Tag: GLory

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, God is good, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, LGG Study, Living Faithful in a Faithless Land, Quiet Time

The Reputation of God

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based on the Love God Greatly Study, Living Faithful in a Faithless Land / w6d2

Scripture: God’s Road Map For Our Journey / Ezekiel 36:16-28 (26-27)

I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh.27 I will put my Spirit within you; I will take the initiative, and you will obey my statutes and carefully observe my regulations. Ezekiel 36:26-27

Observations and Applications

Sometimes, God’s Word leaves us wondering why certain things happen, or – as we have seen in the book of Daniel – there are visions recorded that we can’t quite understand because some things are meant to stay hidden from us. As we see in the journal page below, this is not the case with today’s passage and the unfolding events in the life of Israel, the people of God. Clearly, God was very open with what was going to happen and why –

– God was very open with what was going to happen and why –

Through Ezekiel, God makes it crystal clear to the people that His anger had been poured out on them because they had defiled their land with their “evil way of living.” It was detestable to Him, and because of this, God scattered them to many lands to punish them for the evil way they chose to live. One would think this would have awakened them and caused them to change their lifestyles, yet, from there, it seems to have escalated, as even in the faithless lands where they were exiled, they brought shame to God’s name – to the point that He was concerned about His reputation.

God uses Israel to reveal Himself to the nations – and the same is true of believers in Christ today. God not only uses us but He has called us to be His light to the world. 🦋

The people had failed God, falling short of His glory despite the teachings they were to remember and obey, as well as the warnings God sent them along the way. So, “for the sake of His holy reputation,” God moved to magnify His great name by restoring Israel and making the nations know that He was the LORD. However, we must not miss this vital truth: God did not restore Israel for their sake but for His own. He uses Israel to reveal Himself to the nations – and the same is true of believers in Christ today. God not only uses us to make Him known but He has called us to be His light to the world.

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

Matthew 5:14-16

The Bible makes it abundantly clear that God created man and that He created him for His glory. Therefore, the ultimate purpose of man, according to the Bible, is simply to glorify God. – Gotquestions.org

One of the ways we glorify God is by walking faithfully in a relationship with Him. Apart from God, it is impossible to glorify His name. As we saw with the Israelites, sin separates us from God (Isa 29:2), not only hindering His glory through us but jeopardizing His reputation. Be encouraged by these words from gotquestions.org: while “sin separates us from God and makes it impossible to glorify Him on our own. – through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, our relationship with God is reconciled—our sin is forgiven and no longer creates a barrier between God and us (Romans 3:23–24).”

Since God created man in His image (Genesis 1:26–27), man’s purpose cannot be fulfilled apart from Him. King Solomon tried living for his own pleasure, yet at the end of his life he concluded that the only worthwhile life is one of honor and obedience to God (Ecclesiastes 12:13–14).

Gotquestions.org
Prayer Response to the Journey

Father, thank You for the reminder that this life You have given us and all that You do in and through us, and the callings You have placed on our lives are not about us – but are meant to be all for Your glory. Help us never to bring shame to Your reputation but to live as lights in this dark world— Let us heed the words of Jesus and not let our light be hidden. Help us to walk with You and talk with You and to live and speak in such a way that radiates Your love and grace to the world around us so that everyone will give You the praise and the honor due Your holy name. – In the name of Jesus – Amen.

The More We Know

Why did our journey lead us to Ezekiel? (borrowed and shared from got questions.org)

Ezekiel ministered to his generation who were both exceedingly sinful and thoroughly hopeless. By means of his prophetic ministry he attempted to bring them to immediate repentance and to confidence in the distant future. He taught that: (1) God works through human messengers; (2) Even in defeat and despair God’s people need to affirm God’s sovereignty; (3) God’s Word never fails; (4) God is present and can be worshiped anywhere; (5) People must obey God if they expect to receive blessings; and (6) God’s Kingdom will come.

Key Verses:

Ezekiel 2:3-6, “He said: ‘son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says.” And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.'”

Further Reading: Romans 5:6-11

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, God is good, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time

No Excuses

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based on the Love God Greatly Study, Triumph over Trials / w5d1

THE JOURNEY (SCRIPTURE AND OBSERVATION)

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:1-4 and SOAP: verse 3

I can pray this because his divine power has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness through the rich knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence. 

