Category Archives: Glory

Career, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Family, Following, Glory, God's Will, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, Modeling, Parenting, Scripture, Surrender

KNOW YOUR PURPOSE

TITUS 1:1

“Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness,”

Several years ago, Pastor Rick Warren wrote a book entitled “The Purpose Driven Life.” It was a number one best seller and launched him on to talk shows all over the United States. Why? Because people want to know their purpose in life. They want to know why they are here. They want to know what they should be doing.

Paul knew! He was a bond-servant of God (a slave of his own choosing). He was an apostle of Jesus Christ (one sent with a message). He purpose was to grow the faith of those chosen by God (reach and teach them). And he was to preach the truth.

Paul knew his purpose and makes sure Titus knows this in his first words of the letter to him.

APPLICATION

Man, oh man! If we can help our children discover their purpose early in life what a difference that would make. I am not saying they should know their career path at five. I am talking about knowing who they are and why they are here. That can only be taught through God’s Word through His worldview. When your child comes to Christ, He will reveal through His Holy Spirit what they are to do with their life to glorify Him. What they do for a living isn’t important.

But so many of we parents are so focused on our children becoming doctors or lawyers (nothing wrong with that, just examples). Instead we need to focus on bringing them up with a vision for God. That can only be taught if we have it. Do you?

What exactly is your worldview? Do you see everything through God colored glasses? As believers, we should see ourselves, our family and others as God sees us. We were all created in His image with one purpose – to glorify Him. We exist to give Him glory. Those whose follow His calling on their lives (and He calls us all but only a few answer) will discover their purpose. Have you?

Father, I am so thankful my purpose is clear. I will glorify You today. I will give glory to You for all You do in and through me.

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Child Raising, Child Rearing, Encouragement, Eternity, Glory, Heaven, Parenting, Promises, Sanctification

THE THREE P’S

2 TIMOTHY 4:18

“The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

You may have heard salvation described this way – we were saved, we are being saved and we will be saved. Or maybe like this – we were saved from the penalty of sin, the power of sin and one day the presence of sin. That’s what today’s verse is saying.

Paul is thanking God in advance and telling Timothy that he is secure in the fact that the Lord will rescue him from the very presence of sin. He is going home to His heavenly kingdom where there is no sin. Can you imagine? No evil. No hurt feelings. No paybacks. Just pure joy!

APPLICATION

Ask your children to imagine a perfect place. Get them to draw a picture if they like to do that. Don’t talk about heaven yet. Just get them to describe their perfect place. What makes it perfect? Is it the people? Is it what they get to do? Just what determines perfection for your child?

Now, read them this verse and talk about different heaven will be from our earth without heaven. Ask them why they think Paul uses the words “rescue” and “bring me safely” when he describes going to heaven. Better yet, get them to draw a picture of Jesus doing that for them. Those should be some interesting pictures worthy of the kitchen frig.

Let me ask you point blank. Have you been rescued? Are you secure in your salvation? If not, why not surrender your heart and your life to Him today. If you have, are you walking in that victory we have in Jesus? You ARE free from the penalty of sin. You ARE free from the power of sin. And praise God one day you will be free from the very presence of sin. Sing Hallelujah!!!

I sing Your praises, O Lord. You are the only one who can deliver me. I rest completely in Your saving power.

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Advice, Busyness, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Elders, Encouragement, Fighting, Glory, God's Will, Mentoring, Parenting, Testimony

HOW TO AVOID A FIGHT

2 TIMOTHY 2:23

“But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels.”

Some people are just looking for a fight. They say things to try to get someone else stirred up. They choose their words carefully in order to lure another person into a fight, usually to make themselves look better. Paul is warning Timothy to refuse that, to walk away, to stay out of those arguments.

You have to decide yourself on that. You may like the arguing. You may like the back and forth verbal exchanges. But if this talk does not glorify the Lord, then it is empty, foolish and ignorant words. Having lived in Ephesus, where Timothy was residing, he knew how the Ephesians delighted in debate. He didn’t want Timothy wasting time in these endless pursuits.

APPLICATION

This is a hard one for kids. If you have more than one child in the home, you have undoubtedly experienced foolish and ignorant speculations that led to quarrels, lol. Keeping these quarrels to a minimum can be a tiresome task. But the second you hear two children arguing, read them this verse and ask them this question – “How does this discussion bring glory to our Lord?”

