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MEDITATION:

Written by N.T. Wright, a contemporary theologian, author, and former Bishop of Durham.  This is an excerpt from his book “Reflecting the Glory: Meditations for Living Christ’s Life in the World.”

God’s “glory:” the phrase means, no doubt, that when people eventually see God the sight is astonishingly bright and dazzling. But beyond that it also means that it is surpassingly lovely and beautiful. We don’t talk as much about the beauty of God as we do about the glory of God, but glory surely embraces beauty, and a sense of awe and delight, as well as simply a sense of utterly dazzling light. And this is because God’s glory, ultimately, is the revelation, the shining of who God actually is. In the gospel we discover that God is at Heart the God of total self-giving love. The experience is a bit like traveling alone, away from the people we love, and having nobody around with whom we can relax, with whom we can be friendly. And then somebody we know comes to meet us, in an airport or railway station, or when we finally arrive back home. Our hearts are warmed, deeply comforted, by this sudden presence of somebody with whom we can be truly ourselves. someone who will give themselves to us.

That is a very pale illustration of what it’s like when you are away from God, not knowing who you are, not knowing who God is, and then you discover that the God who made the world is the God of utter self-giving love who longs to be there for you; to give himself to you and help you discover who you are. All of this is contained in the remarkable claim that “God has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.” We can know God deeply inside ourselves, in the face of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen one. When Paul says the word “Jesus,” he never forgets that this is the Jesus who died on the cross. If we want to know who God really is, we don’t discover it by forgetting that Jesus died on the cross, by skipping past that and going on to what, seems to obviously like “glory.” We discover it as we look at the face which is crowned with the crown of thorns.

PRAYER:

Written by Patrick (AD 385-461), a Christian missionary and bishop who served in Ireland.

Lord, be with us this day,

Within us to purify us;

Above us to draw us up;

Beneath us to sustain us;

Before us to lead us;

Behind us to restrain us;

Around us to protect us.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Craig Denison, contemporary speaker, writer, and author of First 15, a daily devotion.

To declare the glory of God is to put all things in their proper place. Chaos and struggle are always the result of humanity trying to gain glory for ourselves. God alone is worthy. God alone. We were made to declare the glory of God. We were made to proclaim through word and deed the majesty, splendor, and worthiness of the God of heaven and earth.

Proclaiming God’s glory to the world always begins by taking a look at our own hearts. We can’t declare that God is above every other name if we’re still on the throne of our hearts. We can’t proclaim his excellencies and then seek to gain success, approval, and affirmation from others. Declaring God’s glory starts with our own humility. It begins with living a life of sacrifice to the one who’s given up everything for us. When we remove ourselves from the throne of our own hearts we are set free to magnify Jesus. It’s when we set our eyes on our Savior King that we are freed from the weights and pressures that come from living selfishly. And in this freedom, we find the life we were always meant for—a life of continual, incredibly satisfying worship.

PRAYER:

This prayer is from Psalm 72:18-19.

Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,
    who alone does marvelous deeds.
 Praise be to his glorious name forever;
    may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Mark D. Roberts, a contemporary author and Executive Director of Fuller Seminary’s Max De Pree Center for Leadership.  This devotion was published by The High Calling and Theology of work Project.

If you spend much time in church, you hear God’s glory mentioned all the time. Contemporary songs and classic hymns celebrate God’s glory. Traditional worship services often include the Gloria Patri: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit … ” Preachers tell us we should seek to glorify God in all we do. In my Reformed tradition, we are often reminded that the chief purpose of our lives is “to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” But, have you ever wondered what the glory of God really is? When we speak of God’s glory, what are we talking about? If someone were to ask you, “What is glory?” would you know how to answer?  Ezekiel 10:4 helps us to glimpse and understand God’s glory: “Then the LORD’s glory rose from above the winged creatures and moved toward the temple’s threshold. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was filled with the brightness of the LORD’s glory.” The word translated here as “glory” is kabod in Hebrew. Curiously, this word is derived from a root with the basic meaning of “heavy.” From this root came, among other things, a word meaning “rich.” Speakers of ancient Hebrew would refer to a rich person as “heavy in wealth,” much as we might say someone is loaded. A similar extension of the literal sense of kabod included being loaded with power, reputation, or honor. It’s from this use of the word that we get the meaning of glory. God’s glory is God’s weightiness in wonderful qualities such as might, beauty, goodness, justice, and honor. When it comes to these characteristics and so many others, God has them in superabundance. Thus, when we think of God’s glory, we remember that God has all good things in greater quantity and quality than we can ever imagine. Notice, too, that God’s glory is solid and substantial. It isn’t mere reputation. It isn’t dependent on anyone or anything else. God’s glory reflects his essential nature. Moreover, God is the source of all good things. He actually shares his glory with us. When we receive his plentiful gifts with gratitude, when we use them to enhance his honor, when we acknowledge him as the source of all goodness, then we are glorifying him.

