God’s glory « 365 Days of Glory

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ULTIMATE REALIZATION

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Day 117

“His glory shall be seen upon you”
Isaiah 60:2

There is a great realization to be seen. It is before our very eyes. God’s great workmanship is His masterpiece. The Father will have a family. And His Son has brought them into the heavenlies. Think about it; The Son has a body, His church; the Holy Spirit has a temple, His people.

Right this very minute the Father is working His purposes in us and bringing the corporate body into realization. The Holy Spirit is bringing the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, to growth and building itself up in love, as each part does its work [Ephesians 4:16]. We are the temple. This is the glorious masterpiece coming together.

Some think there needs to be unity in the Church and they understand this to be joining together and eliminating walls that divide us. They are wrong. The church was born in heaven and brought to earth for all those called out to belong to Him. If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another – and that is unity! Only those that do not see are divided. God is saving us, a people, not a system, structure or organization. WE are His glory and His glory will be seen on us.

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a
glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed
into the same image from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the Lord”
2 Corinthians 3:18

Tags: Body of Christ, Glory
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THE BODY OF CHRIST

Saturday, June 26th, 2010

Day 115

“There is one body”
Ephesians 4:4

When you were born, you were born in a family. When you were born again, you were born in a new family. Many see salvation as an individual act, but it really isn’t. Although there is an individual response to God’s calling, your birth made you a part of a family known as the corporate body of Christ. It is God’s house, known as the church. It is here that you work out of your salvation [Philippians 2:12].

The word ‘together’ is closely bound with your salvation. Paul says in Ephesians He has “quickened us together in Christ”, and “hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus [2:5-6]. Our togetherness is corporate and corporately we were included in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. In other words, He has taken this glorified humanity with Him back to heaven – “we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones” [5:30]. We are now corporately seated with Him in the heavenlies!

As we live out our temporal life here on earth, God has given us a new kingdom to live in. It is here we are “gathered together in one” [1:10] and we are “fitly framed together” [2:21]. This is God’s marvelous plan for us. We find His love, His strength, His forgiveness, His peace, His provision, and His blessing in the body of Christ.

“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual
house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ”
1 Peter 2:5

Tags: Body of Christ, Salvation
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GOD IS GOOD

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

Day 109

“No good thing does He withhold from
those who walk uprightly”
Psalm 84:11

When Moses asked God to show him His glory, God said, “I Myself will make all my goodness pass before you” [Exodus 34:5]. The goodness of God is the overall summation of His nature and character. It is who He is. When you want to know about the glory of God, it is seen in His glorious nature and character.

If you understand the goodness of God, you understand there is nothing that is good apart from God. Jesus declared “There is only One who is good” [Matthew 19-16-17]. No man is good. Only God. And God is the source of everything that is good. You and I are His children today because of His goodness. He sent the good news to us that brought the message of salvation. We deserved death, He gave us life.

God’s goodness reaches every part of our life. He withholds no good thing from us – He gives us grace and glory. And more – He causes all things to work together for good to those who love God [Romans 8:28]. Do you understand the breadth and depth of that verse? There is nothing in our lives that cannot be turned to the good. We need and must see God through His goodness to understand Him. If we don’t, we will view life, and God, from an earthly and carnal understanding, missing His goodness and blessings.

“O taste and see that the Lord is good”
Psalm 34:8

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SEEK AND EXPECT

Monday, June 7th, 2010

Day 106

“The Lord is good to those who hopefully and expectantly
wait for Him, to those who seek Him inquire of and
for Him, and require Him by right of necessity
and on the authority of God’s Word”
Lamentations 3:25 (Amp)

Over and over the Lord says to us, “Seek to know Me and expect to receive.” Too often, we seek to know, but never expect to find out. The answer comes and we miss it. The whole thing flies right past our mind set. We never recognize we have missed a piece of the puzzle we’ve been searching to find. But, our God is very practical. He gives us answers in practical, everyday events.

We should pray and ask the Lord to show us where He is in all circumstances that come up in our life. Ask Him to teach us how to recognize His hand in our lives. He is a gracious Father and desires for us to know His gentleness. Otherwise, we are blind without His light. We cannot get past our own reasoning and emotions. God uses creative persuasion in our life. We can be soft and pliable in His hands, or we can resist and suffer loss. The Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness for a two week trip! It’s our choice.

