makala Doulos is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and is now serving full-time in China. You can reach him at Makala@ps1611.org

Daily Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 12-13; 1 John 3

Think About This: The grace of God is infinite and eternal. As it had no beginning, so it can have no end, and being an attribute of God, it is as boundless as infinitude. ~A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Psalm 31:20

St. Johns 9^{th : FIRST MOVEMENT}

“And as He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.”  John 9:1 (NASB)

In Symphony No. 9, which was written by Beethoven between the years of 1822-1824, we find that there are all kinds of musical “forms“ but Beethoven called them “movements” of which there are four of them. This symphony is then capped off with “Ode to Joy” (written by Friedrich Schiller in 1785) …”Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen? Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt? Such’ ihn über’m Sternenzelt! Über Sternen muß er wohnen.” (oops, that’s in German)  “Do you bow down before Him, you millions? Do you sense your Creator, o world? Seek Him above the canopy of stars! He must dwell beyond the stars.” (there, that’s better) For the classical music enthusiast this was a zenith of its time and still remains as such to this day.

I kinda feel this way about the ninth chapter of John’s Gospel. There are all kinds of things going on in it that speak to what it is like to receive your sight from Jesus. Like Beethoven’s 9^th the chapter slowly begins with “And as He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.” Now it could end real quickly if the next verse was “Then Jesus touched him and he was healed” but that’s too easy and not how The Word of God works. In this chapter we will need to take in the question’s and interrogation’s that ends with Jesus declaring His purpose by making the blind see and those who claim to see…blind.

So without further ado let’s wind up the orchestra…let’s begin with a question shall we? “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?” Innocent enough, after all this was pretty much a typical question asked in the ancient world (just look at what happens with Job and the response from his friends) but Jesus sets the record straight…”It was neither” then Jesus goes on to tell them what the deal really is. This man was chosen to have the works of God displayed in him. Now maybe back then that may not have been too cool an idea to most people but us folk in the New Testament era…this is pretty cool.

So after Jesus says “While I am in the world” He repeats what was said back in John 8:12, “Egō eimi to phōs tou kosmou” (I am the light of the world) and here in the 9^th chapter is how it will be demonstrated. “He spat on the ground and made clay with His spittle” then puts the mud of the blind man’s eyes. Now this is where I think this through (somewhat), so if the ground is cursed (from that time in The Garden) and Jesus is the Living Water (and the saliva of the firstborn of a father was once thought to have healing properties) was this a demonstration that Jesus has come to free us from the curse and renew mankind? (I just heard the violin section screech) After all, Adam was made from the earth and to me that means Adam was mud (there goes the brass section) before YHVH breathed life into him.

And like Elisha sending Naaman to wash in the dirty Jordan, Jesus sends this man to the pool of Siloam (which means Sent). Now there are some commentaries that suggest that we can interpret Siloam as Shilôah and tie it into Genesis 49:10, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.” But the real deal here is this man was physically blind and now he can physically see…those who are going to question the validity of his miraculous healing. Yeah baby, here comes the judge (or those wacky Pharisees again).

In the next “movement’ of this symphony of a Freedom Fighter I am conducting we will examine just what it was like for this once blind man to go from physical sight to spiritual sight and the struggle he had to deal with those around him. But in the meantime take some time and reflect on what it was like when you had your spiritual eyes opened. Were you faced with those who doubted your healing, whether it was physical or spiritual? Did immediate family leave you out there to fend for yourself because they needed to keep a distance or doubted it themselves (this one I know personally). In any case my brothers (and sisters) Jesus is the light of the world and He came to make the blind, see. To think otherwise may be leaving you as blind as a Pharisee. Amen? – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony Mercy and blogs weekly on Freedom Fighter. You can email him at cphughes515@verizon.net

Daily Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 9-11; 1 John 2

Think About This: “The Pharisees were religious reformers who carried out every detail of the Law. Their outward religion would dazzle you, but inside they were blinded by their own self-righteousness.”—Fenelon

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Psalm 31:20

Don’t Question the Potter!

He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.” (Jeremiah 18:6)

A potter is an artist, an architect; patiently in creating a masterpiece. It was/is an important undertaking to ancient Israelites as well as to many other cultures. In The potter’s hand was the clay on wheel that revolves horizontally, spinning away. It goes in and out of form, thin to mass; trying to hold a structure.

The potter has an idea of the design that he is trying to create. And if mold doesn’t form or is desirable to the potter. Or maybe the clay becomes to dense or lose; could fall or simply was not acceptable for the purpose envisioned. It can spoil for a number of reasons.

The Jewish culture had many problems with disobedience throughout their history. God created them for specific purpose. They were to be set apart to glorifying him in all that they did. He created laws, prophets, judges, kings, circumstances and the like to form them in His image and to complete His will. They were not shaping in the artwork He intended. When clay becomes its own identity, it is little use to the Potter.

