Do You See His Glory

Posted on by
Reply

Hi, Welcome to 2024! Food for thought.

How often do we overlook the glory of God in the things we see? His glory is evident if we shift our visual perception. Are your spiritual eyes targeting God’s glory?

We live fast paced lives and are rushing around throughout the day, trying to meet deadlines, packing our days. Our focus is on what lies before us, myopic and laser tight. The problem is, we are focusing on the world through our physical eyes. This daily chaos is detrimental to the development of our spiritual sight.

As long as Satan can deter our spiritual growth the greater his opportunity to control your life. If he can control you, unbelief will continue to separate you from Christ. Your faith will falter and you will experience a fissure in your faith which he uses to further separate you from God.

“God’s glory is the revelation or manifestation of His attributes or excellences.” (Veresbyversecommentary.com. John 11:40) This scripture in part is about delay. Martha and Mary sent word to Jesus that his friend, their brother, died and they wanted Jesus to come and save him. They lived in a time when it was a Jewish believe that it took three days for a body to begin decomposing and the soul to leave the body. So they felt that if Jesus was able to get there within that three day He could retrieve the body and bring Lazarus back to life. But Jesus, knowing the tradition chose to wait a fourth day to prove that he is Messiah by bringing Lazarus back to life after his soul left him.

Life presents situations and circumstances with a man-made deadline. We pray for answers that are parallel to the circumstances and situations. If the prayer is not answered within the timeframe expected, we consider it a delay, or that God is not listening, and is ignoring us. The truth is, God‘s timing is always accurate. His time may not be our time, but his delay may be for our spiritual growth. Once we shift our focus from a physical plane to a spiritual plane, we see God‘s glory in the entire timeframe of the incident. We should always look for the glory of God in everything that goes on in our lives from the breath that we take to the actions that are required of us, to the rest that we receive at nightfall. God‘s glory is prevalent in everything that occurs in our lives. We simply must have the faith to see and receive.

As in the case of Lazarus, Jesus wept when he saw Lazarus’ sister’s grieving. He weeps for us as well, he knows our grief. He knows our expectations, and he knows our joy. He knows what will strengthen our relationship with Him. The Lord listens to our prayers and petitions. The reality is, He knew we would make the petition long before we did. He also knows that blessing us in the form of our petition may not bide well. It may prove to be detrimental to us, the timing may not align with the lessons or timing with His next steps for us. What we can learn from this scripture is that our faith focuses on God’s glory, not the miracle, or the answered prayer, but on Him and Him alone.

Finally, know this, God will call us by name just as He called Lazarus to come out of the tomb and back into life. He will answer our prayers because He intimately knows each of us. His glory is always prevalent, even when we think it is not. “And whenever and whatever God speaks to the need you have, He will call you by name so that His glory is revealed in your situation.” (Wellspringchristianministries.org)

Photo – LAB Photos

We are God’s Light Bearers

Posted on by
1

As we celebrate the birth of Christ and the light He brought to the world, we must also think of the way in which he treated people and how his love covered us in the worst and best of times. Our world is currently clouded in hate, the evil one is working through the hands of men to devastate the world, but we cannot be overcome by the darkness they launch into the world. As Christians, we must continue to project the love of Christ and not fall into darkness. We must see the good of humankind in the darkest of days. Most of the people in our world are not evil. They want nothing more than to live their lives in peace.

John 8:12 NIV so clearly reports Jesus’ words, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of

As Christians, we have been given the gift of light. It is time that as Christians, we pray, and act in the light. We cannot become laxed, feeling the weight of the world. We are the light bears that Christ authorized us to be. 

John 1:5 NIV, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

In the 18th and early 19th centuries men were hired to light gas streetlamps. Today we represent the street lighters, lighting and wrapping the world in the love of Christ.

When we pray and meditate, we must envision the world covered in light. The light represents love and love will always outweigh the darkness. Our prayers are important and collectively they can change the world.

Ephesians 5:8 EVS, chronicles our responsibility so well, “For at the time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”

As children of light, we must exude the light in our daily walk and envision the world wrapped in light (love). 

