glory

Who Gets the Glory?

Today’s readings are Isaiah 17-19, Psalm 62, and 1 Corinthians 1.

From a very young age we seem to all have a need for attention. We want to be noticed. You might even call it human nature. Just this past holiday weekend I heard my young kids say in the pool many times, “Dad..look at me!” Is wanting to be noticed, seen, or heard wrong or a sin? I would probably say it is not, but there is a very fine line. We live in a world today where it is very easy to cross that line. We constantly post pictures of our latest vacations, sports games and concerts we are attending, dinner at fancy restaurants, ours or our kids’ achievements, and we can’t forget that selfie’s seem to be the norm these days. Yes…we have to admit that our “look at me” world has become a little excessive. And I’m not just pointing fingers at others.

Merriam-Webster defines boast as “to praise oneself extravagantly with speech: speak of oneself with pride.”

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:31, “so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Paul leads by example in this chapter starting in verse 1 where he gives credit to God saying he’s called by God’s will to be an apostle of Jesus. In verse 4 he gives thanks to God and in verse 9 he again gives credit to God saying it was God’s faithfulness that they were called into fellowship with Jesus.

In 1 Corinthians 1:26-30, Paul discusses how many whom he is writing to were not wise or noble by worldly standards. He says God chose what is weak, despised, and low in the world to shame the strong so that He would get the glory, and they could only boast in Him.

Some of us may have come from really tough and humble backgrounds that is easier to realize we would not have gotten to where we are today without Him. Some of us may have been more fortunate in our background that it is easier to take what we have for granted or even if we came from a tough background we could say we worked hard and made it for ourselves. That is the “American Way” right?

But, we must all realize we were born into this world naked with nothing (so whatever we have/had has come from Him), and we all will die and leave this world taking nothing with us. And we are all dead in our sin without His saving grace which gives us who are believers eternal life found only in Him.

So, the next time we talk to others about what is going well in our lives, or we post that picture on Facebook or Instagram, let us remember to give Him the glory and praise He deserves knowing that we should only boast in Him (1 Corinthians 1:31).

Living with Purpose

Today’s reading is Exodus 25-27, Psalm 90, and Philippians 1.

In our reading from Exodus we learn about God’s detailed instructions to Moses for the creation and construction of the Ark of the Covenant to hold the Ten Commandments, the Tabernacle, and related structures. We also read Psalm 90 which many to believe to be the oldest Psalm and the one given credit for being authored by Moses with 73 Psalms being credited to David, 12 to a musical director Asaph, and 12 to the sons of Korah with another approximately 50 being anonymous. To me this Psalm from Moses reads much like it could have come from Ecclesiastes where Solomon speaks about the vanity of life and the only true purpose and meaning is in God.

Yes, the Tabernacle is built, but Moses wants the people to know in Psalm 90:1, and he also states the same in his final words and blessings before his death to the tribe of Asher is Deuteronomy 33:27, that Lord is their true “dwelling place.” He has been with them all along. This is further established and is finalized with Christ’s crucifixion and Resurrection that we know that God now dwells with us and in our hearts. This is illustrated by the Temple curtain being torn when Jesus died (Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45), signifying that there is no longer separation between God and man.

With this established that God is with us and even in us, the rest of Psalm 90 and Paul’s writing in Philippians 1 instruct us to make the most of our days and live for Him. A few years ago I developed my own personal purpose (or mission) statement which is “To impact others by helping them live life to the fullest.” The foundation of this comes from John 10:10. This challenges me to make the most of each day despite my circumstances and that life is not about me, but is instead about impacting others and glorifying Him through my words and actions which is not as easy as it sounds. I could not help but see a similar theme in Psalm 90 and Philippians 1.

Here are some of the verses that speak to this…

¹²So teach us to number our days
    that we may get a heart of wisdom.
¹³Return, O Lord! How long?
    Have pity on your servants!
¹⁴Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
    that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
¹⁵Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
    and for as many years as we have seen evil.
¹⁶Let your work be shown to your servants,
    and your glorious power to their children.
¹⁷Let the favor^[a] of the Lord our God be upon us,
    and establish the work of our hands upon us;
    yes, establish the work of our hands!

Psalm 90:12-17

⁹And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:9-11

²⁰as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²²If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.

Philippians 1:20-22

He should and will be glorified through whatever our circumstances may be. Not only are we to accept this, but we are to embrace and want Him to be glorified through whatever hardships we are going through. This is not easy, and we must remind ourselves each day that life is not about us and our individual wants and desires…it’s about the impact we can have on others for His glory. And through those hardships and challenges let us trust in Him and remember what Paul tells us in Philippians 1:6

⁶And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:6

Just like the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant, and I would say very much more so, He created us with thought and purpose for this reason.