This is Old Testament law, why should we concern ourselves with this?

“Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?” (Romans 9:21)

Because there are some concepts that ripple into the new covenant, our lives are not to challenge the Designer or the design, but to stay teachable, respectful, submitted, surrendered, humbled, courageous; under the mighty hand of God. It is the Lord whom designs and creates all things for His divine purpose. He crafts and molds us, out of Love, to illuminate His divine nature. The Clay (humanity) shouldn’t disrupt the Potter (God) in the plans he has for us. – Juan Mendez graduated from the Colony of Mercy and now serves their full-time as a Chaplain. You can email him at jmendez@americaskeswick.org

Daily Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 6-8; 1 John 1

Think About This: If your heart doesn’t ache for people who don’t know Christ, you may not know Christ yourself. —Burk Parsons

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Psalm 31:20

Christ in You – You in Christ

God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who made us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and He gave Himself to purchase our freedom. 1 Corinthians 1:30 NLT

Welcome to a new week of Freedom Fighter blogs. I know that there are many blogs that vie for your attention, so I am very grateful for every time you click on ours and read it. We pray that these daily reminders will encourage your hearts.

Christ in You! You in Christ. We need to remind ourselves often of this great truth:

For it pleased God to tell His people that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. For this is the secret: Christ lives in you, and this is your assurance that you will share in His glory. Colossians 1:27 NLT

Devotional author, Roy Lessin in his book, Meet Me in the Meadow reminds us:

Being IN CHRIST means that we receive the benefits of all that He has done for us through His death, burial, resurrection and ascension.

Christ being in you means that you receive the benefits of His presence, character and nature within you.

Being IN CHRIST changes your position before God.
Christ being in you changes the inward condition of your heart.

Being IN CHRIST opens your eyes to the beauty of God’s love;
Christ being in you floods your heart with that same love.

Being IN CHRIST allows you to see what God wants you to become;
Christ being in you means that you can become what God wants you to be.

Being IN CHRIST means that He is the atmosphere in which you live your day;
Christ being in you means that each day His strength is your strength, His peace is your peace, His power is your power, His victory is your victory, His life is your life.

Being IN CHRIST brings you into heavenly realities;
Christ being in you brings heavenly realities into your earthly walk.

The hymn writer painted this picture:

Loved with everlasting love,
Led by grace that love to know;
Spirit breathing from above,
Thou hast taught me it is so
Oh, this full and perfect peace!
Oh, this transport all divine!
In a love which cannot cease,
I am His, and He is mine!

I trust that this truth this morning will encourage your heart as you begin this new week. Live courageously! – Bill Welte is President/CEO of America’s Keswick

Daily Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 3-5; 1 Timothy 4

Think About This: The whole point of being “crucified with Christ” is that we are liberated from self-rule, self-preservation, and self-promotion (Gal. 2:20; 6:17). Floyd McClung

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: For the mountains may depart and the hills disappear, but my kindness shall not leave you. My promise of peace for you will never be broken, says the Lord who has mercy upon you. Isaiah 54:10

Consider This…

“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.” Hebrews 10:24

They say that hind sight is 20/20 and most of us would agree that is true, to be able to have a “do over” at certain times seems to be a great option. I sometimes wonder what I can do to eliminate a bad choice or decision that could be life giving instead of life sucking, to be able to speak and act in a way that builds up instead of tearing down.

The verses in Hebrews 10:24, and 25 are sound advice that could lead to a favorable response or action, one that would not need a “do over”. But in order to recognize if we are in fact living out these principles let’s look at the command.

“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

A picture of a person focused on being an active participant, knowing how important fellowshipping with believers is and looks for the opportunity to encourage others. This is an important role for every one of us to display most of the time. It’s being someone who is authentic and does not flatter but is able to give constructive criticism when needed and it is usually received because the recipient knows that you care. Theodore Roosevelt said “No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

Now, let’s look at the antonym of this verse. “He who loves transgression loves strife,
And he who exalts his gate seeks destruction” Proverbs 17:19, or in 1^st Timothy 6:4 describes someone who “ is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions”. In other words someone who would hopefully desire a “do over”.

I know most of us don’t practice the latter verses but if we’re honest we are not always the aroma of Christ either. Why not purpose in our hearts to be the breath of life and consider one another before we act or speak? It is going to take the power of the Holy Spirit to have His way in us as we are committed to studying and practicing the things God desires us to do as we cooperate with Him. It’s daily surrender, dying to self and knowing our identity in Christ that leads to a victorious life that God has for us.

