The Pastor's Desk

"Glory"

Titus 2:14

Every Sunday we recite the Gloria Patri beginning with the words, “Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost.” I would hope this isn’t the only time that we say the words “Glory to God.” The longer I am a Christian the more I realize I am blessed and that we should all give God the glory in all that we do in this life.

We read in Titus 2:14; “Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity.” Christ gave himself for us. He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. The innocent One died for the guilty. That should bring all of us to our knees in praise and thanksgiving. A lot of Christians take this for granted and I must admit that I have done the same at times. Just remember that Christ did not have to do this for us. Christ deserves to be glorified in our lives. We begin by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord but then we need to share Christ with others. When something good happens to you, you want to tell someone about it. We should want to share with others the joy of knowing Christ as Savior.

We read in Galatians 2:20; “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Paul wanted to proclaim to others that Christ’s great love had brought faith, love, and hope to a fallen world. Paul responded to this love by sharing the message of God’s love with others. No matter how difficult life became, no matter how much opposition came his way, Paul never ceased showing his love for Christ and sharing that love with others. This is a powerful testimony to a world that does not know the Lord. When we show love for Jesus Christ we will also start to show love for others. As a well known song states, “They will know we are Christians by our love.” Love should be the natural response of a Christian.

We read in Philippians 2:8; “And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” Christ put the well being of every human being ahead of His own welfare. Christ was not bound by social pressures but chose to die because this was the will of the Father. The question is often asked if Christ could have chosen not to die on the cross. He could have but He never would have because of His great love for a sinful world. We bring glory to Christ by following His example of obedience. If Christ could give everything, shouldn’t we be willing to obey God and do His will? We obey God when we seek His will and work for Him.
We bring glory to Christ by relying on His divine power for daily strength and direction. Never forget the words of Proverbs 3:5-6; “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”  Learn the wisdom of totally relying on God’s direction. Paul tells us in Romans 6:13; “Do not yield your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but yield yourselves to God as men who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness.” Just think of the impact Christians could have on the world if they took to heart the words of Paul and yielded totally to the will of God. So live a life that by all we say and do gives God the glory.

 

 

Pastor Ralph