glory to god – Page 6

30daysofpraise, Bible, bible study, Christian, Christian Church, christian encouragement, christian men, christian parenting, christian podcast, Christian women, Faith, Jesus, Jesus Follower, prayer, religion, Uncategorized

His Word

August 5, 2022August 18, 2022 krisshetter

"…encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into His kingdom and glory."  1 Thessalonians 2:12

“Jesus what would I be without your red letter words? Without the revealing words about our Father God? Thank you Lord, for each time I open my Bible that your desire is to teach me about your kingdom and glory. Amen”

For many years I sat in a church pew without ever cracking open a Bible. I didn’t even open it when the pastor told us what page to turn to – because the scripture was up on the screen. My own Bible sat gathering inches of dust. It wasn’t until just a couple years ago, when I was unable to attend church, that I realized all the teaching needed was available right at my fingertips.

“..my friends, stand over this volume, and admire its authority. This is no common book. It is not the sayings of the sages of Greece; here are not the utterances of philosophers of past ages. If these words were written by man, we might reject them; but oh, let me think the solemn thought — that this book is God’s handwriting, that these words are God’s.”
Charles Spurgeon on the Bible

How glorious is it that God – that omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent being – gave us all we need to know about Him and how to best have a relationship with Him? Not only did He write down what we need to know He sent Jesus to reveal even more! If we needed to summarize the purpose of Jesus’ brief physical walk on this earth it might be to say so that we could be pulled even closer in this relationship. To know the one who created us like we know our own hand. To want to be so close to Him that we become one with Him. To know how simple it is to receive His full mercy and grace by just saying, “yes I do and I will.” Throughout Jesus’ life He pointed us back to the Father and forward to the Holy Spirit. Reminding us who sent Him and why.

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the servant of God^[may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Yes, my friends, there’s still a lot about God and the Trinity that are a mystery. His thoughts and ways are greater than ours. But sometimes we just need to shrug and say, “maybe that’s not for me to know just now.” Until then we can lift up our voices in praise for the gift of His Word. It shouldn’t be taken for granted. For most of our human existence we didn’t have this gift widely available. The Bible is now translated into about 1,500 languages. And for that we should give glory!

Majesty Revealed

August 3, 2022August 18, 2022 krisshetter

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.  Acts 7:55

“Lord, there are so many times you quietly reveal yourself to me. At times I miss the chance to see and glorify you while other times I realize the moment is very special. Thank you for finding ways to communicate with me and showing me your full glory. Amen”

Each time I go play golf – which I’m fairly new at and definitely very terrible at – I say a prayer thanking God for the opportunity to enjoy this thing called “Creation.” I ask for Him to help me remember that I “get to play golf” rather than it being some awful task that I’m being drug into. Because if you’ve ever tried learning something new you know there’s a steep learning curve which can bring you to the point of wondering why you ever embarked on the journey!

The other day not only did God bless me with meeting three new golf friends but He revealed Himself to us on the second hole of the course. And it gave me the opportunity to proclaim His glory to strangers.

At the green of the first hole, I noticed two large hawks hopping along the ground near the tee for the second hole. I pointed it out to my new friends and we interrupted our putting to stop and notice the unusual sight. And when we had finished there, we drove over to the next tee. When we all arrived, I looked over to a post located maybe 4 yards away and there sitting majestically was one of the large hawks. It was at least 2 ½ feet tall. Just sitting and watching us. I have never been that close to a wild hawk before because they are a bit skittish. I gasped and pointed to the hawk and we all stood there and stared. He/She was stunning and slightly scary looking with its large beak and talons. And I realized God was reminding me of my prayer. To not take playing golf too seriously that I don’t notice the beauty of His creation. I found myself, amongst these strangers crying out loud, “Glory to God!” And then he flew off.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7

I certainly hope I never am in a situation like the disciple Stephen – being stoned to death. In his terrible demise, God helped him take his eyes off the pain and suffering and lifted them to the glorious scene of God and Jesus. Friend, it doesn’t matter if you are just going through the motions of life or you’ve found yourself in a stressful, painful situation, God will reveal Himself to you. Seek Him and you will find Him.