“May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”

These are the closing verse to Psalm 19, it’s a great Psalm to read to get us into the Spirit. Amen! – Rob Russomano serves full-time at America’s Keswick and is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. You can email him at rrussomano@americaskeswick.org

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 27-29; 1 Timothy 3

Think About This: The concern for world evangelization is not something tacked on to a man’s personal Christianity, which he may take or leave as he chooses. It is rooted in the character of the God who has come to us in Christ Jesus. Thus, it can never be the province of a few enthusiasts, a sideline or a specialty of those who happen to have a bent that way. It is the distinctive mark of being a Christian. James S. Stewart

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Psalm 31:20

Thoughts From The Backseat

“And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15 (NKJV) 

So I found myself in The Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and Performing Arts listening to the President of Messiah College, Dr. Kim S. Phipps when suddenly I had this flashback to the night I graduated the Colony of Mercy. I remember staring out into the Colony Chapel and telling everyone there I wasn’t sure what God had in store for me but all that I knew was I was being allowed to go home and that I was going to keep the following verses in my head at all times…

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)

Now for recovered addicts flashbacks can be ugly moments where the adversary comes in and says, “See how you are, what’s a wretched man like you doing serving Him?” but that ain’t happening on this morning. This morning I, along with my wife Kathy were accompanying our daughter, Karen, to “Open House Day” at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg PA. Never in million years would I ever had thought I would find myself in the backseat of the family car allowing my daughter to drive this distance only to come to a realization of the distance God has taken the family I have been given stewardship of. Then I got to thinking about the distance YHVH took His people in the Exodus story.

So much craziness going there, so much upheaval to YHVH’s leading, so much disobedience that it makes me wonder how He ever tolerates even us in the 21^st century. Ya see we like sheep have gone astray and have really lost the true intention on what God has had for His church. We’ve gotten into some much in the way of theology that I think we, as the American Church, have no real theology to lean on.

I look at the opening passage of Scripture I’ve used for today’s Freedom Fighter, Joshua 24:15. It is about choice, even in the Old Testament days it was about choice. It would be true to say that people were dealing with God the Father and when we look at 1 John 2:15-17 we’re dealing with God the Son but it’s still about choice. And it’s in those choices where we can measure distance. If we choose to serve ourselves the distance between us and God can be measured in miles maybe to tens of miles but for those of who choose to serve God the distance that is measured between us and God can be just a prayer away.

Why am I saying these things? Well on this crisp October morning, as Dr. Phipps made her pitch on why Messiah would be a good college choice she kept emphasizing the  things that would affect community and community was God’s original intention for His church. When we choose to serve ourselves community takes a backseat to us and they need to just deal with it but when we choose to serve a Mighty God community takes the passenger seat while He drives and you, like I did, get to enjoy the ride from the backseat.

Now if you had my daughter driving, like I did, you too would have your moments where you just take a deep breath and have a little faith that you aren’t going to be squashed between the concrete barrier to the left and the never ending line of 18 Wheelers to the right but isn’t that what it is all about with Him, having a little faith to make the choice to serve Him rather than a theology or a worldview and just a side note here both of those things can change at the drop of a hat.

On July 18^th, 2003 I made a choice, on November 12^th, 2003 I doubled down on a bigger choice, took the backseat and because of that a world of choices has opened up for my daughter…something I believe was God’s original intention for me to see as she grows into one of His children. Hope the same is going for you. Amen? – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and is a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger. You can email him at cphughes515@verison.net

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 25-26; 1 Timothy 2

Think About This: “To become effective men of God, then, we must know and acknowledge that every grace and every virtue proceeds from God alone, and that not even a good thought can come from us except it be of Him.”—A.W. Tozer

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Psalm 31:20

ON “AT THE WALL OF BELIEF”

Luke 18:27; John 15:1-16; Philippians 2:13

A wall sets boundaries, protects us and gives privacy, etc. We can drive someone up the wall, go to the wall, hit the wall, and be off the wall. Walls have ears, walls can be wall-to-wall.

A wall of belief can hinder the purpose of God through failure of obedience and failure to meet the challenge beyond the wall of belief. It can hinder it by failure of inclusiveness or by making judgments based upon the finite rather than the infinite at a given moment.

I have been working to help those with physical, mental and emotional challenges to reach their spiritual potential. But sometimes, did you hear me, “sometimes”, those with challenges use their challenges as an excuse not to serve God ( even Moses told God to find someone else, (Exodus 4:13). Jesus said, “It is better to give than receive”but they flip it around to “better to receive than give”: The result is no service to others. “Normal people”, are there any, do the same thing sometimes.

But then, there is the other side where life meets the wall of belief. My life verse is Luke 18:27, “what is impossible with man is possible with God”. What happens if a challenged person desires to serve God as a disciple of Christ or missionary? The finite says “impossible” while the infinite view says “possible”. How? When a synergy between the will of God harnessed to the responsibility of man under the direction of the Holy Spirit in the community of believers takes place then the impossible becomes possible.

