Glory

Recently God has been highlighting the importance of Glory in my life and in all believer’s lives.

What do we mean by glory?  There are two general meanings.

First, the glory of God.  God is so powerful (all powerful actually), so huge (without limits!), so bright, so good, so holy (and I am struggling to describe God here) that He has His own glory.  Where He is fully known, in heaven, His glory inhabits every part.  So when we get to heaven we will be in His glory and when God has made the new heaven and the new earth, His glory will be everywhere, Revelation 21:1.  We sometimes refer to heaven as ‘Glory’.  When a Christian dies, we might say that they have been ‘promoted to glory’.  Everybody might be sad at their funeral but they themselves are not sad, having arrived in heaven and seeing and fully knowing God.  

Now God is everywhere today, in fact he is running the whole show, all of nature, the whole universe.  He is continually giving life to every living thing.  He created every living thing and he sustains every living thing.  For example, Psalms tells us that he creates and calms the waves 107: 25, 29, and he feeds the wild animals 147:9 and I am sure He really enjoys doing that, even though nature is currently fallen and groaning in expectation of the new heaven and earth.  (That doesn’t give you an excuse to groan about things!) 😊

Angels carry God’s glory with them but don’t have their own glory and Moses’ face shone out God’s glory when he had been with Him
Exodus 34:29.

God is everywhere but he is not normally manifested (obviously apparent).  But we see the results of His handiwork all about us, that is why when we are walking amongst the trees and animals and mountains, we feel close to God.  But when He manifests Himself, we really feel His presence.  This happened recently at the local church I go to in Kigumba, Kiryandongo District.  Towards the end of the Sunday morning meeting when the Pastor was leading ministry and people were coming forward for prayer, the presence of God was getting stronger and stronger.   It was becoming difficult for me stand up.  People were on their knees, some people were shaking, some were crying out to God, people were getting blessed, it was truly wonderful.  Just before the end of the meeting I was able to ask if anyone had received a miracle in that time and about five people had!  When God is welcomed by His people, He manifests and comes to bless us.  Being in the glory of God and the presences of the Holy Spirit like that is my most favourite thing in all of life.  The time (we often go on for four hours), my empty stomach, other plans for the day; none of those mattered anymore, I felt at home with God.  I felt so close to Him.

Maybe you are like my friend Lynn who used to not like those times in church and would promptly leave.  But she changed and now she loves God’s presence and is not afraid when God tangibly shows up at church and people start reacting in different ways.  Please don’t be afraid of God and God the Holy Spirit, He is love.  He loves you and would not do anything wrong to you.

The second meaning of glory is more related to us personally.  God’s glory can be seen in and through us. 

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
2 Corinthians 3:18

Paul said that in these days we see/know something of God’s glory but it is not His full glory.  If we did experience God’s full glory now in our mortal bodies it would just be too much power and light and wonder for us and our human bodies would die.  We experience God’s glory now as if it is a reflection.  And as we experience God’s glory we also start to show or ‘reflect’ the same glory.  But we are not like the angels that shine like God but we show God’s glory through our lives, through our actions, through choosing to obey God.

As we spend time with God, as we read the bible and the Holy Spirit reveals truth to us and as we act on that truth; as we worship God and verbally give Him glory, honour and praise; as we have close fellowship with Him; as we pray and are led by His Spirit in prayer, God is changing us from glory to glory.  When we choose to give our life to Jesus Christ; when we speak to those not saved about Jesus Christ; when we choose to act and serve God, we reflect God’s glory.  We are becoming more and more glorious and God is glorified in us!

We are also reflecting God’s glory and giving glory to God in the spiritual realms, but we don’t normally know much about that, it is more for God’s pleasure and to be a testimony to God, to angels and to Satan and his demons.

that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
Ephesians 1:12

Our lives should be for the praise of God’s glory.  The main purpose of our lives now in Christ is to give glory to God.  And everything we do as obedient believers should give glory to God.

May our lives give glory to God!  Amen.

Questions

In which areas of your life are not to the praise of God’s glory?  Talk to Him about that.

In which areas in your life would you like to be more spiritually active and using spiritual gifts?  Talk to God about that.

Maybe you are someone who doesn’t like it when the Holy Spirit starts moving in the meeting.  Ask God to help you.  The Holy Spirit is full of compassion and patience.  He is for us not against us.

Prayers

Elections!  Pray against dishonest campaigning, lies, violence against candidates and the public.  We are going to have peaceful elections in Jesus’ name!

Pray for the police, they are often caught in the middle.  They are just human beings and they definitely need our prayers.

Pray for the Electoral Commission.  Don’t criticise them, pray for them!