¹⁰For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

Fulfillment

Today’s readings are Isaiah 17-19, 1 Corinthians 1, and Psalm 62.

What makes you happy and puts a smile on your face? What excites you, and what do you look forward to? What gives you a rush of adrenaline? What are you striving for? Most of us can probably name a few things after these questions. Many of us would say our spouse and kids make us happy. We might say we strive for career success long term and short-term things like closing a deal or completion and implementation of a big project you’ve been working on bring us satisfaction. For me, I would also say Illini sports, the Chicago Cubs, and the Chicago Bears make me happy…when they are winning at least (which is not often enough)! Some might even say their home and vehicles.

Psalm 62 helps us take a step back and gives some perspective on what’s truly important in life.

62 For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
²He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

A few verses later…

⁵For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
⁶He only is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
⁷On God rests my salvation and my glory;
    my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

These verses make it very clear that He alone should be our foundation and source of joy. This past Sunday at Eastview Christian Church we had a guest pastor named Mark Moore from Christ’s Church of the Valley in Arizona. He preached on John 10. Pastor Moore said, “Success does not bring fulfillment.” In the book of the Ecclesiastes, Solomon, the son of David who wrote this Psalm speaks much about how chasing worldly success and riches is vanity and like chasing wind. Maybe the foundation of that belief was laid out by his father because David says here in Psalm 62.

⁹Those of low estate are but a breath;
    those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
    they are together lighter than a breath.
¹⁰Put no trust in extortion;
    set no vain hopes on robbery;
    if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

God gives us many great things on Earth. But it’s important we view those things as ways to shine and reflect His light, but that we do not look to them to be the light. God gives us wonderful things so they can bring Him glory…not us or that object. Pastor Moore said, “You don’t have to give up your occupation, but you can give over your occupation to Him.” We can glorify him through what we do.

Pastor Moore also told the story of a recent non-believer who decided to follow Jesus. This gentleman said, “If someone gives up their life for me, I’m going to give over my life to them.” Jesus died for you and for me while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). Now that we know this the question becomes…what will we do about it? Will we look for the reflections or the actual light source to bring us fulfillment? Will we look to glorify Him who can bring us a joy that is eternal or the things that are here today but could be gone tomorrow?

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Hebrews 13:8

The Lion of Judah

Today’s reading is Psalm 114 which is titled, “Tremble at the Presence of the Lord.”

This Psalm was likely sang as part of the Passover celebration to remind the Jewish people the mighty works God had done to deliver them from slavery in Egypt.

114 When Israel went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
²Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.

³The sea looked and fled;
Jordan turned back.
⁴The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.

⁵What ails you, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
⁶O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?

⁷Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
⁸who turns the rock into a pool of water,
the flint into a spring of water.

Not only was this Psalm reminding them of how God had freed them, but also that even inanimate objects and nature obey His command. If nature obeys Him, who are we to think we should not? Why do we continue to sin and not obey His will? Even nature bows and “Trembles at the Presence of the Lord” as the Psalm is appropriately titled. However, since the Fall we have had a sin problem no matter how hard we try not to do so. The last 2 weeks my sin problem has led me to sin through my impatience to be short with others and family both at church and on the way church (insert emoji with hand over face). If I can’t keep from making mistakes then, how am I to do so the rest of the week?

Thankfully God took care of my sin problem and your sin problem through Jesus, the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5). If we look closely, this Psalm also foreshadows that fact. Psalm 112:2 reminds Israel that God’s place has always really with them in the midst of His people, and the temple was just a symbol. He has been with His people the entire time. He promised all the way back in Genesis 49:10 He would send a Savior from the tribe of Judah. Through Jesus saving grace on the cross and Resurrection, God is with us always, and we are all now His people both Jews and Gentiles (non-Jewish). Thankfully, all we have to do is ask for forgiveness and believe.

