The Glory Of God

“But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand.”  – Acts 7:55.

If you are like me, there are times when a worship song just hits me. The music is powerful, uplifting and glorious, all at the same time. It evaded my understanding, but the presence of God seemed so real at that moment. I didn’t want the song or the chills to end. In those moments, I felt like I had experienced the presence of God in all His amazing glory. But then I was reminded that the song and that emotional moment captured is less than a drop in the never-ending ocean that is the glory of God. Glory isn’t a part of God; it’s all that God is. Every aspect of who God is and every part of what God does is glorious; even God’s glory is glorious. it gives me goosebumps to even think about it.

Defining the glory of God is impossible because God’s glory lives above and beyond any type of description or definition. The answer is as infinite as God’s glory itself, so the question can never be answered exhaustively. Now when Isaiah 6:3 says that one angel is crying to another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,” the next thing he says is this: “The whole earth is filled with his . . . ” People could guess that the next word would be “holiness,” but he doesn’t say that. He says, “glory.”  2 Corinthians 4:6 says, “For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.” Hebrews 1:3 adds, “The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.”  

The scriptures tell us: ”[He] has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. [to Him] …[He] spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them.” (Isaiah 40: 12, 15, 22). The prophet is attempting to give God’s glory some scale through word pictures, but even these very picturesque and helpful descriptions fall miserably short of capturing the awesome glory of God. God’s glory encompasses the greatness, beauty, and perfection of all that He is. There is none like Him; He has no rivals, and no valid comparisons can be made to Him. He is beyond our ability to estimate, understand or describe. 

There is one activity that Scripture associates far more than any other with glorifying God, and that is worship. At its heart, worship ascribes all glory to God alone. We can glorify God in many ways, but Scripture indicates that nothing we do delights God more than calling on His name with sincere hearts and declaring that all glory belongs to him.

Discussion Questions:

  1. The definition of glorifying God is: To honor God by our lives showing His splendor, love, and perfection, that His presence is seen in us. In what ways does the believer do this in everyday life?
  2. What can we do this week to glorify God? 

Please Give Me A Sign

“This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9.  

Have you ever asked God to give you a sign?  Most of us probably have at one time or another. Maybe we have done so in times of desperation, frustration, confusion, or even isolation.  We want a physical, tangible, obvious sign that God is with us and for us. There are Christians who are in constant fear that they’re not “really saved.” They are looking for some sort of confirmation or visible blessing. So, we look for verification of being saved in something we can measure: for example, are we more humble this year than last year, were we more consistent in our daily devotions and did we tithe more this year? The Israelites needed a sign after leaving Egypt. 

The Israelites faced another threat in their desert trek from Egypt. The threat was a lack of water. “So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded…Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord here with us or not?” (Exodus 17:2, 7)  The people wanted another sign from God.  They had seen sign after sign, but when the water ran out, they needed another sign. Psalm 95:7-9 addressees this: “for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice, “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did.” 

The Israelites had forgotten all God had already done for them in the past and His promises to them in the future. “When you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you!” (Deuteronomy 20:1) 

It is easy to want some sort of proof that God is there when we face hard times or difficulties. But faith isn’t like that. Faith is believing God accepts you in Christ Jesus on the basis of His Word, not on the basis of what you did better year to year.  The Apostle John wrote an entire chapter to assure God’s people that they are indeed God’s people. “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13). The word know means absolute assurance. It is possible to be saved and know it.

We all struggle with seasons where we long for a sign that we are on the right path, that we are doing what God wants us to do. And in some cases, God may give us that sign. But we don’t need a sign to surrender and to get engaged in the mission of God. Nor do we need a sign to offer our time, talent, and treasures as a blank check to him. We just need faith. 

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are one or two areas of your faith where you are experiencing doubt? 
  2. Read Ephesians 2:8-9: Your salvation is not determined by your good works or even by the amount of your faith.

How To Be An Intentional Grandparent

“But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.” – Deuteronomy 4:9. 

