Living For God’s Glory

How does a person glorify God? Our main purpose is to glorify God. That’s what living is all about. It’s not about our desires, but His. We tend to focus on everything we want rather than what God wants.

Spiritual maturity is simply concentrating and focusing on God until we are caught up in His majesty and His glory.

Throughout my life, I have tried to fill the hole in my soul, with everything things but God. Alcohol, drugs, sex, and material things. It’s wasn’t until I used God to fill the hole that I felt whole.

Here are some steps to live for the glory of God:

  • Confess your sins

Confession of sin glorifies God, because if you excuse your sin, you absolve yourself and responsibility and blame God for letting you get into a mess.

Adam illustrates this in Genesis when God confronted him, he had an excuse

“This woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree” -Genesis 3:12

He was practically saying, “You did it, God. If You hadn’t given me this woman, none of this would have happened.”

To do that is to when God and to assign guilt to Him. But God is never at fault when we sin.  Implying that God is somehowresponsible maligns maligns His holiness. So when we try to sneak out from under the absolute responsibility for our own sin, we commit grievous sin against the glory of God.

1 John 1:9 says,

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The Greek word for “confess” is homologeo, meaning “to say the same thing.” to confess means to agree with God that sin is all our fault and repent. This act glorifies God. We don’t have to beg God for forgiveness. He is faithful and just to forgive as soon as we agree with Him.

Don’t think you have to ask for forgiveness for the same sin over and over. All it will do is bring us down, exactly what Satan wants to do.

Matthew 7:7-8 says,

“Ask, and it will be given to you, seek, and you will find, knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

  • Bear Fruit

In John 15:8 Jesus told His disciples,

“My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit.”

Why? Because then the world can see the results of a Spirit-filled life. That is what we are here for -to put God on display to the world.

Colossians 1:10 says,

“Walk in a manner worthy to the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work.”

Good works are fruit. While good works won’t save us, when we live a life of good works, the world will see that we glorify our Father in heaven.

  • Give Praise To God

Psalm 50:23 says,

“He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me.”

Praise honors God. One way to praise God is to give him credit for everything. In 2 Samuel 12:26-31, when Joan won the victory against Rabbah and got possession of the enemy’s crown, he sent for King David so he could present the crown to him. This is a good illustration how a believer should act towards God (our Master). We win the victory in our life, but we don’t wear the crown. We give it to the Lord, who has won the victory for us.

  • Be Content

We may be upset about our circumstances. But we have to remember who made us -God. He promised to supply all our needs. When we are content, with knowledge, God’s sovereignty in our lives, and that gives Him glory. If we are disoriented, it’s the same as questioning God’s wisdom. That doesn’t glorify Him.

In Philippians 4:11 Paul, testified,

“I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”

Paul was confident that God would use all things -poverty, as well as abundance, comfort, as well as pain for Paul’s good and God‘s glory (Romans 8:28). He didn’t say, I’ll give glory in spite of my pain, he said I will give God glory because of it.

When we are upset for any reason, our job, our partner, our finances it is a terrible testimony about the goodness of God. What kind of God do we have? Is He really sovereign? Can He really be trusted? Glorifying God means that we praise Him with absolute contentment, knowing that our life is God‘s plan for us now.

  • Pray According to God’s Will

Jesus said in John 14:13,

“Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

Jesus’s name signifies all that He is and all that He would want. Praying in Him name means pray in accordance to Him character and His will. And God likes to reveal His glory in answered prayer. That is why He commands us to pray -so He can show us His greatness and we can give Him the praise He’s worthy to receive.

  • Proclaim God’s Word

Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 3:1,

“Pray for us that the Word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified in, just as it did also with you.”

How has the Word glorified through those believers? Because they heard it and believed. They trusted Jesus and we were born again, and God got the glory.

Presenting God’s Word clearly and accurately always gives Him glory. Every time a Sunday school teacher teaches a class, every time a Bible study leader opens the Word in someone’s living room, every time a parent sits down with their family and begins talking about the word of God, God is glorified. We honor Him by making His Word known and understood.

  • Lead others to Jesus

Call also good quarry when people are redeemed. He is glorified when Satan‘s prison is broke open and men and women are turned loose from the power of the evil one. People are saved from their sins in order to give God glory. so the more people who are brought to Jesus, the more thanksgiving is going on, and the more there are in the choir singing hallelujah (2 Corinthians 4:15).

