Give Glory to God

Did you ever wonder what it means to give glory to God? It's one of those things we are told we are supposed to do, and it sounds like a very good thing, but what does it look like? Are we giving God glory when we sing a worship song or hymn? Go to church? Pass out religious literature? Take communion? Pray? Read the Bible? Point out sin? Preach?

Not necessarily.

God has some things to say about giving Him glory, and we can learn what He means from what He says. Searching the New Testament for the words "glory God," I learned.
It is simple.

Luke 2:8  And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

• This passage is about Jesus' birth. The whole purpose of Jesus' life and death was God's glory. When we follow Jesus according to God's plan, we are giving God glory.

Luke 17:11  And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
12  And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
13  And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
14  And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
15  And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16  And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
17  And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
18  There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
19  And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

• This teaches us that thanking God for what He has done is giving Him glory.

John 11:1  Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
...
3  Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
4  When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
…
14  Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
…
40  Jesus saith unto [Martha], Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
41  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
42  And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
43  And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
44  And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

• This is a little more complicated: Obviously, that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead gave God glory. But how does that apply to us today? One does not often see people raised from the dead today...at least not physically. But spiritually it is a different story. Every person who becomes Jesus' disciple passes from death into life (See John 5:24). So our salvation is a resurrection, and gives God glory.

Acts 12:22  And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
23  And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.

• Herod was a great orator, but God judged him "because he gave not God the glory" for his skill. When we give credit to God our Creator for our abilities, we give Him glory.

Romans 4:19  And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:
20  He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
21  And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
22  And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

• Abraham, in his faith in God's promise of a son, gave Him glory through that faith. Likewise, we give God glory through our faith that He will keep His promises. Further, we give God glory when we live according to our faith (Romans 14:23 & 1 Corinthians 10:31).

Rom 15:7  Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.

• Strong's lexicon defines receive as “to take to oneself, that is, use (food), lead (aside), admit (to friendship or hospitality)." So we give God glory when we break bread together, counsel each other, and extend friendship or hospitality to one another. This is the outworking of the commandment to love one another, and the witness to those outside the body of Christ that we are His.

There are a few others, but these sum it up: Turn to Jesus for salvation and follow Him in faith; thank God, giving Him credit for what He has done; love one another. That is how to give glory to God. Simple.

Hebrews 6:4-6 Impossible

Heb 6:4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Heb 6:6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Someone I care about put faith in Jesus once. I was present at the baptism. After a few years walking  as a follower of Christ, however, they fulfilled Christ's prophecy, which He spoke to his disciples in Matthew 26:31b (NIV). He said, "...you will all fall away..." When we spoke about it, I was told that return was impossible, because it said so in "my" Bible. I know the Scripture referenced was Hebrews 6:4-6 (above).

Maybe you have had a similar experience. Maybe you think your loved one is forever lost, and are heartbroken because of it. I understand, and I say take hope! God is in charge. He started the work in the one you love, and He is responsible to finish it.

So what does this mean in Hebrews 6? It plainly says it is impossible to bring one who has fallen away to repentance. But we need to find out to whom it is impossible, to man or to God. To understand this, we need to look more deeply into God's Word.

Mat 19:24  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Mat 19:25  When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
Mat 19:26  But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Here in Matthew 19, Jesus Himself says that it is impossible for a rich man to save himself, but He affirms that with God all things are possible. This is repeated in Mar 10:27 "And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible." and Luke 18:27  "And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." Also, in Luke 1, after Gabriel announces to Mary that she will conceive by the Holy Spirit and the power of God, he ends by saying, "For with God nothing shall be impossible." (Luke 1:37)

So in Hebrews, it must mean that it is impossible for man to renew such a one to repentance. With God, all things are possible.

There is one more thing we need to know, and that is what is possible for us:

Mark 9:23  Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Mark 9:24  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.


This means it is possible for us to intercede with God for our loved ones when we have faith and believe in Jesus, God's Son. This father confessed both his belief and his unbelief, and asked for help, and Jesus healed his son. He will do the same for you and for me, because He rewards those who diligently seek Him. (Heb 11:6b)

So take heart and intercede with God for those you love, then get out of the way and let Him work!

Luke 13:15 Freedom

 ¹⁰And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
 ¹¹And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.
 ¹²And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
 ¹³And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
 ¹⁴And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.
 ¹⁵The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
 ¹⁶And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? (Luke 13:10-16, King James Version)

 ⁵And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? (Luke 14:5, King James Version)

These two passages are similar. I have quoted the whole story from Luke 13 to give the idea of both. There is much that could be said, but what I noticed were the animals. The ox was a clean animal; that is, it was acceptable for sacrifice. The donkey ("ass") was unclean; it was not acceptable for sacrifice. But they were both useful as working animals, and both needed regular care.

Jesus is making a point, or rather several points, in these healings and in His use of oxen and donkeys as examples. He shows that God will care for the Jew (ox/clean) and Gentile (donkey/unclean). He will set them free (loose them from their stalls/pull them from the pit). He will give them the Holy Spirit (water).

God will do this through His Son, Jesus, to all who believe.

Luke 5:17-26 Who is He?

Luk 5:17  And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
18  And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. 19  And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.
20  And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
21  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
22  But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? 23  Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
24  But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
25  And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. 26  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.

This is a familiar story; it is also related in Matthew 9:2-8 and Mark 2:1-12. What I see here is this: in verse 20, Jesus forgives the sick man his sins. In verse 21, the Pharisees, who knew the scripture, accused him in their hearts of blasphemy because only God can forgive sins. In verse 24, because He knew what they were thinking, Jesus proves His authority to forgive sins by healing the man's infirmity, as well.
The logical progression is this:

• Jesus forgave sins
• Only God can forgive sins
• Jesus healed miraculously
• Only God performs miracles (this is understood but not explicit in this text)
  
• Therefore, Jesus is God

They were all amazed, filled with fear, and gave glory to God. So should we all.