My Body Is Yours, Lord

August 2, 2022August 18, 2022 krisshetter

"Therefore, I give glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God." Romans 15:17

“Heavenly Father, as I begin this workout help me have the strength and fortitude to complete it so that I may be strong in order to serve you with all my heart, mind, and body. And in that service my body gives glory to you for all that you have given me. Amen”

One of the many lessons I’ve gleaned through studying the Bible is that Jesus wants all of us – our entire body, mind and heart. He’s not a halfway kind of guy. You’re either on the path and maybe struggling to stay on it or you are wandering off into the forest. There’s no one foot on and one off. Because when we get to the narrow gate you’ve got to have both feet firmly planted to walk through it. This includes taking care of the body God gave us.

"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰you were bought at a price. Therefore,  honor God with your bodies." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Put in context this Bible verse is referring to sexually immoral acts. However, it can also simply remind us that our bodies are God-given. And like all God’s gifts He wants us to use it as good stewards. Why? To put our gift into service for the children of God to glorify Him.

One day, after beating myself up about my weight, my aging face, my bad hair I stood in front of the mirror and had an epiphany. I am a child of God. My body belongs to Him. And my complaining and lack of caretaking of my body was rude. Yes, rude and disrespectful to God. I needed to instead think of ways to care for this gift and glorify Him with it.

Whatever state our bodies are in, be it fit, or old, not quite fully functioning, or basically in working order, we need to take care of it so that when called upon by the Holy Spirit we are ready for action. Even if you are in a wheelchair, your arms can be strong to hug a person or maybe just hold a hand. If you are struck with a disease affecting you physically God still wants you in His holy service.

So friends, break out your sneakers, snap on your headband, pick up those weights and getting moving. Get strong. Get ready. Your neighbor, your friend, a stranger, a family member may need you today to lend a hand. And when you step forward to help remember to thank God for this gift and glorify Him!

To God Give The Glory

August 1, 2022August 18, 2022 krisshetter

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” Revelation 4:11

Holy Father, Loving Jesus and Ever Present Spirit, today I will exalt you; I will praise your name forever. Great are you, Lord! You are worthy to give all glory and praise! I will speak of your glorious splendor and majesty. I will tell of the power of your wonderful works and I will celebrate your abundant goodness and proclaim your great deeds. Amen*

A few years ago, I started a prayer project. I had no problem asking God for things to happen in my life. I also didn’t struggle with asking for forgiveness. And I always added others to my petitions. What I had a difficult time doing was praising God. Not just thanking Him for what He has done for me, but praising Him for who He is. It seemed silly and flowery.

As my faith has progressed, I’ve realized how important it is for us believers to acknowledge God’s magnificence, power and well, just plain awesomeness. It helps to put our whole lives into perspective. It reminds US who really is in charge. So, I started the 30 Days of Praise series. Eventually I went on to write 30 More Days of Praise and then 30 Days of Thanksgiving.

Recently, I kept seeing the word “glorify” in the study I’m doing about the Trinity. I started looking into the differences between praising God and giving God the glory due to Him. I found this helpful description of praise and glory:

Praise (ἔπαινος; epainos) means the excellence of a person. Glory (δόξα; doxa) means splendor and greatness. Honor (τιμή; time’) means respect and high status or value.
Dr. Thomas Clothier

And it got me thinking how I need to up my praise game. God isn’t just excellent in the ways He shows up in my life. He, without anything to do with me, is full of splendor and awesome in power! Jesus’ every move was to glorify the Father. The Father loved and glorified the Son. The Holy Spirit came to live in us to glorify Jesus’ act of salvation and to continue the work of the Father. The Trinity uses us to glorify the work of creation – it’s beauty and mystery.

We glorify him when we care more about what he wants than about what we want. Even better, we glorify him when we want the same things he wants.
Peter Krol, Knowable Word: Helping Ordinary People Learn to Study the Bible.

I’m not sure I can fully describe the glory of God through words but I’m going to make an attempt to show how our everyday lives can be lived to give Him the glory due. Please join me on this 30 day prayer journey of glorifying God and watch as His love for us unfolds into a beautiful story.

*This prayer was taken from parts of Psalm 145, “David’s Psalm of Praise.”