PRAYER:

From the Book of Common Prayer.

Blessed are you, Sovereign God, king of the nations,

to you be praise and glory forever.

From the rising of the sun to its setting

your name is proclaimed in all the world.

As the Sun of Righteousness dawns in our hearts

anoint our lips with the seal of your Spirit

that we may witness to your gospel

and sing your praise in all the earth.

Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Blessed be God for ever. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby, contemporary authors (father and son) and leaders at Blackaby Ministries International.  This is an excerpt from their book “Experiencing God.”

The glory of the Lord is His presence. When God occupies a place, His glory is unmistakably evident! God has high standards for where He will make His presence known. He does not respond to our whims or come on our terms. Solomon longed for God’s presence to be obvious in the temple that he had painstakingly built for Him. Solomon had spared no expense or effort in building this magnificent temple as a house for the Lord. Yet he understood that constructing a spectacular building was no guarantee that God would choose to inhabit that place. So Solomon prepared himself and the people in the hope that God would look upon them with favor. The priestly choir sang and played instruments in reverent praise to God. The priests sacrificed so many animals on the altar that they could not count them. Solomon prayed, and when he finished, fire came down from heaven and consumed their offering. The glory of the Lord filled the temple! God’s glory was so overpowering in Solomon’s temple that the priests could not carry on their normal activities.

There is no mistaking when God inhabits a place. God’s glorious presence fills a place, and it is impossible to carry on business as usual! The New Testament teaches that our lives are temples because Christ abides in us (1 Cor. 3:16). We cannot assume by this that our lives are pleasing to Him. Like Solomon, we must thoroughly prepare ourselves so that God will choose to reveal His presence in our lives. When He does, there will be no doubt that it is God!

PRAYER:

Written by Luci Shaw, a contemporary American writer of poetry and essays.

Oh, my Lord, I long to be fruitful, to know myself growing in likeness to you. Often, I feel sterile, not fertile. I need your loving water, the sun of your blessing, the wind of your Spirit, the grace of your presence. I year to recognize your likeness in my mirror, a reflection that will come only from the daily awareness of “God with me.” Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Rick Warren, a contemporary pastor and author.

Not every goal is a good goal or the kind of goal that God gets behind and helps you accomplish. So, what kind of goals does God bless? The Bible says, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31) That means if you are going to set some goals, they need to be goals that bring glory to God. Now, it says whatever you eat – honestly, if I sit down at a restaurant I don’t naturally think which food will bring the most glory to God. I’m not thinking that one at all. Would I probably be healthier if I did? Of course. But there is a bigger point and that is that everything can be done for the glory of God — eat, drink or anything that you do. Does that mean I can close a sale for the glory of God? Yes. Does that mean I can sweep the house for the glory of God? Yes. Does that mean I can program computers for the glory of God? Yes! You can do anything to the glory of God. I can macramé to the glory of God. You say, ‘Well, how do I do that? It requires the right attitude and the right motivation. The right attitude is ‘I do it out of gratitude.’ The right motivation is ‘I do it to honor God.’ How do you know if it’s going to bring glory to God?  Any goal that causes you to love God more brings glory to God. Any goal you set that causes you to trust God more, brings glory to God. Any goal you set that causes to you obey God, to love God, to serve God, any goal that causes you to want to brag on God and tell unbelievers, ‘Look what he did for me’ — that’s the goal that brings glory to God.

PRAYER:

Written by Benedict (480-547), the father of Western monasticism and founder of the Rule of St. Benedict, a monastic community. He is the patron saint of Europe.

Gracious and Holy Father, please give me: intellect to understand you, reason to discern you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, a spirit to know you, a heart to meditate upon you, ears to hear you, eyes to see you, a tongue to proclaim you, a way of life pleasing to you, patience to wait for you and perseverance to look for you. Grant me a perfect end, your holy presence, a blessed resurrection and life everlasting. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by John Piper, a contemporary theologian, author, founder of the organization desiringGod.org, and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary.

Defining the glory of God is impossible, I say, because it is more like the word beauty than the word basketball… There are some words in our vocabulary that we can communicate with not because we can say them, but because we see them. We can point. If we point at enough things and see enough things together and say, “That’s it! That’s it. That’s it,” we might be able to have a common sense of beauty. But when you try to put the word beauty into words, it is very, very difficult. It’s the same thing with the word glory. So, how shall I do it? We have to try, because we can’t just leave it for people to fill up on their own.