We’ll find His goodness when we expect to see Him. His goodness will bring joy and His perfect work will be accomplished in us. If you want to see the goodness of the Lord, expect it! He is before you, behind you, all around you and has laid His hand upon you.

“My soul, wait thou only upon God;
for my expectation is from Him”
Psalm 62:5

Tags: Seeking
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A MEAL WITH GOD

Sunday, May 9th, 2010

Day 81

“They saw God, and they ate and drank”
Exodus 24:11

Imagine having a meal with God!

Mount Sinai is a landmark in God’s relationship with His people. Three months after being set free from Egyptian bondage, the people arrived at Mount Sinai. It was to become the first meeting place where God would manifest Himself to the people. God directed the people to be consecrated (set apart) in preparation for the meeting.

God also set boundaries on how near the people could come to Mount Sinai. Even the priests were limited in their access and had to be careful to consecrate themselves. God’s holiness demanded separation. They weren’t even allowed to gaze upon God. God then manifested Himself by fire and smoke, in a cloud, through thunder and lightening, and in an earthquake.

But a very unusual event took place when Moses, Aaron and his two sons, and 70 elders were permitted to ascend the mountain. They were granted a special manifestation of God. And God didn’t stretch out His hand to slay them because they saw Him. Instead, they ate and drank! Yes, they had a meal on the mountain with God. What a revelation of God our Father – He loved them so much He permitted them to rest in His presence and have a meal. It demonstrates the special relationship that He desires for us to have with Him.

“There am I with them”
Matthew 18:20

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KNOWING GOD

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

Day 76

“I had heard about You before,
but now I have seen You with my own eyes”
Job 42:5

Seeing God as He is – truly knowing Him – is a life- transforming experience. To see God means to know Him, and to know Him is to experience Him. We can read and understand things about God, but it is only through relationship and deep experiences (usually difficult ones) that we come to this knowledge. Seeing God in His greatness and glory transforms lives.

God does allow His righteous people to undergo suffering. We like to have things run smoothly and to have peace all around us. Travails and difficulties are not welcome, and we see hard times as bad times. But God sees things differently. His purpose is for us to grow, mature and come to the fullness of Christ. And often this involves travail.

God allowed a series of disasters to afflict Job through the agency of Satan. To add to his misery, he had three friends counseling him to abandon his faith in God. It couldn’t have been a worse situation. And then to top it off, God rebuked Job. And God did not explain why Job underwent travail. He didn’t discuss His purpose with Satan. Instead, Job was made aware of his finite nature and how fallible he was. Then God revealed Himself and His sovereignty to Job, and Job saw God through his suffering. He knew God. Should this not be the cry of our hearts – to know Him more fully?

“The Lord gave him twice as much before . . . So
the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his
life even more than in the beginning”
Job 42:10b, 12

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GOD’S PERSPECTIVE

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

Day 75

“It was troublesome in my sight
until I came into the sanctuary of God”
Psalm 73:16-17

When Asaph “saw [the wicked] prosper despite their wickedness”, he got into trouble. He found himself envying them. Asaph even began to question if it was worth being a follower of God! It got so bad that Asaph nearly fell into the pit.

Mary’s sister Martha had the same problem. When Jesus visited their house, Martha was preoccupied with social graces, lost in being the perfect hostess – instead of sitting at Jesus feet, as Mary did, and learning from Him. We can be a lot like Asaph and Martha; we look at the world around us through an imperfect perspective and base our thoughts, judgments and actions on our perception of it.

Nothing will change our mind and circumstances more than having God’s perspective. We will see things in an entirely different light. When Asaph finally went to God, it changed him. First it revealed his own heart, and how it molded his character. Second he got God’s perspective – His divine plan – and an understanding of God’s sovereignty over all things. Asaph knew his thinking was wrong and that he needed to know God’s mind in his life.

Martha had to learn to let go and trust Jesus. It wasn’t until Jesus came after her brother Lazarus’ death that she finally encountered the reality of relying on Jesus. Thinking only of “if you were here when he was sick” she limited Jesus to her perceptions. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave her eyes were opened to knowing Him. Your life will change when you begin to know God and think righteously. Then you will see the glory of the Lord.