2 Peter 1:3

How many times and different ways can I say it? This is one of my top ten encouraging verses and it has made such a difference in my walk with God. Why? Because He used it to stop my excuses. You know, the ones like “peace is not my virtue” as an excuse for losing your temper or not wanting to make an effort to live at peace with someone difficult to deal with. Or there’s the excuse of gluttony that sounds something like – “I just have no self-control when it comes to pizza (chocolate or a myriad of other vices). We’ve all got weaknesses when it comes to living a godly life – and for every weakness, there is almost always an excuse just waiting to be offered up. The thing is the excuses don’t hold any credibility in the light of Peter’s teaching and God’s gift. For, If God has called us to ‘it’ then He has equipped us for ‘it’ – whatever ‘it’ may be.

I love the following explanation by bibleref.com. Check it out and ask God to help you use the spiritual tools He has supplied through His divine power, which He gives to all of us who are in Christ.

We are fully equipped. But we have a choice about whether or not we’ll really use those spiritual tools. This requires effort on our part.

How are we equipped? It didn’t happen naturally. We weren’t born with it. We didn’t earn it through hard work or good behavior. For those in Christ, God’s divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness. Like salvation, all of this was ours when we came to know God (through faith in Christ). As Peter will make clear, knowing God, the source of all life, is the only path to being fully equipped to live as God calls us to do.

And how does He call us? By His own glory and goodness, meaning “moral excellence.” Jesus sets the standard for what is good and glorious, calls for us to follow, and fully equips us to make the journey. 1

LIVING THE JOURNEY (APPLICATION)

Live a godly life, a life of “moral excellence.” Let this verse be your mantra when tempted or weary of battling sin.

  • We must choose to apply the power, whether it is to do something or abstain from something.
    • i.e., do you struggle with listening to gossip or spreading it? Either way, God’s Word makes it clear that it does not align with His will/pleasure, (Romans 1:29b-32).
    • So we must be intentional about putting off the old (gossip) and putting on the new (encouragement, truth, love, …)—(Proverbs 21:23). Those who guard their tongues keep themselves from calamity. So we must guard our tongues and refrain from the sinful act of gossip. If we surrender our natural desires to the Lord, He will help us to remain righteous. May we all follow the Bible’s teaching on gossip by keeping our mouths shut unless it is necessary and appropriate to speak.2
  • We must rely on God’s divine power, given to us through the knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence.
  • Let the promise be an anchor of hope and strength. God has given us everything we need, including the power we need for a godly life. This power enables us to overcome temptations or deal with any weaknesses we may have.
Question FOR THE JOURNEY

Where are you on your journey of spiritual growth? In what area do you need to take ground: surrender, knowing God’s Word, trusting in God’s timing, etc.?

PRAYER FOR THE JOURNEY

Father, Spirit, and Son, we are weak without You. We are dependent, as always, on You, and we are encouraged to know that, in Your goodness, You have given us everything we need to live a godly life. Help us when we are weak to remember You are strong and able to keep us from all wrong. You have promised to show us a way of escape when we are tempted and have filled us with Your Spirit, equipping us to live lives of moral excellence! We pray and thank You in Jesus’ name – Amen –

THE MORE WE KNOW

For more insight visit be sure and visit https://lovegodgreatly.com/lgg-blog/

Posted in Bible study, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Living In Community, Not Made to Be Alone, Quiet Time

The Impact of God’s People

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based on: Not Made to Be Alone, an Love God Greatly Study / w4d2

Today’s Reading: Matthew 5:13-16 / SOAP: 14-16

You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16
Be the light

God’s people are important to His process of calling others to Himself. Consider the words of Paul to the Romans, in chapter 10:13-14 – where he writes, “How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them?” And don’t forget the “great commission” of the [church] to be His hands and feet and the mouth pieces though whom He speaks.

Like a light in a dark room we are meant to help others see their way out of the darkness to God. So what we say and do is meant to draw attention, not to us, but to our deeds and words – which should reflect God in us and in return reflect honor and glory back to Him.