Grandparents, you’ve done it! Your kids are adults! They have their own careers, and they are starting their own families. The many years of relentlessly leading and guiding your kids are paying off, and it may appear your job is done. It’s tempting to celebrate; to kick back and enjoy this new season of your life. Well, you definitely deserve some much-needed rest…but don’t celebrate too early. You’re not done yet. 

Parents influence, but grandparents have an opportunity to leave a legacy with their grandkids. Grandparents have a joyful responsibility to be as involved and engaged in the spiritual formation of our grandchildren as it’s possible for us to be.

After many decades, grandparents have learned a lot about life.  In fact, grandparents’ lives are encyclopedias of knowledge and lessons learned in all those years. These experiences and wisdom can be passed along and help mold and shape grandchildren. Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren…” Solomon told his son. (Proverbs 13:22)  Giving grandchildren an inheritance does not mean money alone. You can give them the gift of unconditional love. You can give the grandchildren your testimony of God’s faithfulness throughout your life. You can support your grandchildren through your prayers.  

Grandparents who see their role as a responsibility and work to do it well will quickly realize the truth of Proverbs 17:6: “Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged…” Leave your grandchildren a spiritual legacy; decades later, after they are grown and long after you are gone, they will continue to draw from the memories of love, inspiration, direction, encouragement, and wisdom.

Grandparents have an incredible potential to influence the next generation — and a Biblical mandate to do so. As grandparents, we want to know that our legacy of faith in Jesus Christ will outlive us in our grandchildren and the generations that follow.

 Discussion Questions:

  1. What does leaving a spiritual legacy mean to you? 
  2. Do you see non-Christians as potential friends or simply as people God wants you to tell about him? With how many non-Christians do you have mutually beneficial relationships?

Just A Matter Of Time

“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.” – Psalms 127:3.

Every child is a gift from God. Parents have a responsibility to develop that gift – to mold and shape, to shepherd and nurture – this precious life. How can we be effective parents in a defective world? That is the million-dollar question. Are we equipped to raise godly children in this age? Because it takes more than good intentions to raise a godly generation who lives boldly for Christ.

While parents are different in many ways, they are similar in their love for their children and their desire to see them flourish. Christian parents have the same wishes, coupled with the great responsibility to raise them to know and love the Lord. Today’s culture makes that task increasingly more difficult. We need to be intentional. And intentionality is often a matter of time. One of the ways we can be more intentional about time is to cut out these five words: “…for a couple of minutes.”

The pressure that society is placing on parents is to spend all their time working for our family, rather than being an intentional part of the family.  It can seem that the plan for the day will unravel if you stop to spend time with your child. So when your son wants you to kick a soccer ball with him or your daughter wants you to play hide and seek with her our reply is, “for a couple of minutes.” If we are not careful, we can hear ourselves saying those five words more and more often in an attempt to deal with too many different things at the same time.

The cold reality is our kids grow up quickly. It’s sobering to realize how quickly time with our children is passing by. Most parents have regretted or will regret saying  “for a couple of minutes.” To be intentional means we don’t take the time with our kids for granted and that we are intentional about how we use it. We need to remember that our time with our kids is precious but short and that eternity is long. We can invest in things that produce an eternal dividend or in things that end next week. The question here is, how are we investing the little time we have with our children? Is it used up by numbing entertainment so we can get other things done or are we being intentional about how they are doing spiritually?  

When we look back at all those times that we spent quality time with our children, we were creating something beautiful by intentionally investing in them.

 Discussion Questions:

  1. What constitutes intentional time for you? 
  2. What can you do this week to be more intentional about your time with your children? 

Intentional Parenting

Show your children God’s love by loving them and others as Christ loves you. Be quick to forgive, don’t hold a grudge, look for what’s best, and speak gently into areas of their lives that need growth.” ― Genny Monchamp. 

Parenting today takes intentionality. As parents, we want to impart a godly legacy to our children. We want them to experience the joy of a vibrant, deep and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. But then life happens as it often does. The days get busy and then the next thing you know weeks and months and years have gone by and we wonder what happened to the time. Life teaches us that it takes years and years of unrelenting effort to train up a child in the way he or she should go. Good intentions are the beginning of the journey. Along the way, you’ve got to avoid a lot of wrong turns, go around a lot of curves, endure a lot of problems, fix a few flats, and keep pressing on. 