When we lived to go off by God, He response by giving us overwhelming joy. If you say. When we have a tough life, we make it we don’t have any joy, but if we start glorifying, God, we will have joy.

Joy does not necessarily always make sorrow, discouragement, pain, and other failures go away, but as believers, we can experience supernatural joy, even in the midst of those tough things. When our joy begins to fade, it is a sure sign of encroaching sin or unbelief. It’s a sign. We need to confess the sin in our lives and pray like David,

“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation” -Psalm 51:12

Then we can yield to the Holy Spirit and our joy will return.

Legacy

What is the legacy you want to leave behind?

I want to bring a legacy of love, hope, compassion, and optimism. I may not be able to leave material possessions. But a vision for a better future.

When God Shakes Things Up

When God shakes things up it usually means that His divine force is stirring change, disrupting the status quo, or bringing about unexpected events.

We see this in the Bible like in Genesis, where God resets creation due to human corruption, or in Hebrews, where God’s voice shakes the heavens and earth to remove what’s temporary and reveal what’s eternal.

When God shakes the world it profoundly disrupts human affairs, nature or history.

Here are a few perspectives that are found in the Bible,

“God declares, I will shake the heaven and the earth, the sea, and the dry land, and I will shake the nations. The precious things of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of Hosts” -Haggai 2:6-7

This points to a future where God’s power upends worldly systems to establish divine glory. This is often linked to end time prophecy.

“See that you don’t refuse him who speaks. For if they didn’t escape when they refused Him who warned on the earth, how much more will we not escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven, whose voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens. This phrase, yet once more signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may remain” -Hebrews 12:25-27

These verses refer to God’s voice shaking the earth and heavens, removing what’s temporary to reveal the unshakable kingdom.

In Revelation events like earthquakes, cosmic disturbances, and plagues symbolize the world foundations.

Some people interpret disasters, wars, or societal upheavals as God’s shaking of the world to awaken people, correct injustice, or fulfill prophecy.

Cold weather

How do you feel about cold weather?

I would much rather be in hot weather than cold.

I have heard that living in cold environments improve heart health, boosts metabolism and enhance immune function and promote better sleep.

And hot weather improves joint and muscle health and enhances mood and boosts vitamin D.

Trusting God For Justice

In the world, so many things are not right, you don’t have to look far to find some kind of injustice. It’s easy to drive ourselves crazy trying to control every single aspect of our lives.

1 Peter 2:21-23 tells us Jesus was reviled and insulted, yet He didn’t revile or insult in return, while He suffered. He made no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to the one who judges fairly.

When we are being mistreated or enduring injustices in our lives it’s easy to want to take matters into our hands or seek vengeance. However, the best thing we can do is say, “God, I’m going to trust You to be my vindicator.

We trust God for a raise at work, for better health, or the next thing in our lives. But God wants us to trust Him through things when we are experiencing injustices. Trusting God allows us to enjoy our lives even when everything is not the way we want it to be.

We have choices to make when see injustices. We could choose to be angry and bitter toward the people involved and try and vindicate ourselves, or we could choose to trust God to make wrong things right. Knowing He could pay us back for any injustice that is done to us.

Throughout life, I have endured a lot of injustices that left me bitter, and resentful and left me constantly blaming others. However, I realized these choices only left me stressed out and physically sick. Leaving no joy in my life. There’s a quote that says “Bitterness is like drinking poison.” It hurts only us rather than hurting the person we are angry with.

When we are hurt or mistreated, it’s easy to have an attitude that says, “Someone owes me.” But God’s Word says He wants to vindicate us. Only He can restore everything we’ve lost through the injustices we have experienced.

Isaiah 61:7-8 says,

“Instead of your shame, you will have double. Instead of dishonor, you will rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land, they will possess double. Everlasting joy will be to them. For I, the Lord, love justice. I hate robbery and iniquity. I will give them their reward in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

This tells us that if we trust God He will give us double, for our troubles,

No person can ever pay us back for what we’ve been through, but God can. When we trust God to be our vindicator get our eyes off everyone else and focus on Him it is truly amazing what He can do in our life.

Whatever is going on in your life, whatever you’ve endured, whatever doesn’t seem fair. You are not invisible to God, He cares about what you care about. He sees you and will deliver His vengeance at just the right time.

God is a God of justice and He can take every wrong and make it right.

Broken Bones

Have you ever broken a bone?

I didn’t break any bones until I was older. And of course it was a stupid circumstance I put myself into.