We are the designated warriors, Ephesians 6:12-18 NIV, spells it out thusly, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. Stand therefore having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one period and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God; Praying always in all prayer and supplication in the spirit, being watchful to the end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”

In closing, I listed scriptures that focus on the light. Keep them close to your heart, and in the darkest of moments, personal and universal, never stop seeing the light of Christ as the victor in the moments of darkness. Remember, God’s perspective of time is different than ours, therefore what may seem like an eternity to us is “but do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8 ESV) This scripture should encourage all of us to continue to walk in the light, spread the Good New and wrap the world in love when we pray.

Psalm 18:28, “You come a Lord, keep my light burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”

Psalm 27:1, “The Lord is my light and my salvation dash whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life dash of whom shall I be afraid?”

James 1:7, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Isaiah 5:20, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; That put darkness for light, and light for darkness..!”

The trumpet has blown, the war between darkness and light, good and evil is present, as the Lord’s warriors, we are to gird up and enter the battle, praying endlessly, presenting the light of Christ in our walk and living as God has empowered to live, regardless of what we see or read.

Scriptures: Bible.com; biblegateway.com

Images top to bottom: google pics; Dailymail.com; <a href=”https://wallpapers.com/wallpapers/armor-of-god-rtpefxpudnccuifc.html”>Image by severadrab</a> on <a href=”https://wallpapers.com/”>Wallpapers.com</a&gt;; Google pics; marquetteacademy.net

DOVES AND THE MESSIAH

Posted on by
Reply

While reading the story about Jesus’ parents presenting him in the Temple, in Luke 2:22—40, I was struck by the parallels between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Maybe struck is not accurate, there was a different type of clarity I experienced (like an ah-hah moment). It is interesting that as we mature in the Word, the Word takes on greater life and our depth of understanding deepens. The focus of these verses conjoins Jesus being differentiated from other firstborn sons to standing out from other firstborn male children, which differentiates between, the act of following the Law of the Lord (shared by Moses) to that of following the Law of God (shared by Jesus); the announcement of prophecy of the coming of the Messiah to the actual enacting of the prophecy; and, God’s use of doves to bridge Jesus’ consecration as a child of God to that of becoming the divine essence of the Son of God.

In researching these verses, Wikipedia reported, “According to the gospel, Mary and Joseph took the Infant Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days (inclusive) after His birth to complete Mary’s ritual purification after childbirth, and to perform the redemption of the firstborn son, in obedience to the Torah.”

As we continued to read, we learned that Jesus’ parents followed the commands of the Torah and took Jesus to the Temple to receive redemption. We also learned that Simeon, a man of God, knew the child was the Messiah because God told Him he would arrive in the form of a man.

The scripture further reads, “When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph, and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord as it is written in the Law of the Lord.” Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: Every family was to offer a sacrifice of either a pair of doves or two young pigeons.

As the story continues, we learn that “there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had was to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” Luke 2:22-30, 32 NIV

Not only did Simeon announce Jesus was the Messiah, but an old woman, a Prophet, confirmed it as well.

As time progresses Jesus is baptized by John. This is another instance we find doves as a centerpiece of the story.

”The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’“
‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭29‬, ‭31‬-‭33‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I find this type of study during differing times of my life to be enlightening. It gives me joy, hope, and a sense of peace knowing that God’s Word never fails us as we mature as Christians. The story continuously unfolds and becomes more magnificent by the day.

After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you. Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house? Then he went down to Nazareth with them (his family) and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.“
‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭46-52 NIV

NOTE – His mother became a believer long before the other members of the family. She cherished each moment she observed His growth, as all mothers do when watching their child develop into an adult.

Thoughts in a Nutshell:

  1. Both the Torah and the Old Testament revealed that consecrating the firstborn male son of a family had to be redeemed by the Pharisees, and the family had to bring a sacrifice of two doves or pigeons to complete the ritual. This is important because when John baptized Jesus, God sent a dove that lit on Jesus. The dove was a symbol the Lord used to link Jesus to the Lord. Symbolism was important throughout the Old Testament, in that few people knew how to read, and the Torah/Old Testament was only available to religious leaders. The parallels were a means to connect prophecy, the unfolding of Jesus’ life that ended in the crucifixion and ascension of Christ, the New Testament, and the end times.
  2. Joseph was the father (stepfather) of Jesus and raised Him as His own. We were adopted and God invited us into His family as His own.
  3. Many revelations that are missed when studying the different Books of the Bible independently, cannot be understood without referencing the information in the New Testament to that of the Old Testament.

