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.
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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.
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14  Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
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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.

1 Corinthians 15: He Is Risen!

He is Risen, He is Risen, indeed!

It is a day of rejoicing. As Jesus said, "Rejoice!" (Mat 28:9) He has accomplished the work the Father sent Him to do, and has conquered sin and death. It is a great matter for joy.

But in my heart, I also grieve. I grieve for my brothers and sisters who say "Happy Easter," without realizing they are using the name of a pagan fertility goddess as a greeting. You see,  "Easter" can be  traced back to Astarte (Ashtoreth), the goddess to whom Asherah poles were dedicated and before whom the Israelites repeatedly polluted themselves and incurred the wrath of God. I grieve for these ignorant ones.

I grieve for my brothers and sisters who, knowing this, continue to use this name.

And most of all, I grieve for the institutions called churches, who claim to have and know the truth, who approve and teach pagan practices related to the worship of a fertility goddess, and claim that it is honoring to God and to Jesus Christ. It is a lie. They believe a lie, and they teach others to believe a lie. This is an abomination before God, and I grieve.

It is Firstfruits, rejoice! For Jesus is the firstfruits of them that sleep!
It is Resurrection Day, rejoice! For now is Christ risen from the grave!

1Co 15:20  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 

Never again will it be "easter" to me!

Exodus 28: Pomegranates, Bells, and the High Priest

Exo 28:33  And beneath upon the hem of it [the robe for the high priest] thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about:
Exo 28:34  A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.
Exo 28:35  And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not.

I was taught that every detail in the Bible is important, and it is true. I was also taught that the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, speaks of Jesus in some way, even if it is not immediately obvious. This also is true.

Used by permission

One time, as I was reading the passage above, I wondered about the pomegranates and the bells. What did they represent? The bells I thought I understood, but why pomegranates? And why were they on the hem of the high priest's robe? Other people have wondered this before me, but I did not try to research my question by reading other people's answers. I asked God. I meditated on this for some time, thinking about the pomegranate fruit: a globe shape with a tough rind which surrounds hundreds of seeds. Each seed is covered with a little red juice, the seeds are in groups, and each group is both held together and separated from other groups by a flexible membrane. One day, God showed me the mystery of the pomegranate: The seeds represent individual Christians, covered by Jesus' blood. They are gathered into local churches, where they cling to and support one another. Each local church is part of the whole body of Christ, and the body is held together by the Holy Spirit.

I was awed by this revelation, and still am. What a wonderful picture God painted for us, and how marvelous that each high priest, as he performed intercession for the people of Israel on the Day of Atonement, was wearing a reminder of the Church which was to come! God is great!

But I dismissed the bells, and didn't ask God about them. I assumed I knew: I thought they must represent giving praise to God. Well, that may be true, but there is another beautiful picture here, which God showed me much later. Let me explain:

Verse 35 above says, "And it [the robe] shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not."

The High Priest [Aaron] was to wear this robe as he went into the Holy Place. Leviticus 16 records the regulations regarding this. If these rules were not correctly followed, he would die. And since he could only go in alone, the bells on his robe told those outside that the priest was alive and performing his duties before God.

How can the golden bells tell us something about Jesus? First, we must realize that gold, in scripture, represents divinity, and that the word translated 'bell' means something struck. So the golden bells represent Jesus, the Son of God, who was stricken for our sins and iniquities. Wow!

But wait, there's more: the bells were also a signal that the high priest was alive. With this thought, we can see that the bells represent the Spirit of God witnessing to Christians and seekers that Jesus, although He is not walking in a body on the earth, is ALIVE in Heaven performing his priestly duty of intercession before God for everyone who will come to Him. Wow!!

But wait, there's more: because we, as believers, are the Temple, and the Holy Spirit resides in us (1 Cor 3:16), the bells also represent each one of us, witnessing to the world that Jesus is ALIVE, and is standing before God making intercession for all who come to Him. Wow!!!

So in these three verses in the Old Testament, we find a picture of the church, and of  Jesus' death and resurrection. I want to say WOW!!!! How about you?

No Magic Words

Galatians 2:20   I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.


Do you have Jesus? There are no magic words. In your heart, do you want Jesus?

Does He fill you? Do you want more of Him? Do you want His power in your life? Do you want to know Him, and the power of His resurrection? Are you willing to die? Are you ready to die? There are no magic words, no special days, no rituals, nothing. There is Jesus, and you. Do you want Him? Or do you want you: your things, your home, your friends, your family, your job?

Do you want Jesus? Are you ready to stand in rags before Him? No new dress, no hair dye, no make-up. Are you ready for Him to clothe you? Do you want Jesus?

Do you want what He wants? Can you accept His gifts? Can you see His signs? Can you see His death, His burial, His resurrection? Can you see relationships healed, bodies healed, souls healed? Not gold dust, not feathers, not holy laughter. He does not do those things. He does not need to. He is God. There are no magic words.

He will use any willing vessel: you, your neighbor, your mother, your father, your spouse, your child. Name any person you can think of, someone you admire, someone famous, who is not Jesus. That person cannot save you, heal you, heal your relationships, or give you what you need. That person can only, maybe, lead you to Jesus. Do you want Jesus? Be still. Don’t run. He is right beside you. You are in His presence right now. 

I want Jesus. Do you?

Romans 4:24-25 Who Raised Him from the Dead?

Rom 4:24  But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25  Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

I have been participating in a study of Romans with After God's Heart, a community Bible Study for women. We are currently studying this passage, and the question was asked: "What do the following verses reveal about who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead?" These verses are given:

1 Thessalonians 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

John 2:19-22 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20  Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21  But he spake of the temple of his body. 22  When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

As I read these verses carefully, I realized that each of the persons of the trinity participated in the resurrection, and I wanted to share.