“I count all things to be loss in view
of the surpassing value of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord conformed”
Philippians 3:8

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THE PRACTICAL SIDE OF JESUS

Friday, April 30th, 2010

Day 71

“Not long afterward Jesus began a tour of the
nearby cities and villages to announce the
Good News concerning the Kingdom of God”
Luke 8:1-2

Did you know the Creator of the Universe, our sovereign God, placed the finances for part of Jesus’ ministry in the hands of a group of women? Jesus’ ministry depended on income from others. Imagine that – God has a practical side! And He made sure that it would be remembered forever by having it recorded in the Bible.

These women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and others who formed a group who traveled with Jesus and supported the ministry team. Luke tells us they even gave out of their own income. And Joanna was the wife of Herod’s business manager, of all people! These women were among those who Jesus delivered from sin and affliction. Seven demons came out of Mary. This was the Good News concerning the Kingdom of God. The power of the Kingdom was demonstrated by the casting out of demons and the healing of diseases. These women visibly showed the glory of God to others through their deliverance and salvation.

In serving the day to day needs of Jesus’ ministry, this small band of women gave liberally. Jesus not only shows his practical side, he also clearly demonstrates that women have a ministry in the church. Every act of Jesus is to bring great glory to God and we see in these verses that glory is found in those who serve him.

“When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and
minister to Him; and there were many other women
who came up with Him to Jerusalem.”
Mark 15:2

“Among them were Mary Magdelene, from whom He had cast out seven
demons, Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager;
Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their
own resources to support Jesus and His disciples”
Luke 8:2-3

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GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

Day 72

“When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not
lead them on the road . . . that was the shortest
way from Egypt to the Promised Land”
Exodus 13:17

God led the Israelites on a road that trapped them between the wilderness and the Red Sea. Pharaoh came after the Israelites with everything he had – his entire army of horses, chariots, and charioteers were committed to the chase. It wasn’t long before he caught up to the Israelites, and when they saw Pharaoh’s army approaching they began to panic and cry out to the Lord for help.

It got worse. Being caught with a sea to your back, and the only way of escape occupied by an army that wants to crush you, can strike fear in your heart. To the Israelites, it looked like the end. They turned against Moses, accusing him of leading them there to die. Things got bitter and they lost hope. How many times have we faced situations in our life that looked like the end? The great test of our character comes when we can find no answers, and see the absolute end of everything approaching.

But those Israelites were led into the impossible by God. He positioned them where they would find no answers. They believed they were going to die; it can’t get worse than that! But it was all for God’s purposes, because He is the answer, and only He could rescue them. And in the end, they did not have to lift a finger in their defense. This is our God: the God of the impossible. And He loves nothing more than to demonstrate His glory by rescuing us from the impossible.

“Don’t be afraid. Just stand where you are and
watch the Lord rescue you. . . . You won’t
have to lift a finger in your defense”
Exodus 14:13-14

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GOD’S PURPOSES IN OUR LIFE

Sunday, April 25th, 2010

Day 67

“For this cause I have allowed you to remain,
in order to show you My power, and in order
to proclaim My name through all the earth”
Exodus 9:16

There are times in our lives when we earnestly pray and ask God to remove the obstacles that are blocking our progress. Paul experienced such a time and asked God three times to free him from this obstacle he called a thorn. Obstacles can be people, circumstances, sickness or any number of things.

Moses encountered an obstacle in Pharaoh. He wanted to lead God’s people out of Egypt, but Pharaoh kept blocking him. In fact, Pharaoh took a position many others have taken over the years; when Moses said, “let my people go so they can worship God”, Pharaoh said, “sure, but not too far – not out of my sight.” Moses kept coming back, and four times Pharaoh obstructed him. “Very well, but … stay within the land … you shall not go very far … go now, the men (only) among you … and go but leave your flocks and herds behind.” This must have been frustrating to Moses, to say the least.

There was a reason for all this; the same reason that applied to Paul and us. Obstacles, as all other things in our lives ultimately will serve to the glory of the Lord. Pharaoh was permitted by God to be an obstacle so that God could demonstrate His power over Pharaoh, and have His name proclaimed throughout the earth. Paul was permitted to have an obstacle to keep him humble and find grace sufficient for his life. And we have obstacles for the same reasons. God’s purposes, His glory in our life.

“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for
Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults,
hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For
in when I am weak, then I am strong”
2 Corinthians 12:9-10

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365 Days of Glory