Here is the way I am going to try to do it. I am going to take it and contrast it biblically with the word holy and ask, “What is the difference between the holiness of God and the glory of God?”… The holiness of God is, I think, his being in a class by himself in his perfection and greatness and worth. His perfection and his greatness and his worth are of such a distinct and separated category — we have been taught that the word holy means separate — that he is in a class by himself. He has infinite perfections, infinite greatness, and infinite worth. His holiness is what he is, as God, that nobody else is. It is his quality of perfection that can’t be improved upon, that can’t be imitated, that is incomparable, that determines all that he is and is determined by nothing from outside him. It signifies his infinite worth — his intrinsic, infinite value. Now when Isaiah 6:3 says that one angel is crying to another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts,” the next thing he says is this: “The whole earth is full of his . . . ” You might have expected him to say, “holiness,” but he doesn’t say that. He says, “glory.” The glory of God is the manifest beauty of his holiness. It is the going-public of his holiness.” The glory of God is the manifest beauty of his holiness. It is the going-public of his holiness. It is the way he puts his holiness on display for people to apprehend. So, the glory of God is the holiness of God made manifest.

PRAYER:

Written by Augustine of Hippo (354-430), an early Christian theologian and philosopher. He was the bishop of Hippo Regius (modern day Annaba, Algeria) and is viewed as one of the most important church fathers in Western Christianity.

Look upon us, O Lord, and let all the darkness of our souls vanish before the beams of thy brightness. Fill us with holy love, and open to us the treasures of thy wisdom. All our desire is known unto thee, therefore perfect what thou hast begun, and what thy Spirit has awakened us to ask in prayer. We seek thy face, turn thy face unto us and show us thy glory. Then shall our longing be satisfied, and our peace shall be perfect. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Davis Carman, a contemporary speaker and author. He is also President of Apologia Educational Ministries.

The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Son of God (John 16:14). Jesus deserves that glory, and indeed, at the final meal with His disciples, Jesus prayed, “Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you” (John 17:1). But what does this glory look like? In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for glory comes from the same root word for “weighty” or “heavy.” In the New Testament, the meaning of the original Greek is more about radiance and brightness. Ultimately, to glorify means “to make much of something.” We see the glory of God depicted throughout Scripture: on Mount Sinai, the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire (Exodus 24:16); God said that the tabernacle would be sanctified by His glory (Exodus 29:43); as God’s glory passed by Moses, God covered him with His hand such that Moses could only see His back (Exodus 33:18-23), and the priests could not stand up because of the glory of the Lord filled the house of God (2 Chronicles 5:14). The Holy Spirit points us back to Jesus with good reason. Too often, other “good” things and the not-so-good things of this world compete with Christ for our affections. Cheap glory substitutes are offered to us every day. And when we allow someone or something to edge Christ out of His rightful place at the center of our lives, we have entered into idolatry. As we see in 2 Chronicles 7:1-3, glory first awakens awe and awe then unleashes worship. But our awe should always be driven by our relationship with God (vertical) and never by the relationships we have with His creation (horizontal).  When was the last time you stopped and considered the glory of God? What other persons or things compete for the affection of your heart? Can you think of a time when glory led you to experience awe, which led you to worship God?

PRAYER:

From the Mozarabic Rite, a liturgical rite of the Latin Church once used generally in the Iberian Peninsula (Hispania), in what is now Spain and Portugal.  Developed during Visigoth (Arian Christian) rule of the Iberian peninsula in the 500s AD.

O God,

Son of God,

so loving, yet hated,

so patient, yet assaulted and killed,

you showed yourself gentle and merciful

even to your persecutors.

You have atoned for our sins

through the wounds of your Passion.

As you humbled yourself and suffered death for us,

now, in your glory,

shine on us with the eternal brightness of your grace.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Evie Polsley, a contemporary author and marketing coordinator for Tyndale House Publishing.

I have the coolest job. Seriously, every day I get to read the Bible and dive into amazing content to find ways to bless others. Working at a Christian publishing house, I get to work with amazing men and women who have dedicated their lives to bringing God glory through the written Word. Still, there are times I just don’t want to go to work. Maybe there’s a huge presentation looming, I just can’t stand to look at one more spreadsheet, e-mails are piling up, or I once again have to use my “gift” of nagging so we can meet a hard deadline.  It’s during those moments of hair-pulling frustration that I usually see my friend Felix. I can’t think of one time when I haven’t seen Felix smiling as he diligently goes about his work. Vacuuming the stairs — amazingly done with a smile. Polishing a drinking fountain — it shines like nobody’s business, and Felix did it with a smile. That huge popcorn spill I had at my desk while nervously eating and trying to meet a deadline? You guessed it — Felix was there, helping me clean it with a joyful heart. God keeps teaching me through Felix that it’s not what we do but that we do it for God’s glory. We can be the most consistent Bible reader or a walking theology encyclopedia, but unless we apply God’s Word to our daily lives, we are empty.