When life gets complicated we tend to look for the quick fix when it comes to parenting. We just want a quick fix to a problem or issue with our kids so we can move on to something else. Quick-fix parenting may temporarily ease a parent’s stress level, but it does little to positively impact a child’s future. Nor is is it necessarily a good fix or a healthy fix or an empowering fix, and it’s definitely not an effective long-term strategy to fix the problem. But right now we have to put out a fire. Looking for a quick fix is reactive and spontaneous and is the polar opposite of intentional parenting. Intentional parenting is a way to raise children to become healthy, independent young adults. It’s based on solid principles that, applied over time, actually, result in happier, better-adjusted, and more successful kids. Intentional parenting means you’ve got more than good intentions; you’ve got a plan.

Intentional parenting cannot be farmed out. There is no outsourcing for this. And so if you have children in your home, then God means for you to be the central means of their education, especially their spiritual education.  For Christian parents, the goal of intentional parenting is to help our children want to walk in the footsteps of parents who are living God’s way of life, and who are working to be more like Jesus.  

One of the keys to intentional parenting is demonstrating to our children that God’s way works for us. We need to be an example of what they want us to be…If children experience a parent who gives unconditional love, has clear-cut rules that are consistently reinforced and genuinely displays the fruits of God’s Spirit, it will not be difficult for them to want to do the same things. 

Successful parenting is not that complicated, yet it is very difficult to do well. At the end of the day, it involves giving up control to God. To parent well, we need God as a co-parent. God’s plan for parenting was never meant to be one we carry out without Him.

 Discussion Questions:

  1. Everybody falls into quick-fix parenting now and again. When is this most likely to happen for you?
  2. When do you most often doubt you have any influence in your children’s lives at all?
  3. Have you ever considered having an intentional plan as a parent? What has held you back?  

Caring For Orphans

“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” – James 1:27

November 10, 2019, was Orphan’s Day. There are many groups of people close to God’s heart, but none more so than orphans. They may be overlooked in this world, but God sees them and loves them as the Bible illustrates over and over again: 

Hosea 14:3 says, “…No, in you alone do the orphans find mercy.” John 14:18 adds, “No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.” Psalm 10:14 says “…The helpless put their trust in you. You defend the orphans.” And Deuteronomy 10:18 says, “He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing.”

People throughout the centuries have wondered what God was like. It is a futile endeavor because we could never really grasp the characteristics and glory of God no matter how hard we try. But the Bible tries to help us. Psalm 68:5-6 gives us a glimpse into our Heavenly Father: “Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families…” God’s heart breaks for the fatherless, and He mourns as they mourn. God offers Himself as the ideal Father not only to those without earthly fathers but to all who will come to Him. It shouldn’t surprise us that God would take direct action to ensure his intentions for the fatherless were carried out. God commanded his people to set aside a portion of their fields for the sole purpose of providing for this group. It created a place in which the alien, orphan, or widow could find the provision necessary to survive.  

As we discover God’s heart for the orphan, we can’t help but recognize the similarity of His heart for us – for you and me. God is our loving Father, our Mighty Protector.  He pursued us when we were abandoned, alone, and lost. He took us in, giving us the “right to become children of God.” (John 1:12) 

We are not to simply pity orphans and feel bad for them. We are called to be filled with compassion because we can relate. God wants His church to stand as one and connect their hearts with His. We were once orphans too before our heavenly Father adopted us into His eternal family. Now He’s calling us to join in His work: to love, pray, advocate, defend, sponsor, and support the orphans around us. 

Discussion Questions:

  1. What does God’s consistent concern for the orphan tell you about His character?
  2. What can we do this week to help orphans around the world?