Response to God’s Word

Father let the words of our mouths and the actions we take or the countenances and responses we have reflect Your love in us and our love for You – so that in all things You receive the glory – Forever Amen+

Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, He Sees He Knows He Cares, He Sees He Knows He Cares, LGG Study, Quiet Time

It’s All About Him

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Today’s Scripture: Luke 1:57-80; SOAP – Luke 1:68-71

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
because he has come to help and has redeemed his people.
69 For he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago,
71 that we should be saved from our enemies,
and from the hand of all who hate us.

Luke 1:68-71 NET

The Rest of the Story …

I was never a big radio listener but on occasion I would find myself caught up in a program by Paul Harvey, called “The Rest of the Story“. The stories would catch my attention but even if I wasn’t interested in the particular story of the day I would continue listening to the end just to hear him say, the now renown statement, “And now you know…the rest of the story.”

This statement and the sound of his voice came flooding back to my mind today as I was reading the rest of Zechariah’s story. If you remember on day one of our study we read how the angel appeared to Zechariah in the Temple and announced that Elizabeth, Zechariah’s wife, would become pregnant and give birth to a son. We also read that Zechariah had been struck mute because he didn’t believe what the angel had told him. Day two brought the news that, just as the angel had said, Elizabeth did become pregnant; and today’s passage reveals that the child was indeed a son. When the people came to circumcise the child, in obedience to the angelic instructions Elizabeth gave him the name John, instead of the customary name of his father. When the people questioned this, Zechariah, still unable to speak, confirmed the name that Elizabeth had spoken, by writing the name John for all to see. Miraculously, upon writing the name his speech returned – and all the people were amazed and “wondered what this child will be.” Scripture says, “Then, Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied.”

He Turned All of His Words Into Praise

Zechariah could have used his words to describe what had happened in the Temple that day with the angel, he could have described what it was like to have not been able to talk, he could have done some new-dad baby-bragging, which no doubt he did at some point. However, in this moment, with this blessing he turned all of His words into praise of the Lord God of Israel and prophesying about the Messiah – “The Horn of Salvation”, whom His child, John, would make known to the world. Zechariah used his voice to make it known that God had done this to show mercy to their people and to remember His holy covenant made to Abraham. He reminded the people that because God was rescuing them from their enemies they could now and forever more serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness. Even when He turned tenderhearted attention to his infant child before him, his blessing continued to focus on God and Jesus, the Most High – the Lord who was coming to save His people from their sins, saying:

And you [John], will be called the prophet of the Most High For you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give His people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. Because of our God’s tender mercy the dawn will break upon us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. And [John] kept growing and becoming strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day [Jesus] was revealed to Israel.

Luke 1:76-80

“And now you know…the rest of the story.“

Paul Harvey
My Response to God’s Word

Father, thank You for the story of John, who made Jesus known to the world, as God called him to do. But I also thank you for Zechariah and Elizabeth, who You used to fulfill the prophecy from Isaiah 40:3 of “one who cries out, In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord” -. From the barren womb of Elizabeth, who was in her old age, you brought forth the messenger of our Lord. You silenced the tongue of Zechariah and then loosened it to make known the great things You were doing. You taught Zechariah, who doubted, to trust You in all things by showing him – and all of us through him – that “nothing is impossible with You”. Help me, like Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary – to use my words to praise You – to make known Your greatness. Help me to trust and not doubt, and to obey – even when i don’t understand what You are doing. Help me to live and talk in such a way that others see and hear what You have done so that others will experience and/or see Your mercy and rejoice with me- and may “the rest of my story” be a beautiful legacy of faith – to the glory of Your good and gracious name! Amen, In Jesus’ Name!

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Importance of Prayer

Looking Back and then Ahead

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Week 4 Preview of Love God Greatly’s, The Importance of Prayer
Looking Back

Last year we looked at these same verses around this same time of year and here’s what I wrote that day in response:

My daughter gave birth to her first child this weekend, my first grandchild. What a wonderful gift from God that has filled our family with rejoicing! As my mother said, “He’s the beginning of a new generation.” My father, who recently passed away, would have certainly been rejoicing over this little guy. He would have been rejoicing in the hope of him knowing the Lord and the hope of God using him for great things would have been at the top of his list.💜 It strikes me how fitting this is with today’s lesson about “rejoicing in hope”, specifically in the “Hope of God’s glory”. God’s glory, as defined by Bibleref.com, “is Himself and all that is His”. As God’s children, we have the great privilege of HOPE – not a hope that something may happen but of the expectation that it will happen. An expectation that comes from believing in Christ without seeing – and trusting in the promises associated with our faith. The hope of eternity, the hope of peace and grace and mercy, the hope of forgiveness! We rejoice in the HOPE of His love come down every Christmas, and in His death, burial and resurrection with baptisms and every communion we partake of. As God’s children we have HOPE and when we truly understand the foundation of our HOPE we will be moved to rejoice in the goodness of our God and all that is His – and this my friends – should have a great effect on how we pray.