Your Christmas Star

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Matthew 2:1-2

This Monday night many of us saw the bright star of Saturn and Jupiter aligning for the first time in over 800 years. How cool is it that this star, possibly similar to the star of Bethlehem that shown over Jesus’ birth, would be seen near Christmas in 2020 on what most would consider a year of darkness just like when Jesus was born?! I would assume some reading this may have grown up like me thinking the wise men were there the night of Jesus’ birth. They are in most nativity scenes, right? Today, on Christmas Eve, I can remember sitting through many candlelight church services imagining shortly after midnight about 2,000 years ago Jesus was born and all the angels, shepherds, and wise men were there in the stable under the Christmas star. However, it’s clear from these verses that it was “after” He was born when the wise men arrived, and in coming from the far east of Iraq/Bablyon (without a car or plane in those days), they would not have arrived until days and most think years later. Yet, they remembered and still came to worship Him some time in the future after seeing His star.

It may seem strange reading this on Christmas Eve to be thinking about what we do after Christmas, but that’s where my mind went in reading these verses. We worship and praise him in the days leading up to Christmas and especially today on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day….but do we continue to worship and praise Him the same after? The wise men remembered His star and came sometime later still to worship Him and bring Him gifts. What has occurred in your life that is your Christmas Star that should remind you He’s always with you and to worship Him on all the other days of the year? Perhaps something has happened where you were aware of His presence and hand on your life which is your reminder. However, we can often easily forget in the years, days, and sometimes even hours that follow..and especially during the tough times. However, this Christmas Star in your life should remind you He is with you always.

I also thank God for His Word in the Bible which serves like a Christmas Star to remind us of who He is and His promises made and kept. Since man first sinned, He gave us gave us promises of a Savior (Genesis 3:15), and He has kept that and each and every one of His promises. My prayer for all reading this is that each and every one of us recall our Christmas Star which is our personal reminder of His presence in our life, and we open and read the reminder He gave us in His Word more in 2021 than we did this past year. When we do so we will not only have more peace and comfort through growing closer to Him, but we will continue to give Him all the honor and glory and praise He deserves..just like the wise men did. As notes written from a past sermon or devotional near these verses in my Bible read, “Wise men and women still seek Him today.”

Assurance

Assurance : The acknowledgment or confirmation of anticipated items or events

The 12 chapter of John has several recurring themes: the theme of light and the theme of glory. In this chapter, this is the week before the crucifixion. This is the last week of Jesus’ life. These are the last actions of Christ earthly ministry before the resurrection.

In the beginning of the chapter John recounts the gathering at the house of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. At this particular gathering we given a setting tasty is very familiar throughout Christian theology and tradition: The preparation of Jesus’ death. Mary uses the perfume that is equal to a year’s salary. Mary uses her hair to wipe the Jesus’s feet. She is using all of her being to glorify and bring light to the dark times coming ahead. This is a type of light and glory Mary is preparing Jesus body for his ultimate sacrifice and the glorification of his time earth.

While at Lazarus’ house, people are coming to see and experience the man that has been brought back to life. This was one of the most profound miracles that Christ had performed. Lazarus was not only dead, but he had been in the tomb for several days. We have gotten accustomed to going to funerals and having the benefits of modern medicine to help assuage the true morbidity of death , but this was not the custom in the times of Jesus. In the manner of hours the body begins to decompose and the natural process starts. By the time Jesus got to the town of Lazarus, he was in full decomposition. But now several weeks to months later, Jesus is eating with Lazarus and people want to come and see the miracle. This is shows not only show that Jesus is capable of miracles, but he is Lord over life and death of others and God will do the same for him. This this act is glorifying God‘s domain over life and death.

Each piece of the gospel is there for an intentional purpose, here John mentions the group of Greeks. This is very poignant in this section because the Greeks deal with life, death, and gods in different ways. He uses examples of the wheat and how to death of the wheat to springing back to life for new plant to the Greeks. He also uses the other metaphors here with the Greeks of light and glorification.

He uses light and glory several times in this chapter. He shows how light overcomes darkness how he is the light that overcomes the darkness of the enemy. He shows how the anticipation of his death and resurrection would normally receive as the final blow but he uses it as a catalyst to show the light and the glory of God.

One of the most profound portions in this entire chapter is the force of God. I’ve read this chapter many times in my lifetime but the most our inspiring section is when God the father acknowledges and glorifies the person of Christ in actual audible and meaningful terms. God completes his qualification and assures us that Christ is the one who is glorifying God and fulfilling the Scriptures.

John 12: 27- 30

27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine.

There are not many times in the Old Testament or in the New testament in which God’s true voice is heard. In this verse God‘s force is not only audible but it is heard by the entire multitude. This gives us the assurance that God‘s plan and words are true. Many during this time in Christ life, many did not believe that God‘s word and actions were true. Many today do not believe that God‘s words and actions are true. But this brief, yet powerful moment gives us assurance, that undeniable realization that all things are working in God‘s favor.