Bible, bible study, Christian, Christian Church, christian encouragement, christian men, christian parenting, christian podcast, Christian women, Faith, Jesus, Jesus Follower, Uncategorized

“Those” Seasons

April 20, 2022April 19, 2022 krisshetter

Hello friends! It’s been a while since I’ve added to my blog. For the last few months I’ve been in one of “those” seasons. Loss, heartache, questioning, along with so many conversations with God and His Holy Spirit. As James reminds us,

“Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

And ain’t that the truth.

We have a few roads from which to choose when we go through our difficult seasons. We can beg the Lord to go back to the familiar and comfortable. We can rush our minds to the other side of the trial either imagining an outcome far worse or far better than we hope or fear. Or we can learn a bit from Jesus’ brother and “let this perseverance finish its work so we can be mature and complete.” In other words, we live in this God-given moment right now, seeking His blessings, seeking His voice, and seeking the lessons to be learned.

The day I wrote this post my devotional reminded me to not work for food that perishes but for the food which endures eternal life. (Charles Stanley, Every Day in His Presence) I was admonished to change my point of view and not focus on the problems right in front of me but rather what God’s interest is in developing me for His eternal purpose. And very importantly, asking for help in learning His lessons quickly so that His peace and strength would again be my resting place.

During these last few months I’ve also been deep dive into Priscilla Shirer’s study on Elijah with my BSGs. As usual, God is using all of my life to teach me about standing firm in my faith and stepping forward in trust. And as I have prayed to God to reveal to me my next blog series I kept hearing the phrase: “Lessons from Cherith.” You see, Elijah had to spend a lot of time alone, facing his own trials before he was ready for the “big show.” In that time, some of which was in the area called Cherith, he had to choose to either trust God’s eternal plan for him or not. He had to remove so many well-honed cultural and religious thoughts of “the way things are supposed to be” and instead see how God works. And he had to decide to stand out amongst the crowd.

And although my “Cherith” hasn’t lasted for as long as Elijah’s or even as long as Jesus was in the wilderness, I learned some valuable lessons while communing with the Holy Spirit. In the next few weeks I’d like to share some of these with you. To hopefully help us realign our lives to be Christian lives, lived out for all the world to see. For our friends and neighbors and co-workers to be spurred to ask why we seem different.

Friends, we can’t keep wandering through the wilderness of this earthly world living up to its standards. It’s time to take our hard earned lessons from “those seasons” and put them to work for the glory of God.

Bible, bible study, Christian, Christian Church, christian encouragement, christian men, christian parenting, christian podcast, Christian women, Faith, Jesus, Jesus Follower, podcast, Uncategorized

Two Witnesses

March 14, 2022March 28, 2022 krisshetter

Last year my BSGs did a study on Revelation. It was a challenging deep dive into one of the most mysterious books of the Bible. Any Hollywood script writer or New York Times bestselling author would probably consider the story told in Revelation to be a pinnacle piece. It weaves its way through the story of the complacency of the times and the coming storm of evil. It has heroes and martyrs. It has all the special effects of world-wide destruction to win an Oscar. And it has a savior. And a beautiful new beginning for the world.

There’s been plenty of apocalyptic movies and stories told in the last 100 years or so that draw upon the themes found in Revelation. Man and satan lead the world in its own inevitable destruction and a savior rises from the ashes. But what is unique about the Bible’s Revelation is it’s all true.

From Genesis to Jude, new beginnings abound. But in this one final book of God’s Word, we see 1,000s, millions even. Martyrs rising from the ashes to take their place near the throne. The 1444,000 appointed Jews who are to be God’s instruments in spreading the word of the final judgement. And of course, the rapture of believers, taken up before the final judgements are passed on this world.

But there are two people that have a special place in this book. Two ordinary people to whom God will speak and send out to the world as prophets or truth tellers. Smack in the middle of the 22 chapters of Revelation you’ll find two people whose new beginnings will send shockwaves around the world.

And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” Revelation 11:3

The two witnesses’ identities have long been up for debate. Suffice it to say if they were extraordinary people I believe the text would say so. But they aren’t even given names, just like Naaman’s little slave girl. And unlike Jonah, they appear to walk boldly into a hostile world without pause. Maybe God has a pre-game “pow wow” with them where He explains the plan. More likely, God tells the witnesses, after having been prepared through their own study and trials, to go to Jeruselem at an appointed time and start spreading the Word that judgement time had come. But also unlike Jonah, they will tell how to avoid a terrible death.