You see, our focus should be to continually point them towards the Father. If we do that and follow our lead, they will be able to avoid these useless arguments. This skill will be so beneficial as an adult when they grow up. They may not understand it all now, but one day they will.

Are you one of those people looking for a fight? Why do we do that? Maybe it’s because we want to prove we are right. Perhaps it’s because we want to prove the other person wrong. Either way, glory isn’t given to the Lord. Surround yourself with like-minded people and avoid those people who can’t wait to quarrel and debate. Life’s too short. 

O Lord, keep my mouth shut when appropriate. Thank You for the wisdom to know how to respond to those who have no desire to glorify You. Today I will not quarrel or debate.

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Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Glory, Love, Mentoring, Modeling, Obedience, Parenting, Scripture, Service

WAITING TABLES

2 TIMOTHY 1:18 

“the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.” 

Onesiphorus was a servant. How do I know that? By this verse. Paul continues to describe this saint by reminding Timothy how Onesiphorus served so willingly in Ephesus. The phrase “services he rendered” is one Greek word that literally means to wait tables. And the form of the verb means he did this himself. He wasn’t forced to do it.  

Whom are you willing to serve? Do you pick and choose whom you will serve so that they notice? That’s not what Paul is describing here. True service is serving for the joy of serving. When you willingly serve, you do it for the joy of the Lord. After all, it is He who gets all the glory for it. 

APPLICATION 

Okay, I have to let you off the hook today (kind of). You can’t teach this kind of service to your kids. You can’t make them want to serve. That comes from within. However, you can model this behavior for them with the hopes they will want to do it. True service is a heart thing. The desire only comes after encountering the King of kings and Lord of lords. 

Oh, the joy of watching our children serve. You can always tell when they are doing it out of love. The smile gives it away. When your child sees you smiling as you serve, they notice that. You can be doing the most mundane thing, but when you do it willingly and sacrificially, you can’t help but smile. 

Has the Lord burdened your heart to serve? Perhaps He has asked you a hard one. The person He is directing you to serve is someone you don’t like. That really doesn’t matter. Do it any way. God is the one you are honoring. He is the one who will get all the glory.  

I may not want to serve today, but Lord I choose to serve because of Your love for me. I choose to serve in order to show others. I choose to serve to honor You. 

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Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christ's Return, Encouragement, Glory, Heaven, Light, Parenting

DON’T GO THERE

1 TIMOTHY 6:16

“who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”

Unapproachable! Don’t even think about going there! The brilliance of our Lord will be blinding, yet we shall one day behold Him. This Greek word for “unapproachable” is only used right here in this verse. It literally means don’t go. Why? Why would the Lord dwell in unapproachable light? Why would He want to keep us away?

Because as mortal men, we cannot bear the glory of God. His holiness would instantly wipe us away. So, we are being protected. He is not trying to keep us away. He is trying to keep us safe. We will be bathed in the light. We just can’t go into it. We are not worthy. Only He can dwell in it.

APPLICATION

Do you have things in your home that are off limits? I bet you do. How about the fuse box? The power source for your house is in there. Your children can benefit from the power source, but they cannot approach the source itself. That’s a pretty close analogy for kids. 

There have to be boundaries for kids. There will be a day when they can have access to any area of the house. The limitations now are not meant to punish them. They are meant to protect them. As they mature, they will gain more and more access. In the same way, as we mature in our walk with Christ, He reveals more and more of Himself to us.

Are you ready for the unapproachable light? Boy, I am. I can’t wait to see Him. His glory will be amazing. But guess what? It is now. Don’t wait until eternity to be blown away. Let His brilliance amaze you.

O God of glory, Your light is ablaze. Let it shine through me so others can see You. One day I will dwell in Your light forever.

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Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christianity, Commands, Encouragement, Glory, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, Modeling, Parenting, Praise, Worship

HOLY HANDS

1 TIMOTHY 2:8

“Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.”    

I know you’ve seen it. People raising their hands in church during Praise and Worship. You may feel intimidated to raise yours, even though you don’t really want to. You may think hand raising is a sign of holiness. It is not! You may have been led to believe that those who raise their hands are somehow more spiritual. They are not.

Hand raising should be Spirit-led and should be done as a sign of supplication to our holy God. You are saying to God, “I lift my hands to You, O Lord, in confession. I present myself to You with a broken heart. I want to know you more completely.” It is never done in pride. It is always done in humility. 