Will you join me, jumping over the wall of belief to pursue what is possible with God?

Today’s Affirmation

I will not let my belief hinder the work of God, instead I will think vertically rather than horizontally when confronted with the impossible. – Pastor Bob Wood is a Seasonal Camper at America’s Keswick who disciples men and loves to teach people to pray. You can email him at dsprayer@aol.com

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 22-24; 1 Timothy 1

Think About This: Give until you feel like it; then keep on giving until you don’t feel it. D L Moody

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Psalm 31:20

Mistaken Identity

Gideon: “And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” (Judges 6:15)

Gideon’s story takes place at time when Israel’s disobediences arose and they were given over to their godless enemies, the Midianites and the Amalekites. If that wasn’t enough, in the midst of the oppression, Gideon identified himself as the least of his father’s household, which was in turn the least of of his clan in the tribe of Manasseh, which he personal was the least of the least. Gideon had an inadequate view of himself.

And out of his perceptions He questions the Lord, he works at night for fear of Baal worshippers, he needs more conformation through the fleece exhibition etc…

God: “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” (Judges 6:12)

God’s presence and grace empowered Gideon to see beyond his circumstances; God saw the man he would become. God put the value on his life, than worked out for His glory and for Gideon’s good. Gideon is transformed and boldly approaches his calling. Gideon grew in faith as he developed his trust in God through specific situations.

Life, people, past, the world, Satan, Christians will try to classify you. Furthermore, like Gideon, we began to identify ourselves with are own measure stick. But it is God’s value on our life that brands us significant. It is having faith in the perfect work on the cross that places under the authority and the classification of God.

“So that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” (Ephesians 1:12,13)

Let’s live in the reality of God’s perspective. Be Blessed!—Chaplain Juan Mendez is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and serves there as a full time Chaplain. You can email him at jmendez@americaskeswick.org

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 19-21; 2 Peter 3

Think About This: The root cause of anxiety is a failure to trust all that God has promised to be for us in Jesus. —John Piper

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Psalm 31:20

The Glory of God

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1: 3-6)

Jonathan Edwards, that prince of preachers from New England, once described God’s glory as “the end for which God created the world.” Author and preacher John Piper, in describing worship, suggested it is “to behold and display His glory for the enjoyment of His redeemed people from every person, language, and nation.” The glory of God is a subject that is overwhelming.

In Ephesians 1, the apostle Paul is addressing the glory of God as he teaches the Ephesians that God chose us and predestined us for His glory (v. 5). God created people for His glory (v. 6). We are called to be the exhibits of His glory (v. 6). Just as Paul the apostle reminded the Ephesians about the glory of God, we are to be reminded that we are on the earth to bring honor and glory to God.

The obvious question then needs to be, “What does it mean to bring glory to God?” Does it mean that we are in some way to increase Him? It would be beyond imagination to think that we can somehow make God more than who He is. Perhaps a good way to understand this proposition would be to recognize that we are to display His glory, not increase His glory. For how can we increase the greatness and majesty of God? We are unable to do it.

The issue then becomes the need to increase His glory which is already available to all of us. The psalmist proclaims, The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork (Psalm 19: 1). As we look to the universe and recognize the majesty of God, we are reminded of the words of theologian R.C. Sproul, “Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God.” This is where God’s glory is best seen.

When Jesus wanted to provide an illustration about worship, He did not choose a person who would appear to be one of the greatest intellects nor a person of high moral standing. Rather He chose a woman who previously had five husbands and was living with a man who was not her husband. They began to discuss worship and the topic became one of location of worship. This woman, known simply as the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), desired to know why her people worshipped on Mt. Gerizim and the Jews worshipped in Jerusalem. Jesus quickly changed the tone of the conversation and said …They that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeks such to worship Him (John 4: 23, 24). Powerful words from the One we are to glorify! This woman then went and told the people in her village that she, a woman with a deplorable past, had found the Messiah!

It is the purpose of each Christian to understand that we are on the earth to make Him known. The glory of God is best seen through lives that have been changed by the One who is to be glorified. Take time today and consider the importance of making much of Jesus through your life. We need to be the Jesus they see. Spend some time today thinking through various ways Jesus can be known through your life. God is pleased with this as it brings glory to Him. Dr. Dino Pedrone is the President of Davis College and is a popular speaker at America’s Keswick

Keswick, America’s  (2012-12-13). Real Victory for Real Life Volume 2 (Kindle Locations 9809-9844).  . Kindle Edition.

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 17-18; 2 Peter 2

Think About This: Remember that you are not practicing a sterile system of principles, but following a dynamic person who makes Himself real to you through His indwelling Holy Spirit. Lance Wallnau

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” Says the Lord, who has mercy on you. Isaiah 54:10