Like Us In Almost Every Way

“Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin..” – Hebrews 4:15 (MSG) 

When you’re going through a setback, nothing means more than having someone come alongside who understands what you’re going through. Jesus Christ left the splendor, beauty, glory, holiness, wonder, and perfection of heaven to walk in our world of setbacks, sorrow, sickness, and struggles. He came to earth to become one of us. A study of the New Testament illustrates that even though Jesus was fully God, He was human in every way but one. He never sinned. Hebrews 2: 17 says, “Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sister…”

It is not inconsequential that Jesus came to earth as a man. Philippians 2:7-8 says that He “… gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” Jesus coming to earth was certainly meaningful for all of humanity. He saw we were powerless to help ourselves because sin had overwhelmed us. There had to be a way to bridge the gap, to save mankind from eternal separation from God. Jesus Christ is that bridge.  

But it is difficult to get our arms around the eternal God becoming one of us; becoming a human being. “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” (John 1:14)  And while He was one of us He was tempted. Mark 1:13 says, “where he was tempted by Satan for forty days.” He experienced poverty. Matthew 8:20 says, “…Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” He was frustrated as we read in John 2:15-16: “Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables…“Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”  He grew weary: “…Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.” (John 4:6)  He experienced rejection. “At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him.” ( John 6:66) Jesus knew disappointment: “…How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.” (Luke 13:34) He knew sorrow as we see in Matthew 26:38, “…My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.”  And He knew ridicule: Mark 15:19 tells us, “And they struck him on the head with a reed stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship.

Jesus certainly understands all that we are going through because being born fully man, He “…faced all of the same testings we do.” (Hebrews 4:15) He endured His sufferings for our sakes so that we can have His peace and power to rise above the setbacks, trials, and struggles we are facing.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why did Jesus come to earth and take on human form? 
  2. What can we do this week to live as Jesus lived? 

Submission To God

“Jesus humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names” – Philippians 2: 8-9

People who write for a living know all about submission. That is because, from a writer’s perspective, the process of “submission” is never over. The writer is never done refining, working, or making things better. But even when the writing is the best the writer can make it, he or she must give it all to an editor and expect additional changes to be made. I believe this aptly sums up what the Lord expects from us. Submission is not something we say we have done once. It’s something we’ll keep doing, day by day, week by week, month by month and year by year. We’ll keep saying to the Lord, “Here I am Lord. I freely submit to you in this situation. Make any changes you deem necessary.” 

Submission is not a weakness, it is acceptance of the will of God for our lives, and our joyful surrender to it. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7 ESV) Submission is an active faith in God’s plan and unrelenting trust in His promises, even in the midst of setbacks. Submission says as Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Luke 22:42)

Then there is Noah. God gave Noah specific directions to follow while building the ark. God told Noah exactly how big it should be and what type of wood to use. God told Noah to cover it with tar to make it waterproof. And God told Noah to make one door—and through that one door, all who entered would be saved. The best part is that Noah listened and submitted to God.  

More than anything, godly submission produces confidence that God knows what He is doing. Is there anything that moves God more than our submission to His mission, especially when it requires surrender amidst the trials and setbacks of our lives? Is there anything that better demonstrates complete trust that God knows what He is doing than submission to His plan? Is there any greater joy, tranquility or stability than knowing and trusting that because of God’s love and grace, things will work out for our good even when it doesn’t look like it?  

When we submit, we must expect the Lord to make some changes. Even when we don’t hear back from Him on time, He is working in our lives.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What does submission to God mean to you? 
  2. Surrender and submission to the will of God is not always an easy thing. Where do you need to submit to the Father’s will today?

When Faced With Ridicule

“But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words. They scoffed at the prophets until the LORD’s anger could no longer be restrained and nothing could be done.” – 2 Chronicles 36:16.

Ever been put down? Insulted? Ridiculed? Most people have at one time or another. Ever been shamed for trying to do something you believed in? Something you were convinced God led you to do? While the Bible does not say anything about people mocking Noah and his family while they were building the ark, you have to assume given the situation, that people ridiculed what they were doing.  Consider Nehemiah. He got the king to see his point-of-view. He got all the materials he needed. And he inspired the people to get to work. Then came the discouraging insults: “Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?” (Nehemiah 4:1-3)  

Of course, there’s no one more ridiculed by men than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. John 1:11 tells us ”He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.” He was hounded by ridicule and accusations, throughout His earthly life, and died a criminal’s humiliating death.   