“Now when they have finished their testimony,…” Revelation 11:7

Notice the two witnesses won’t go about town crying out, “The end is near!” They instead speak of God’s rescue from sin — their testimony. God will protect them for 1,260 days while they tell the world of the Good News of the Gospel and yes, about the impending judgement. And when God’s time for them is up, they will be killed by evil forces. It appears their new beginning would end there. But their death is just the middle of their story. For all the world to see after three and a half days lying dead in the street of Jeruselem, God will cause them to rise to their feet, sparking terror in the hearts of those who celebrated their deaths. Their new beginning, a reunification with the Lord, sets the world on fire.

At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. Revelation 11:13

Thousands, most likely, will give glory to God. Because of two unnamed people speaking the truth about God’s love, promises, rescue and judgement. Two people that are like you and me – flesh and blood. Two people, who like Noah, heard God’s voice and obeyed courageously. Who like Moses sought out an intimate relationship with God. Who like Queen Esther will stare into uncertainty and know God will not fail her. Two regular humans like Onesimus who studied at the feet of a teacher and then asked for forgiveness from both his spiritual and earthly masters. Like Joseph who stood alone against judgement by his community knowing God was with him. And like the 3,000 who put discipleship at the forefront of their faith.

In my study of Revelation, Warren Wiersbe points out the Gospel of John shows us how and why to believe. The epistles give us confirmation of who God is and what He expects of us. And Revelation is all about being ready. Ready for what? Ready for your new beginning. To be a witness for all of God’s glorious ways.

Friend, we don’t know when the events outlined in Revelation 11 will happen. But we need to be ready, they are nearer today than they were yesterday. You might be one of the witnesses called to be part of this amazing New Beginning for the world. Your name may never be known by man but God has a plan for you. A plan for your new beginning.

bible study, Christian, Christian Church, christian encouragement, Faith, Jesus Follower, Uncategorized

His Promises Are A Covenant

December 7, 2020December 7, 2020 krisshetter

The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth.”
Isaiah 26:7

My BSGs (Bible Study girls) are currently doing an advent study. In it we are reminded of the many promises of God through Jesus Christ. These are the promises that so many Christians are most familiar – hope, peace, love and joy through trusting in the Lord. And even though I’ve been a Christian for some time now, being reminded of the Peace of God through righteousness is so necessary in this broken world.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give 
thanks in all circumstances; for this is 
God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 
Do not quench the Spirit.  
1 Thessalonians 5:16-19

We humans need constant communication with God, constant reminders of His promises, constant reminders of the reason why He sent us His son, Christ Jesus. Why? Because we are constantly bombarded with opposite messages. The chaos of this world desires to bring us to our knees in fear and worry. It never stops. But God’s peace, love and joy are solid promises.

I’ve been led to call this process of constant communication, “holding the line.” We have a narrow path which God wants us to walk with Him. For some of us it means constantly looking down at that line and grasping tightly to His promises. For others the line is a gentle garden path in which they easily stay within the boundaries. In discovering the many promises of God, we can grasp them tightly as we work our way through those bombshells thrown at us by this broken world.

"Suddenly a great company of the  
heavenly host appeared with the angel,  
praising God and saying, 
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, 
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”  
Luke 2:13-14

Notice the very last line of this glorious verse? “To whom His favor rests.” When I read this recently, I realized that last part is frequently left off. “Peace on Earth.” Taking this out of context changes the meaning of this promise. Yes, God has promised to never leave us, but so many of His promises are actually a covenant.

Covenant:
“a written agreement or promise usually under seal between two or more parties especially for the performance of some action”

“Between two or more parties.” That means God promises and we promise back. An agreement. Throughout the Book of Isaiah we read of two worlds – the broken agreements and the renewed ones. God’s promises can only come to completion when we do our part – when we grab hold of that line and follow Him.

I’ve heard there are more than 5,400 of those promises in the Old and New Testament. In this new series I want to remind us of just 25 of them and help to bring to the forefront our role in our heavenly handshake.

God is doing 10,000 things in your life and you may only be aware of 3 of them.
John Piper

Join me, along with my guest writer, Todd Shetter, in Isaiah, these next few weeks as we learn how to “Hold The Line” and prepare to celebrate the gift of God’s greatest covenant with us – the gift and promise of Jesus Christ.