Looking Ahead

Sweet to look back on memories like this – sweeter still is the HOPE that is renewed by what God has done in the past that has demonstrated His love and faithfulness to His children.

Week 4 promises to be interesting, as we will journey through both the Old and New Testaments, covering some passages that reveal “How God Answers Prayers”. On Friday we will look at one of my favorite Ephesian passages, which proclaims that God is able to do more than we ask or even imagine – Talk about HOPE!

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Ephesians 3:20 NLT

I invite you to join me daily and pray that you will find the journey to be a source of delight and an encouragement to your soul. Jeremiah said it like this – “[God], Your Words were found and I ate them and Your words became to me a source of joy and the delight of my heart -” Jeremiah 15:16.

Want to join me on facebook for a bit more interactive study – join me here https://www.facebook.com/groups/2825151424418487/

Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, LGG Study, The Importance of Prayer

Pray Rejoicing In Hope

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Inspired by the – The Importance of Prayer, A LGG Bible Study- w3d1
Today’s Scripture: Romans 5:1-5; SOAP: 1-2

Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have also obtained access into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God’s glory. 3 Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance, character, and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:1-5 NET

3 For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Romans 4:3

But the statement it was credited to him was not written only for Abraham’s sake, 24 but also for our sake, to whom it will be credited, those who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was given over because of our transgressions and was raised for the sake of our justification.

Romans 4:23-25

Is there anything more exciting than knowing we have been declared righteous by our faith? To truly understand the implication and the beauty of it, the unbelievable love behind it, and the truest meaning of God’s grace – it helps to read chapters 1-4 of Romans but specifically Romans 4:3, 23-25. I especially love verses 23-24, “But the statement it was credited to him was not written only for Abraham’s sake, but also for our sake, to whom it will be credited, those who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.” But in context with our study on prayer, what does it all mean? How does it affect the way we pray? And, how does it produce a HOPE in which we can rejoice?

Why Can We Pray Rejoicing in HOPE?

Because, to name a few reasons …

  • Christ was given over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.(4:25)
  • We are DECLARED Righteous through faith in Christ. (3:24-25)
    • This declaration happens by grace through faith, not by works. (Romans 5:1-2, Ephesians 2:8-9)
  • We have peace with God, through the sinless blood of Christ. (5:1-2)
  • Which means we have access, or A WAY, [Jesus Christ, John 14:6] …
    • to enter into the presence of God
    • to stand in His Grace
    • to rejoice in the HOPE of God and all that is His

Faith is the victory! It is the key to the righteousness we must obtain through Christ to be made right with God and experience the hope of rejoicing in His glory! – The hope that does not disappoint, as we come to know the love of God that has been poured out into our hearts through His Holy Spirit, who He has given to us! It [faith] is the key to praying with HOPE and to rejoicing in our sufferings, and standing in His Grace!

Father, Than You for the HOPE that comes from knowing and believing in Your Son, Jesus! Thank for the RIGHTEOUSNESS that is ours through our Faith in Him, in His death and resurrection, for the victory that is ours through this FAITH, and for making a way where there was truly no other way. Thank You for Your GRACE that allows us to stand in Your presence and to REJOICE in the HOPE of Your GLORY but also in our sufferings because of the love You have poured into our hearts through Your Spirit! – Thank You in Jesus’ name, Amen –

Want More

Be sure and check out today’s LGG blog post for even more insight

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Bridge to Everlasting Covenant Week 2, Friday

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Question of the Day: According to verse 17, the law was given through Moses, but what was given through Jesus Christ?

Today’s Scripture: John 1:14-18 (S.O.A.P. John 1:14)

So the Word became human[a] and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.[b] And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

15 John testified about Him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for He existed long before me.’”

16 From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.[c] 17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is Himself God,[d] is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

The Prayer God Loves to answer
Don’t Let Me Miss the Glory