Images: 1. Catholic Daily Reflections; 2. IDS.org; 3. Gospelimages.com; 4. Nationalshrine.org

Resources: Bible.org, Biblegateway.org, Wikipedia

The Resurrection Means…

Posted on by
Reply

As we come upon another year’s recognition of our Savior’s resurrection, let us pray for peace, love, and security for all. Jesus’ resurrection saved us from eternal hell. Let us vow to uphold peace, kindness, patience, gentleness, self-control, and goodness. Pray God’s Spirit prevails in our lives and the world. Our desire should be eternal life and not eternal damnation, the path of evil. We have been set free.

The world is oblivious to God’s power and love for us. The traits of the world are working desperately to create a world of idol worship, placing things in our path that draw us away from Christ. Embrace Christ’s Resurrection Day to the fullest throughout the year. This is not a one day event, we should celebrate Him and what He accomplished for us everyday.

“His death was a gift of eternal peace. We all have sinned and fell short of God’s perfection, holiness, and glory…He was prosecuted for the sins of humanity…He triumphed over death and redeemed us from sin, which is the core of our belief and foundation of our faith that stems from Christ’s resurrection.” (6 Reasons Why Easter is Celebrated. Bibilium.com.)

Supporting Scriptures:

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV, He him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

Galatians 5:1 ESV, for freedom Christ has set us free; standing firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery (sin, idolatry).

Psalm 40:8 ESV, I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.

Galatians 5:16-1 I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, sexual immortality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, ethnicity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and all things like these. I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God…The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such things there is no law, and those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit let us also keep step in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, or envying one another.

John 15:10 ESV, If you keep my Commandments, you will abide in My love; justice, I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

The Resurrection of Christ means I have eternal life. He bore my sin so I could live.

God’s Character Never Changes

Posted on by
Reply

Humans are not steadfast. Our character ebbs and flows. Our sin nature does not allow us to be steadfast, we always falter, some more than others, until Jesus returns we are locked in the the fate of sin. The only constant in our life is that God’s character and standards never change.

This means the God who spoke in the Old Testament is speaking to us today. He spoke to His people through the disciples, prophets, and most importantly Jesus. The story always remains the same. Adam and Eve sinned and were thrown out of Eden. We entered eternal sin as the result of their disobedience. The Messiah will come and save us from eternal sin. Jesus will be crucified and return to heaven. He will return again to redeem His people, and we will live as one people in peace through eternity.

We all need stability. God’s character is our stabilizing force. Why? No matter what happens on earth, His plan is consistent, it does not waiver or deviate. The world today is not much different that the world of old. There are still false prophets and leaders who fail to surrender to the Will of God. Leaders still take bribes, or are rewarded by lobbyists. Many priests and religious leaders are bought by large contributions to their church, and fall pray to idols (money, fame, and fortune). Families still struggle to maintain the nucleus to hold the unit together. Economies and social justice are still at odds. And, the Word of God is still lost to many who only hear the noise of chaos.

This seems like desperate times, and in some respect it is. However, this world will operate in phases until the end. Our loving Father will love us, warn us of our wrong doing, judge us and restore us, each time hoping that we will turn back to Him.

The only thing we can rely on is His unfailing love and character that is ever-present, even when it seems He is not with us.

Our Lord never forsakes us or leaves us. He does not turn a blind eye to this world. He sees all, and remembers everything. He is always with us, holding us up when we cannot walk or take another breath. He provides for us when we cannot provide for ourselves.

He is here with us in the light and darkest moments. HE IS FAITHFUL throughout time. Rest assured, the sun will rise and set everyday as part of His creation and plan for our salvation. He is our loving Father who cannot fail. He is all truth and His character is unwavering.