I was bringing too many groceries in the house because I didn’t want to take to trips to my car. Going up stairs on a hot July day and missed a step and of course was wearing sandals and hit my foot on the side of the cement.

I broke my foot and my ankle in 3 places. I was laid up for 12 weeks until everything healed.

The lesson: don’t play grocery store Tetris just because you think you can do it all.

Controlling Your Focus

If you can’t control your circumstances, control your focus. When we are faced with situations beyond our power to change, we can still exert influence by focusing on what we can change, such as our reaction, our attitude, and our actions. I have found that this reduces anxiety and increases a sense of agency in our lives.

We can acknowledge that certain things are simply out of reach, and trying to control them is futile. we may not be able to control the external world, but we can choose how to react to it. Our reactions are either positive or negative, and Susie to respond with calmness and acceptance can help us manage stress.

Well, we may not be able to change the circumstances we are in, we do still take action within our own sphere of influence. Focusing on our efforts and decisions, even the small ones, can lead to positive outcomes and a sense of accomplishment.

Our attitude can greatly impact how we experience situations. By focusing on the positive aspects of our lives, even in challenging times, we can cultivate a sense of optimism and resilience.

It’s important to stay grounded and focus on the present moment, reducing the impact of worries about what we can’t control. Focusing on what we can control.

When circumstances aren’t in our control, we can try to control them, and end up being hyper focused on certain things. It’s easy to stay catastrophizing, overgeneralizing, or have a all or nothing mindset. This tends to cause us to have low self esteem, low confidence, and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.

Trying to control everything ends up, making us feel more out of control, because the truth is, we can’t control everything.

Balancing Life

How do you balance work and home life?

Balancing anything in life in general takes a few strategies.

It includes prioritizing core values like family, health, and career and saying no to non-essentials.

Managing your time. Scheduling slots for work, rest, hobbies and exercise.

Setting up boundaries. Like not letting work creep past a certain time. Don’t answer emails, or phone calls past 6PM for example.

Embrace trade-offs. Be willing to sacrifice a little discomfort for long term goals.

Check in regularly. Do a weekly, monthly assessment on what’s working or draining you. And adjust things when needed.

Sealed To The Holy Spirit

One of the assignments of Jesus is to introduce us to the Holy Spirit. Jesus gives eternal life and abundant life (John 10:19).

Eternal life does not exist outside of salvation, but abundant life does not exist outside of the Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13 says we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. This speaks of a relationship. We are encouraged “not to grieve” the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 4:30, which speaks of intimacy. And intimacy grows from relationship. Our salvation gives us a relationship, but our pursuit of the Holy Spirit brings intimacy.

You can’t have fellowship with someone you keep referring to as “it.”

2 Corinthians 13:14 says,

“The grace of Jesus changed our lives. The love of God is the foundation for everything, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”

The Grace of Jesus changed our lives. The love of God is the foundation for everything, and the communion of the Holy Spirit is what will change everything. Many know about grace and love, but a few practice communion with the Holy Spirit.

He waits to be wanted, longs to be welcomed. He needs to be hosted. Many people invite the Holy Spirit, but you know how to host Him. To start Fellowship with the Holy Spirit we must first see Him as a person. If you want to walk with the Holy Spirit, start with talking to Him. Throughout your day address Him, thank Him, worship Him. We should not feel guilty for not spending time with the Holy Spirit, but we should feel thirsty. He wants a relationship, not rules.

When we fellowship with the Holy Spirit, we can start with the awareness that He is with us, and then turn our attention to Him and lift our hearts with affection towards Him.

Our relationship can’t go higher than our obedience to the Holy Spirit. The Bible instructs us not to grieve the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 4:30. One of the main ways the Holy Spirit is grieved is when we are disobedient to His leading. It’s when the Holy Spirit speaks to us that we have a relationship with Him. Just like when the Holy Spirit led Jesus to fast in the wilderness. If you’re not hearing from Him, it may be that you need to repent or apologize for something or as simple as beginning to give to others.

It’s when we take the risk of obedience that we experience the reward in our relationship with the Holy Spirit. No risk equals no reward and no relationship.

This doesn’t mean we have to listen to everything that comes into our head. The Holy Spirit also uses our spirits to communicate with us, and His voice will never contradict God’s Word. The world says “follow your gut” but the Bible says to follow God.

Over the years I’ve prayer to hear God’s voice, but I needed to pray that He gives me grace to heed His voice too. He doesn’t always speak awesome prophetic words for other people or words of knowledge that bring immediate results. Sometimes it’s just God testing us to see if we want to go deeper with Him or stay on the same level.