I know that in today’s society it is hard to grasp that God plan is still valid. A year ago so many things in my life changed. My family members were passing away at young ages. My son was diagnosed with different things. And close friends we’re passing away day by day. In the current situation there are thousands of people passing away daily. In these times it can seem as if we are in a mess of darkness. But we have to understand that God‘s light and glory will be shown and glorified, if we believe in Him.

May God reveal Himself to us as he did to the multitude and give us Assurance: Allow us to hear him in thunder of the storm or in the whisper on a breeze.

Today we are focusing on the glory of God with the following reading….

They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass.

Psalm 106:20

And…

Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.

Jeremiah 2:11

Glory as a noun is defined as magnificence or great beauty. The psalmist and Jeremiah are speaking of Israel and how they tried to find glory in earthly things, rather than the one thing that is true beauty..God.

As we live in these interesting times that will probably change in just the few days between writing this and its posting, we are experiencing things that most of us have not seen in our lifetime. Just to name a few there are travel bans/restrictions, schools closing, restaurants can’t be open, a shortage of toilet paper (!), all major sports cancelled or postponed, and extreme volatility in our financial markets. One social media post stated this…”Mankind is so frail and a tiny little invisible virus has disrupted us so much. If we can’t handle this, what do think it will be like standing before God without the blood of Christ on your side?” How can we even begin to think that we are somehow in control and that we are wiser than God?

As a friend at dinner Saturday stated, maybe God is allowing all this to happen for our country and world to stop the busyness and craziness and get our priorities in line. The sovereignty of God is so amazing that he can let Satan and mankind do their thing, and still use it for glory..His glory. He is never perplexed. I love the way the Passion of Christ movie portrays Satan in the background as thinking he is winning with all the evil going on in Jesus’ arrest, scourging, and crucifixion. Yet, God had a bigger plan. He took the worst event in human history, the only innocent person to ever walk the Earth without sin being killed, and made it into the greatest event in human history.

He is glory, and I trust He will use everything that’s happening right now for His glory.

He has made EVERYTHING beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

Show me Your Glory

A few years ago I was part of a women’s bible study called Seamless. This study guides you through the entire Bible, start to finish, showing the connections of God’s plan for us, from Creation to Jesus, to the Early Church, and everything in between. It showed the seamlessness of the Bible, and how it all fits together when you look at the bigger plan of salvation. I absolutely LOVED this study! For so many years I felt like the Old Testament was a bunch of separate Sunday School stories that were anything but seamless. I didn’t understand the timelines or eras, and while I knew some of the main characters and plots, I didn’t have it “mapped out” and how it all points to Jesus.

In the last month of Bible Journal entries we have moved from Kings to Prophets. Thanks for following along with us as we uncover these early leaders in the Old Testament. If you take a step back, you can see that God’s people have been led by Priests, Judges, Kings, and Prophets, each role spanning different time periods and for different reasons. God used the prophets to guide His people back to him. Stick with us – it really does all come together and point to Jesus!

Today I get to introduce you to Ezekiel. He (and other Israelites) have been living in exile for five years in Babylon, at the hand of King Jehoiachin. The next few days we will cover more scripture from Ezekiel – and heads up, it gets pretty interesting.

Chapter 1 he leads right off with a vision that God gave him, of the glory of God. Take a few minutes and read it. Do you need a pen and paper to draw out what he is describing, to keep it all straight? All the features, and body parts and animals? I’m not a bible scholar or dream interpreter…and it’s hard to know what to make of all of this! I read this several times and I thought and prayed… Okay Lord, what do you want me to learn from this?

I’d truly be guessing if I tried to share some big theological explanation of what his vision could symbolize and mean. When I was studying and digging deeper into this chapter, I found a lot of smart opinions and guesses out there. If you’re into that kind of stuff, your bible may have a lot of cool footnotes, or google and dig around the web. When I did an image search for ‘Ezekiel 1 Vision Picture of God’s Glory’ it was crazy to see all of the different ways artists interpreted Ezekiel’s description – the picture in my mind was completely different! I also found it fascinating how one source compared verse ten’s four faces (man, lion, ox, eagle) to Jesus. Jesus is fully man, he is king and victorious like a lion, he is a servant and sacrifice like an ox, and he transcends and is spiritually sovereign like the eagle. Chapters like this leave me curious and hungry to understand more – heaven, come quick!