Consider the Pharisees. They were the most biblically literate people around. They even knew the Law and the message of the prophets from memory, but when it came to their hearts and applying Scripture to their lives, they were in the negative zone…Every day we face situations small and large where we need to choose how to respond. So, am I like the Pharisees, living my life for show and the praise of others? Looking all put together on the outside — but really letting pride and selfishness take control on the inside? Or am I like my friend Felix, who allows Christ’s joy and love to shine through him no matter the task? When we read God’s Word, and apply it to our lives, we give God glory and praise. When we live out God’s truth, our lives are testimonies to His goodness, and we can bring real love and hope to a world that desperately needs it…our actions should be motivated by God’s love … in order to bring God glory. So, whatever I do — whether I’m eating or drinking, scrubbing toilets or finishing one more spreadsheet — I can pray: How am I honoring God? Lord, may everything I do be for Your Glory.

PRAYER:

Written by Evie Posley, the author of our meditation.

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for Your amazing Word that helps me grow closer to You. May it never become just something I read, but always be a living, breathing, transforming power in my life. Please forgive me for the times I don’t apply it and instead turn to my selfish desires. I pray I never let anything too big or too small stop me from giving You glory. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Dr. Harold J. Sala, a contemporary speaker, author, and founder of Guidelines International Ministries.

Over 500 times the Bible refers to the glory of God. God is called the “Father of glory.” Twice Jesus is called the “Lord of glory.” And the Holy Spirit is called the “Spirit of glory.” Coming to understand who God is and how He has shown us something of Himself … means deepening our knowledge and understanding of what He has done and His care for us. God’s glory is something like a multi-faceted diamond that is held under a bright light against a piece of black velvet that reflects the light many different ways, depending on how it is held and rotated. Obviously, God’s handiwork reflects the glory of Him who created our beautiful world. David cried out, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” When the Apollo 8 astronauts orbited the moon on Christmas Eve, they took turns reading from the Genesis account of creation. John Glenn, who made two trips into space, said, “To look out at this kind of creation and not believe in God is to me impossible.” We live on a beautiful planet. Whether you love the beach, delicate flowers, the vastness of an Alpine landscape, or the foliage of a rain forest, our world is beautiful and reflects the glory of its creator…Long ago the psalmist said that we are to “declare His glory,” which means the message our lives should bring to the world is that this marvelous God has touched our lives with His presence, making a difference, healing broken hearts, forgiving our sins that separate us from Him; and in response He wants recognition and thanks!

PRAYER:

Written by Augustine of Hippo (354-430), an early Christian theologian and philosopher. He was the bishop of Hippo Regius (modern day Annaba, Algeria) and is viewed as one of the most important church fathers in Western Christianity.

God to glorify. Jesus to imitate. Salvation to work out with fear and trembling. A body to use rightly. Sins to repent. Virtues to acquire. Hell to avoid. Heaven to gain. Eternity to hold in mind. Time to profit by. Neighbors to serve. The world to enjoy. Creation to use rightly. Slights to endure patiently. Kindness to offer willingly. Justice to strive for. Temptations to overcome. Death perhaps to suffer. In all things, God’s love to sustain you.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Kurt Sells, a contemporary teacher and director of Back to God ministries International.

In his discussion on Christian freedom, the apostle Paul touches on some important principles for following Jesus. While emphasizing our personal freedom in Christ, he urges that we respect where others are in their spiritual maturity. Embedded in this discussion is the most important principle for Christian living: in everything we do, we are to live for God’s glory. The Westminster Shorter Catechism lays out this lasting principle using the question “What is the chief end of man?” And it answers with a timeless, bedrock declaration: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”  Though we have all been created to glorify God, because of our sin and rebellion against him we live only to glorify and enjoy ourselves. And the tyranny of self-glorification brings us no enjoyment, just unending misery. But, praise God, when we’ve been saved by grace through faith, the Holy Spirit begins to reorient our lives, nudging, prompting, stirring us to live not for ourselves but for God. And as we grow in glorifying our Lord and Savior, we discover our true, lasting joy and purpose in God alone. Whatever you do today—from the most mundane chore to making the most weighty decision—do it all for God’s glory.

PRAYER:

The prayer today is from the Carmina Gadelica, a compilation of Scottish prayers, hymns, blessings, songs, proverbs and folkloric poems compiled by Alexander Carmichel between 1860 and 1909.

Thanks to thee, 0 God, that I have risen to-day,

To the rising of this life itself;

May it be to Thine own glory, 0 God of every gift,

And to the glory of my soul likewise.

0 great God, aid Thou my soul

With the aiding of Thine own mercy;

Even as I clothe my body with wool,

Cover Thou my soul with the shadow of Thy wing.

Help me to avoid every sin,

And the source of every sin to forsake;

And as the mist scatters on the crest of the hills,

May each ill haze clear from my soul, 0 God.

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