By obeying the promptings of the Holy Spirit we allow Him to develop fruit within us. This cannot develop if we are disobedient to Him or if we grieve Him.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that we make mistakes, or can fall into old patterns. It’s easy to go days without praying or picking up our Bible. The key is to always bounce back, even if we sin we need to repent and get back to walking with God.

God came to the meeting where He would meet Adam, knowing that Adam fell into sin. God did not cancel the meeting. He as expecting Adam so that they could talk and Adam could repent and move forward but Adam hid from God. When we sin we are supposed to run to God, if you can run walk, if you can’t walk crawl, but don’t ever stay where you are in guilt and shame. We don’t drown by falling into the water, we drown by staying where we are.

The Holy Spirit knows our tendencies, our weaknesses, and our struggles before He committed Himself to our sanctification. He is not shocked when we make messes. What shocks Him is when we think He can’t help us get out of the messes we make. He’s shocked when we don’t trust Him enough to pull us out of whatever struggles we find ourselves in.

Sacrifices

What sacrifices have you made in life?

Life demands trade offs from us, and sacrifices are the currency. People give up hours to grind at the their jobs, instead of relaxing to chase goals like career success or personal growth. And comfort usually takes a hit. But survival always plays a role.

The Bible tells us “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

Parents sometimes skip on their dreams, hopes, and goals. Raising children, cleaning, cooking and laundry take the place of friends and they slowly fade into the background.

“We come to know that what appears today to be a sacrifice will prove instead to be the greatest investment we can ever make” -Gordon B. Hinckley

Letting Go Of The Past

Like most people, I faced a lot of challenges in my life. There’s been the normal stuff like the emotional pain of losing someone, and broken relationships.

There has also been a few curveballs. I really didn’t have much stability growing up, and I certainly didn’t have a traditional childhood.

I’m sure that I’ve had it harder than some and easier than others. No one gets through life without a few bumps in the road.

The question is, how do we find a balance of honoring our past history without letting limit or hold us back from moving forward?

Over the last nine weeks, I’ve been taking a study called “Rooted,” it was one I really didn’t want to do, but a lady that I brought to church wanted to take it and didn’t want to do it alone. It Involved bringing up the past, the painful memories I would rather forget, and it opened up a few things I needed to work on to become a better person.

Now I’m a firm believer that nothing can get better until we get to the root cause of the issues we face in life. We can’t let go of the past until we heal from the past traumas we’ve faced.

Letting go of the past, doesn’t mean that we just move on and forget about our history. Our past experiences are a part of who we are, and we will never be able to just sweep them under the rug and forget about it all.

I think that letting go is more about being intentional and deciding what our past means for the future.

We have to acknowledge and processthe past. Recognizing lingering emotions, regrets, guilt, or pain without judgment. I like how Paul puts it in Philippians 3:13-14

“I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do. Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Messiah Yeshua.”

We need to forgive and seek forgiveness. Holding onto grudges or shame blocks our progress. Colossians 3:13-14 urges us,

“bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any, even as Messiah forgave you, so you also do. Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection.”

Jewish tradition has practices like repentance during the Omer period that emphasizes clearing relational debts for spiritual growth. This is done in the 50 after Passover leading up to the Pentecost.

We can reframe our past spiritually by viewing our past as part of our journey towards wisdom. Psalm 67 speaks of God’s blessings leading to growth, suggesting even hardships can prepare us for a fruitful future. Trusting that God’s sovereignty can transform pain into purposes. Romans 8:28 tells us,

“All things work together for good for those who love God…”

We can set intentions for the future. By shifting focus and defining our goals with it and faith and purpose. By creating small actionable steps, with daily prayer and community involvement or even learning a new skill to build momentum can focus on incremental growth.

We can anchor ourselves in spiritual practices. Regular prayer, reading, scripture, or worshiping, can ground us in the present by reducing the fixation on the past which can give us hope for the future.

Surrounding ourselves with people who encouraged us to move forward, or having an accountability group can help us sustain focus on God’s promises.

Above all, we must practice self compassion. Letting go is a process, not a one time act. Be patient with yourself and rest in God‘s grace. Discipline and self-care is vitally important.

By surrendering our past to God through prayer, forgiving, and setting faith driven goals we can move forward to a future aligned with divine purpose.

Old Things

What’s the oldest things you’re wearing today?

Today I’m wearing old boots. They are broke in, comfy and full of character.

They are just perfect for a Friday.