There were also two things I learned about Ezekiel that really encouraged me:

First, Ezekiel is BOLD. And like I said – STAY TUNED – there’s more coming. He’s clearly being directed by the Lord, and has no qualms about telling the Israelites every detail of what he just saw. They’re living in exile, and God is using Ezekiel to share His message with His people. What message does God have for you to share? Maybe it’s not an indescribable being from a vision, maybe it’s your own life experiences. Maybe it’s not a message for a people group living in exile.. maybe it’s something God has for you to share with your family, a group of teens at your church, or some co-workers. I’m encouraged to be BOLD, even at the risk of sounding a little loony.

Second, Ezekiel is reverent. Verse 28 tells us that when he sees all of this he falls on his face. He didn’t run and hide in fear. He didn’t look the creature in the eye or give him a high five. He went to the ground, face down, to show his humility, awe, worship, and adoration. Have you had those fall to your knees or go face down moments in your faith journey? Those deeply spiritual moments you can always go back to, that can draw your heart to worship and praise? Whether the circumstances were tragic or triumphant – your only response was one of complete surrender?

I can go back to some of those moments in time in my life, like when I first made a commitment to follow Christ, or when my daughter came out of spinal cord surgery at five and a half months old. Remembering and reliving those moments of complete praise and surrender draw my heart closer to the Lord. Third Day has a song called Show Me Your Glory, and I love this part of the chorus:

Show me your glory
Send down your presence
I wanna see your face
Show me your glory
Majesty shines about you
I can’t go on with you Lord

We don’t have to wait for heaven to experience the glory of God – what a gift! Let’s ask God to help us see His glory today!

“Well done, my good and faithful servant!”

Today’s reading is Matthew 6:19-21 and Psalm 79.

Matthew 6:19-21 could not be more fitting for today. I’m always amazed at God’s timing which makes me know there are no coincidences.

Last Tuesday April 24^th, this Earth lost an amazing lady in Mary Ellen Bandy. Mary Ellen was my grandmother, but to me, and many others, she was Memaw.

Today would have marked her 94^th birthday.

Memaw did not have monetary wealth when she passed away. Instead, her treasure was her wonderful heart she gave to the Lord and to others as Matthew 6:21 says. She laid herself up for treasures in Heaven by giving her life to the Lord and serving others in same the way the Lord served us. Rev. Mark Doane said, “Mary Ellen did not talk about her faith very much, but she lived it!” As the famous song says, “…they’ll know we are Christians by our love..” Others seeing our love by our actions is more important than anything we say. People will be drawn to Christ when they see our genuine, peaceful, and caring heart we have through a relationship with Him. They will want what we have.

Memaw left an amazing legacy for us to follow, and I’m confident when she entered Heaven the Lord greeted her with a big hug and said, “Well done. my good and faithful servant!”

Happy birthday in Heaven, Memaw!

Here as an excerpt from her eulogy last week…

Memaw was just so memorable..she wasn’t just our Memaw..everyone knew her as Memaw. I have received messages from many over the last few days who may have only met her once… but they remembered her and specific things like maybe having a beer with her or talking about the Cubs or Illini. Her dad gave her the nickname “Pee-wee” because she was small, and my great Aunt Sister, Uncle Roy and their side of the family continued to call her that which was neat… but there was nothing tiny about her personality and how she lived her life! People just didn’t forget her.

Like Chad said..she NEVER missed a game..not a one..and you could always hear her yelling “Easy does it..now..Easy does it!” to whoever was on the free throw line! She was the first person I called when the Cubs won the World Series, and I’m so happy she lived to see it. She always had the Cubs game on when I called her. One of my most special memories is watching the Cubs with her and Papaw and singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame. I learned to golf by her taking me a couple times a week to Oak Leaf starting at probably 7 and can still hear her little sayings on the course. My Mom is a great cook..and I’m told I have Memaw to thank for that as well because she apparently couldn’t boil water before she was married. Thank you, Memaw! I was, and still am for that matter, skinny enough growing up. I can only imagine how bad it would have been if Mom couldn’t cook!

Memaw truly left an amazing legacy and example for all of her family to follow and continue. I believe we are called to glorify God through our life and Memaw absolutely did this.

Many of the Psalms speak of singing praises to God with Psalm 98:4 specifically saying…

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!”

Let’s just say Memaw was not known for her singing voice, but she didn’t care! She wasn’t singing to please you..she was singing for her Lord and Savior and to Him…. her voice was awesome though…because it was praising and glorifying Him. There is a great lesson for all of us in that. She had confidence in who God made her and lived for an Audience of One..caring only what He thought.