When people intentionally or unintentionally make comments that discourage you from accomplishing a task or enduring a setback, it gets all the more difficult. If you have been insulted or ridiculed, what do you do?  What should our attitude, as Christians, be when we are called narrow-minded, fanatical, judgmental, puritanical, medieval, etc? How do you pray for those who are hostile to your beliefs so they will see themselves from God’s perspective? How can you ensure that your response will make things better? The answer is to keep our eyes on Jesus especially when the discouragement comes our way. We have all heard that a commitment to Christ requires us to “take up our cross.” Part of taking up the cross is a willingness to be misunderstood, judged, ridiculed, and persecuted by a world that sometimes does not appreciate or understand our values.

Noah’s life can be seen as a model of patience, persistence, and unwavering faithfulness to God in the face of a faithless society. Surely it wasn’t easy for Noah. Noah’s warning and gospel sounded foolish to the people around him.  In the same way, what we say may sound foolish to the people who are listening to us today. We must not be surprised when others ridicule us. If you are mocked for your faith, keep your cool and bite your lip. Don’t let angry people push your button. God will give you wise words to say if you let His love control your tongue.

 Jesus said it best in Matthew 5:43-44: “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” How many of us actually obey that commandment? 1 Corinthians 1:21 says,“ Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. ( 1 Corinthians 1:21) The cross itself is God’s power at work doing what we cannot do. The message of the cross is not first of all a way of thinking or a way of living; it is God’s actual power at work to save those who cannot save themselves.

 Discussion Questions:

  1. How should you respond when your faith and beliefs are ridiculed? 
  2. Do you see non-Christians as potential friends or simply as people God wants you to tell about Him? With how many non-Christians do you have mutually beneficial relationships?

Walking With God

“These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.” – Genesis 6:9 (ESV).   

In your mind’s eye, you can picture Noah stopping for a second to relax aching muscles. He is sitting on a wooden beam taking a quick break as he looks over the imposing structure of the ark. From where he sat, Noah could see what had been accomplished while being mindful of the amount of work that still lay ahead. 

The people of the region probably thought Noah and his family were fools. The more the ark took shape, the more the people laughed at the very thought of a deluge that would cover the whole earth. The disaster that necessitated Noah building a boat seemed so far-fetched, so irrational. They could hardly believe that a man would waste his life —and the lives of his family— in such a foolish endeavor. God, however, saw Noah in a different light.  

The Bible says: “Noah walked with God.” Noah obeyed God. So much so that thousands of years later, the Bible said of Noah: “It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith, Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7) When we think of Noah we tend to think of the Ark, and two animals of every kind. We don’t tend to think of the faith of Noah.

Faith allows us to hear the voice of God amid the cacophony of other voices. Noah heard God speaking to him and we should do the same today. Faith enables us to discern God’s voice amid all the other voices.  Noah also had the faith needed to obey God when it was completely contrary to human reason and logic. In Genesis 6:14 God tells Noah to “build a large boat…”  It takes whole shipyards months if not years to build a large boat yet God was asking Noah and his family to build a boat “450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Leave an 18-inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat—lower, middle, and upper.” (Genesis 6:15-16) Faith is when God gives you a task and you accept and act upon it however contrary to human reason it may appear to be. 

Faith is doing the will of God even though you are the only one doing it. Noah did what God asked him to do even though he was the only one who was doing so. And faith is going on with God’s work in the face of opposition or setbacks. How many times he must have been tempted to ask, “is it worthwhile?” Or “am I mistaken after all?” Noah probably received some epic criticism from the people around him. But through it all, he remained faithful to God. 

Discussion Questions:

  1. We learn from Genesis 6 that God spared Noah because he walked in close fellowship with God. (Genesis 6:9) What does that mean to you?  
  2. What can we learn from the faith of Noah?