My photograph above depicts a sunset on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, and rather reminds one of the following Scripture:
"The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth His handy work." - Psalm 19:1
Many more things could be mentioned that declare God's glory: such as the miracle of a newborn baby as well as its conception and growth in the womb (the Heavenly Father made all that possible). Once I knew a minister that observed : "You know that God has a sense of humor by just watching kittens play." That, as well, shines forth as an attribute of God and one of many qualities of the Lord that make Him glorious.
But He is glorious in many grandiose ways as well; many of you already realize all of this, but some unsaved people may never give it a thought. Following are two sermons by Ravi Zacharias that give an unexpected consideration of the Glory of God. Part one below is 29 minutes chock full of his excellent preaching. As many of you may know, he passed away not too long ago (you may find more information about him on the Web).
He mentions much in the above sermon which we all need to hear; such as what God intends in your life and how God seems to be departing from His people. He tells us that in today's society, there exists much "hollowness of the trivial."
Here is part two of the above sermon, which is also 29 minutes. Part two was exceptionally moving to me. Just a note, part two repeats portions of part one in the very beginning of it. Be patient and keep watching and you will be rewarded by the excellent contents of part two.
A very important comment by Ravi in part one above, is when he said emphatically: "One thing that keeps me going is the the firm belief more than ever, that this Gospel is the only shining light against the dark background of a confused and messed up world."
In part two of his sermon, Ravi Zacharias tells us, "If the Lord is present in your life, it is the only hope in a dark, dark world. Wake up every morning in the Light if the Lord is with you."
"For the LORD God is a sun and shield: The LORD will give grace and glory: No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly." - Psalm 84:11
Based on the above verse in Psalm 84, Charles Spurgeon wrote an excellent devotional concerning the fact that grace and glory always go together. Following is that insightful devotional :
"Bounteous is Jehovah in His nature; to give us His delight. His gifts are beyond measure, precious, and are as freely given as the light of the sun. He gives grace to His elect because He wills it, to His redeemed because of His promise, to believers because they seek it, to sinners because they need it. He gives grace abundantly, seasonably, constantly, readily, sovereignly; doubly enhancing the value of the boon by the manner of its bestowal. Grace in all its forms He freely renders to His people: comforting, preserving, sanctifying, directing, instructing, assisting grace, He generously pours into their souls without ceasing, and He always will do so, whatever may occur. Sickness may befall but the Lord will give grace; poverty may happen to us, but grace will surely be afforded; death must come but grace will light a candle at the darkest hour. Reader, how blessed it is as years roll round, and the leaves begin again to fall, to enjoy such an unfading promise as this: "The Lord will give grace."
"The little conjunction "and" in this verse is a diamond rivot binding the present with the future; grace and glory always go together. God has married them and none can divorce them. The Lord will never deny a soul glory to whom He has freely given to live upon His grace; indeed, glory is nothing more than grace in its Sabbath dress; like autumn fruit, mellow and perfected. How soon we may have glory none can tell! It may be before this month of October has run out. We shall see the Holy City, but be the interval longer or shorter, we shall be glorified ere long. Glory, the glory of heaven, the glory of eternity, the glory of Jesus, the glory of the Father: the Lord will surely give to His chosen. Oh, rare promise of a faithful God ! :
"Two golden links of one celestial chain; Who oweth grace shall surely glory gain."
As you can see, the above devotional by Charles Spurgeon was too good to edit it - all of it needed to be shared with you! By the way, Spurgeon was a British minister that lived from 1834 to 1892. Note that in his devotional above, that he expected the possible soon return of Jesus back then.
For more about Jesus' return and the Rapture of true believers (and many other topics as well pertaining to the end times we find ourselves living in today) .. go to the top right hand side of this page and enter in the search box there :"Rapture" (or any other topic) and several articles will pop up for you; many with videos as well).
Some of the ways we may glorify God is by simply living a clean, godly life. If we are of God's family - as all truly born again believers are His children - then what we do, say, and the way we act reflect upon Him ! By endeavoring to be as Christ-like as we can, we give glory to the Lord.
Remember, salvation is a gift from God. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us:
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast."
This leads us to the fact that since God/Jesus is responsible for our salvation, who are we to boast (glory) in the fact that He enables us to have any spiritual insight or understanding?!
"For Who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?" - 1 Corinthians 4:7
So any spiritual blessings and eyes of discernment where spiritual truths are concerned - all comes from the good Lord. He deserves the glory - and not us!
Let us go back to Ephesians again. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:10
This means, as you realize, we are saved by grace and faith as a gift from the Heavenly Father (Ephesians 2:8-9) and NOT by works. However, if you are truly born again by faith in Jesus as the Savior, you will want to be "fruitful" in doing His will and sharing the Gospel. If you are truly saved, good works will naturally follow from the Holy Spirit's influence in your heart and soul.
So, by being "fruitful" we may also glorify God. (NOT ourselves!!)
[Shark's Cove, Oahu, Hawaii]
"And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." - 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
In the above verses at 2 Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul exclaims so strongly about Christ's grace and what it means... this after the Lord had let him know that He would NOT remove Paul's "thorn in the flesh". (2 Corinthians 12:7-8)
These verses have special meaning to me (as to many of you, as well) and I have intended for some time to do a post here focusing primarily on the above verses. So I will not elaborate on it more here at this present time, but felt compelled to share it with you now, just the same.
[Hanalei Taro Fields, Kauai, Hawaii]
"Good works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works." - Martin Luther
"One often sees a call only in retrospect. This too is God's design. God often reinforces faith after we trust Him, not before." - Ravi Zacharias
"We had long known the Lord without realizing that meekness and lowliness of heart should be the distinguishing feature of the disciple." - Andrew Murray
"Deny your weakness, and you will never realize God's strength in you." - Joni Eareckson Tada
"It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels." - Ausgustine
If you are not saved by faith and belief in the saving power of Christ's shed blood at Calvary - that He was the Sacrificial Lamb of God, that gave His life as a ransom for you; that He died and poured out His blood and took on the sins of the world - your sins - and paid your sin debt in full when He died in your place on the Cross - then take to heart the following Scriptures that explain Salvation and then realize that without Jesus you are "toast" and lost forever. Eternity is a long time to spend in the wrong place, and being tormented at that! Please open your heart, repent, and believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven! Pray for forgiveness !
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life: but the wrath of God abideth on him." - John 3:36
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." - John 14:6
"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?" John 11:25,26
"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." - John 3:3
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16
Have a blessed and Christ centered weekend - and life!
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