The book of Acts talks about how the first Church cared for the needy and widows. They served each other in the same way Christ served us. Memaw lived her life in the same way much like the first church did. She would make meals for events like today, and she made costumes for the church play up until just a few years ago. She volunteered with the Red Cross after Papaw passed serving in LA after an Earthquake and the Great Flood of the Mississippi in ‘93. She would do anything for you and give you the shirt off her back. Uncle Tim tells the story of one of his classmates, Ruthie, who was always dirty and unkept. When Uncle Tim came home from middle-school one day and told Memaw he didn’t think she had a dress for the dance..which is pretty neat, Uncle Tim…Memaw promptly went to her house and asked her parents if she could take her shopping. Not only did she buy her a dress and shoes, but she even brought her over to their house before the dance to clean her up and do her hair and dress her. Talk about going above in beyond! My Dad also told the story about how there was a man named “Little Butch” in the small town they lived in, Hindsboro, IL, who likely had mental disabilities and didn’t have any family..let alone any money. What do you think Memaw did…she always made sure “Little Butch” had a gift and food for Christmas. I wonder who the “Little Butch” is in my life I should be helping? I know I see my Dad continuing her legacy and helping widows and others in need, and Dad…she was and is very proud of you.

My Dad’s letter to her on her 90^th birthday highlighted 6 lessons she taught him which I wanted to share…

The greatest legacy any of us can leave to our children…raising him and Uncle Tim to believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Memaw always said..”if you can find time for all the other activities in the week..you can find time for church!”
Treat all people with respect..we are not better than anyone else regardless of race or ethnicity.
Always stand up for what is true and honest..even when it’s difficult.
Help the downtrodden and the poor as I previously shared.
Stand up for yourself and never let people walk on you. The confidence I previously spoke of.
Give to the needs of your family, friends, and your church before yourself.

One of my favorite sayings which Memaw lived out is, “Being humble means thinking of yourself less, not thinking less of yourself!”

This was how Memaw lived and taught us to live. What an amazing legacy of servant leadership and loving God she left to us! I will do my best to carry on that legacy and example for Deklin, Reese, and Hudson.

Memaw….I will end by saying to you the same last words you said to me on Sunday..”Love you more than you’ll ever know.”

To Him Be The Glory

Today’s reading is Matthew 6:1-4 and Psalm 67.

The title of these verses in Matthew is “Giving to the Needy” in my Bible. The Bible tells us in many occasions we are called to help those in need.

“Give justice to the week and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the week and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

Psalm 82:3-4

“if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday soon.”

Isaiah 58:10

“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

Matthew 25:40

However, I feel like the title should really read, “Whose Glory Are You Really Seeking?” Pastor J.K. Jones always says something to the effect that, “There is a God shaped hole in all of hearts.” When God fills that hole and we develop a relationship with Jesus, our hardened heart softens, and we become more like Him. Why did Jesus do what He did during His life on Earth and ultimately suffer the ultimate pain and affliction of the cross when He didn’t have to? He did it to show the love our Father in Heaven has for us..to be the reflection of His light in the world and to glorify Him. These verses in Mathew 6:1-4 clearly tell us to do the same. Every single one of us was put on this Earth to glorify Him. Many of us have read The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman which are touch, service, gifts, quality time, and words of affirmation. I believe words of affirmation are near the top for most of us. Who doesn’t like it when someone tells them “good job?” In fact, much research has shown many men in prison will admit they still yearn today to hear words they unfortunately never heard their dad say, “I love you , and I’m proud of you.” I’ll be transparent in that I like it when someone says to me “Good post today..” when writing for Bible Journal. This is my human, self-serving, and sin filled natural emotional reaction. I then stop, think, and respond by borrowing the words of I heard author Jon Gordon say at the Christian Fellowship Breakfast for Northwestern Mutual a few years back, “God is the author. I just hold the pen.” This puts me in check, and reminds me I’m striving to live a life where truly everything I do is for His Glory..to be the reflection of the Father’s light like Jesus.

When we fully comprehend the love Jesus showed on the cross and the love the Father showed by sending Him to do so when He didn’t have to, and we develop a relationship with Him…our hearts will soften and we will give to the needy and do everything in our life for His glory rather than ours. This will in turn, draw others to Him through seeing His love in us. The God shaped hole in their heart will be filled, and they will in turn, do the same for others who will see the same. Then, we will be living out The Great Commission Jesus gave us in his last words in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

To Him be the Glory…