Download MP3
Read: Matthew 22:37
When we talk about the Gospel, it is very clear in the Bible: it is the story of God and all He did for us - sending Jesus Christ in this earth to save us. It is about salvation and the life of Jesus Christ - from birth to death to resurrection and everything that is in the Bible that directs towards Jesus Christ, it's about that.As we continue to talk about the Gospel, we'll talk about living for His Glory. How can we glorify God with our lives? It is our human nature that when we feel good about ourselves, we feel like no longer do anything bad or wrong, we think that we glorify God. But the Bible would tell what God wants us to do for His name to be glorified.
Why is it important to glorify God? When I met my purpose in life and that is to glorify God. And I think, the bottom line of us being Christians is to glorify God, to follow Him, to love Him above all things.
'Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength and with all your mind."' (Matthew 22:37)
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength and with all your mind" is easier said than done. We are blinded by how we understand it and how we apply it in our lives. People tend to think that "I am loving God by not being bad, by obeying me parents" and so on. And sometimes we base our love by how we do it and not by how God told us to do.
Matthew 22:37 tells us that everything about us should love the Lord our God - heart, soul and mind. Everything!
Here are some ways how to glorify God based on the Bible.
1. Confess your sins
Confessing your sins glorifies God. If we excuse our sins, we absolve ourselves from the responsibility of that sin and blame it to God.When God confronted Adam of his sin, his excuse was the woman for giving him the fruit (Genesis 3:12). Adam was practically giving the blame to God for giving him the woman - Eve.
We can see in the story of Adam and Eve that as humans, we really need to confess our sins to God. Why? Because that act is a sign of giving glory to God. We don't blame Gd of what's happening in our lives because everything is our fault and it's our responsibility. We are not perfect and we fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)
If we confess our sins and we should because that's what glorifies God, then we should confess our sins to Jesus, to God.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
We will be cleansed if we confess our sins. So we repent of our sins. To confess means to agree. If we confess our sins, we agree with God that our sin is our fault and we repent that sin. And that gives glory to Jesus, to God.
2. Contentment
"I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." (Philippians 4:11)Paul was so confident that God will use all things - poverty, abundance, comfort, pain and all this - God will use that for His glory. Sometimes in our lives, we are not contented and would want something greater than what we already have. We don't want anything that's hard, but would rather want something easy. We know it for ourselves as human - we like comfort. But as Christians, there is a far greater perspective that we should take from being content. We have to be content because that is our faith. God gives us that. When are content, we acknowledge God's sovereignty in our lives. And that gives glory to His name.
We should be content because that is what our faith is telling us. That is what we should be living. That is our faith that we should always keep trying to do because we believe that whatever happens, God is in control and we should acknowledge God's sovereignty in our lives. If you are discontented, it's the same thing as questioning God about our circumstance in life. There may be times when life is painful, hard, good, convenient, or whatever it is, all these circumstances must give glory to Jesus.
Sometimes, we tend to say, "Lord, I will give you glory despite of this pain, despite of the hardships I am going through." May we change that perspective. Our mindset should be like this: I will give God glory because of this, because of this situation, because of this pain. May we have this perspective in any circumstances of our life. All of situation must give glory to our Lord. So we, as Christians, must really embrace that because we believe in our faith that everything is for the glory of God and we acknowledge God's sovereignty in our lives.
3. Proclaim God's Word
This is the main goal, this is the mission of Ship Missionary Fellowship: "Proclaim God's Word onboard ships, across oceans." And now we are extending on land and everywhere."Brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you." (2 Thessalonians 3:1)
Presenting the Word of God clearly and accurately always glorifies God. Every time that we share the Word wherever we are, whether on facebook or in any social media platform, even when we are outside talking to anyone, when we speak, when we talk to a congregation, when we have this devotion... everything! When we are proclaiming God's Word, we are giving glory to His name.
We have that great responsibility in proclaiming God's Word because we honor Him by making His Word known and understood. It's not enough that we only proclaim but we also need our audience to understand what is being said. Since we are the ones with Spiritual Maturity, let's provide them some sort of understanding. Though the Holy Spirit will move in their lives, we can help them understand the Word. Everything that we can do, let's do it. What's beyond our control, let's give it to God. We have a part in sharing God's Word.
Let's always focus on that and meditate on this ways to give glory to the Lord.
4. Lead other's to Christ
God also gets glory when people are redeemed. Even with a single life that God was able to use us to lead closer to Him and to give him glory, it's like "Hallelujah!"."Hallelujah." (2 Corinthians 4:15)
Everybody is celebrating! Everybody is in deep joy. The angels, the choir singing "Hallelujah" in heaven. God is glorified when Satan's chains are broken and men and women broke loose from the power of the enemy. When they are free from that darkness, when already see God's love towards them and have already accepted that they are sinners, when their pride are removed from them, and all sorts of things that doesn't glorify God, things that blinds them from seeing that they need Jesus Christ, and have received the love of Jesus Christ for them, WHAT A WONDERFUL FEELING!
And if one receives Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord, we celebrate, we proclaim it even on our social media. It's a great joy that one soul was won for Jesus tonight, something like that.
These are a few things that really gives glory to our God. Is it doable? Is it possible? This is hard! It is actually hard and impossible. It is hard, even for you who is watching (or listening or reading right now). It is really impossible to do but by God's grace, we can do this. It is not about our ability, it is because God is with us. God's righteousness that was given to us that in His eyes we were made righteous and because of our faith in Him we could do these things. If you are getting tired of doing these, if you cannot share the Word of God to anyone anywhere you are, you cannot lead anyone, you cannot confess your sins, you cannot bear fruit, you cannot do according to His well, if you are that person, then maybe you think that life is about you. Maybe it's time for you to be awaken. It's never about you. When you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and become His child, it's about Jesus Christ. Our lives should be done, should be moved and be lived to glorify Jesus Christ - to glorify God.
So if you are struggling that is because of yourself. But if your perspective, if the way you see it is about God, then you will bear fruit and that fruit will be displayed and demonstrated to the people who have not known Jesus Christ.
We have to admit that it is easier to love the people who we find good and kind. As Christians, if the fruit that you bear is manifested in your life, people will see the love of the Lord that is in you and they will realize that they, as well, are sinners and ego and pride will fade away.
Let us enjoy God in our lives because when we enjoy God, we can rest. If you are tired physically, always remember: you just need to show us in the presence of Jesus Christ. We need Him in our lives. AS Christians, it is our main responsibility to glorify Him. And I think the Gospel will show that. And it's our responsibility to read and know more about Jesus Christ, about the Gospel because even if we end this devotion or even when this will go on for weeks or years, if you don't have the desire to personally know about Jesus Christ, then you will never really know Him. Let the Holy Spirit move you and all you have to do is to show up in His presence and live your life for His glory. It is not for you, not for your spouse, or to anyone else but for God's glory alone. When things are put into the right perspective about Jesus, about God, everything will follow. Be content with you life specially during this time that we are suffering from a global health crisis - this pandemic, and we don't know, we are put in a blindfold.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6)
It's the Lord and still is. It's amazing that Jesus Christ redeemed us from our sins and darkness, He restored us. We should meditate in God's Word more than the time we use to go through our social media accounts.
"I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in Him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love, and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God's children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it. And so at last you will be filled up with God Himself." (Ephesians 3:17-19)
Photo by: Nathaniel Callanta
Connect With Us