The Glory of the Lord

 

God tarries His coming, not because He is slow to keep His promises to us, but because of His patience to allow everyone the chance to repent and believe (2 Peter 3:9, 13). As we draw close to God, His glory fills our life. We allow His glory within us to reflect to the world around us, as His Spirit transforms us into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

God’s glory appeared in the pillar of fire and the cloud, which protected the Israelites in their desert wanderings, as well as the consuming fire on the mountain and on Moses’ face when he descended from Mt. Sinai with the Ten Commandments (Exodus 16:10; 24:17; 33:22). God’s glory within us also allows us to face trials with victory and faith.

God’s glory within us is more precious that the finest gold, and is the result of a life spent reading His Word, obeying His Spirit and giving Him all praise, glory and honor until we see Him face to face (1 Peter 1:6-7). God’s glory fills the life, which has faith in His faithfulness, rather than bitterness over the past and fear of the unknown future (Isaiah 6:3, 40:5).

When we finally see Jesus, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him in His glory (1 John 3:2). In our Heavenly residence, we will live in our immortal body and enjoy the benefits, which Adam and Eve had in the garden, and which Jesus had after His resurrection. The rewards God has in store for us are everlasting and glorious, and we will finally attain to the fullness of Christ.

Prayer:

Father God, we pray that we will decrease, so that You can increase within our mortal body even now. We want to reflect Your glory as it increases within us. Remind us to surrender all of our cares to You, because You care about us, as well as everything, which pertains to us on this earth (1 Peter 5:7). Even in the face of persecution, strengthen us from within and keep us in the palm of Your hand (John 10:28). Thank You for giving us Your glorious new life through Your Son’s sacrificial death and resurrection.

Thought for the Day:

At the coming of Christ, the whole earth will be filled with His glory.

- Psalm 72:19

Exposing the Devil

 

God gave us five senses to filter information from the world around us and to process it in our mind. What we see, hear, smell, taste and feel turns into thoughts. Our thoughts are powerful. They can build up or destroy (Proverbs 18:21). They occupy both the right and left lobes of our brain. Most of them are stored for our whole lifetime in our subconscious mind. They create pictures that make a lasting impression on our mind and influence our outlook and choices in life. That is why God wants us to bring all of our thoughts under the Lordship of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Satan wages war on the battleground of our mind. We can ask God to expose Satan’s deceptive thoughts and to replace them with His truth. We spend time reading God’s Word so we can combat Satan with it like Jesus did (Matthew 4:4). It takes three weeks to change a habit, so start submitting your thoughts to God today. Our thoughts only have as much influence over us as we permit them to have. As we submit to the Holy Spirit, He helps us to make Godly choices. We live a life of praise by reading and believing God’s Word and by entering into private and corporate worship and prayer.

The Israelites gave us an example of the way to live our life. They followed the leading of the cloud, which shaded the burning sun by day; and the pillar of fire, which lit and warmed the desert night. When the Lord commanded them to do so, they camped; and when He commanded, they moved (Numbers 9:22-23). None of the tribes deviated from this pattern for a whole generation. This had to be nerve-wracking. They never knew how long they would stay in one place; yet they conformed to the will of the Lord.

Although, they failed to walk in trust and obedience prior to their forty-year trek in the desert, they soon developed a dependence upon the Lord. They learned the hard way to trust Him and they obeyed Him one step at a time. He miraculously gave them a wealth of riches from Egypt when they left, quail and manna to eat, water from a rock and their shoes and clothing never wore out. This same Heavenly Father who provided for and protected the Israelite nation will also guide us by His Spirit as we too learn to trust and obey only Him.

We determine our eternal destiny by the simple act of belief or unbelief (John 3:16-18). Our unbelief condemns us to hell with Satan. Our belief accesses the Salvation made possible by Jesus on the cross. God takes our heart of stone, and gives us a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). He writes His laws upon our heart, so that we obey Him from a changed nature (Hebrews 8:10). If we wisely choose to believe, we are saved from sin, delivered from condemnation, resurrected from spiritual death, sanctified until purified, and eventually at Christ’s return, glorified in body, soul and spirit.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You made Yourself of no reputation, even though You shared in God’s very nature (Philippians 2:6-7). Now, You give us Your nature (2 Corinthians 5:17). You inspire us to dedicate our whole life to You (2 Corinthians 12:15). You empower us to turn away from the lusts of the eye and flesh, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). Faith without Godly works is dead (James 2:14-26). We believe and obey You; otherwise, our efforts in life result in nothing more than dead works. Dead works prove that we merely believed in a philosophy of life, instead of making a life-changing commitment to You.

Thought for the Day:

As we trust in God, He leads us by His Spirit to obey His truth and His commandments moment by moment throughout the day. - Ezekiel 36:27