APPLICATION

Your children will undoubtedly ask what people are doing in church when they raise their hands. We teach our children to raise their hands when they want to ask a question. We don’t normally do that during a worship service, lol. So, when they see hands going up during a service, they may be confused.

Take this opportunity to tell them, “Johnny, remind me when we get home to tell you about. I really can’t explain it now, but I will.” Then tell them what it means when you get home. Turn to this verse and explain what Paul meant by “lifting up holy hands.” Take your time. Answer their questions. This is important. You want them to understand this and feel free to do as the Lord leads them in the future.

Are you a “hand raiser”? Let me ask you why. Why do you lift your hands? Is it because everyone else is doing it? Is it because you want to be seen as “into it” during Worship? If those are your reasons, put your hands down. Ask the Lord to show you when and if you are to raise your hands. He will. 

I raise my hands to You, O Lord. I lift them in reverence to Your holiness and majesty. I bow my heart as I lift my hands.

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Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christianity, Completeness, Glory, God's Will, Heaven, Inspirational, Love, Scripture, Thanksgiving

THE IMMORTAL

1 TIMOTHY 1:17

“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Did you know God is immortal? Sure, you did, but do you know what that means? It means literally undecaying. He will not decay. He will live forever. His substance, whatever it is, will not rot away. Not true for us. From the moment we are born we begin to die. We are not immortal, at least not on this side of eternity.

But God is. So, what does that mean for us? It means we have a God who can never die. He has always been and will always be. No matter how uncertain our days, He is certain. No matter how defeating our days, He is the victor. No matter how low we feel, He is the lifter of our heads.

APPLICATION

Your children may have a favorite superhero. Some of them can seem immortal. They always win the battles. But no one, except the Lord, can retain that title. Only He is the immortal one. Ask your little Susie what that means to her. Ask her to explain immortality to you. She will probably struggle with defining it. Most of us do.

But, as I mentioned earlier, immortality is ours for the asking. But we must die first. We must die to ourselves and allow Jesus into our hearts. Then, one day, we will live with Him in eternity as immortals. This old, decaying flesh will be replaced with a glorified body that will never die. Hallelujah!

Do you possess that promise of immortality? It is yours for the asking. Christ is waiting to make you immortal, just like His Father. Now, you won’t become a god. There is only ONE God, and you ain’t Him, lol. But you will have the promise of immortality with Jesus.

Father of immortality, forgive me for not believing in the immortal life that awaits me. It’s hard to get my head around sometimes. But I want to thank You for making me immortal when I enter Your kingdom.

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Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christianity, Commands, Death, Direction, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Eternity, Evangelism, Family, Fatherhood, Forgiveness, Glory, God's Will, Grace, Heaven, Inspirational, Love, Mentoring, Mercy, Modeling, Motherhood, Obedience, Parenting, Scripture, Surrender, Witnessing

I’M NUMBER ONE

1 TIMOTHY 1:15

“It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.”  

Paul called himself the number one sinner. Why would anyone do that? That is not a title I want. But he was making a point. Jesus died for all sinners, even the worst sinner of all. Paul, obviously, was reflecting on his past actions before he came to Christ. He was a persecutor of the early church. He sanctioned murder of Christians. He was there when the first martyr, Stephen, fell. He was, in fact, eager to bring them all to justice.

So, how does this relate to us? We are just as bad. We may not have killed anyone or persecuted anyone, but our sins are just as wicked. Our sins, left unforgiven, will lead us directly to hell. There are no little sins. Sin is sin – period. We all vie for the title of number one sinner.

APPLICATION

If you are like most parents, you don’t want to see your little Johnny or Susie as a sinner. Sure, they misbehave at times, but to think they will spend eternity separated from a holy God breaks your heart. It is hard to accept. But it is the truth. Unless your little angel turns to Christ and surrenders their will to His, they will not see the glory of heaven.

Our number one job as parents is to do all we can to introduce them to Jesus. We must prepare the spiritual environment in our homes to allow them to know Him and accept Him. We can’t make them choose Christ, but we must do everything within our power to prepare the way. How are you doing with that?

And this responsibility doesn’t just apply to our household. We are commanded by God to share His good news to everyone. Are you sharing that? Will you share that today? Ask the Lord to send people into your life today with whom you can share the greatest story ever told. You won’t regret it. It will be the best part of your day.

O God, Savior of my soul, thank You for redeeming me. Thank You for not turning Your back on me when I came seeking You. I, like Paul, am the foremost of sinners.

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Advice, Affection, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christianity, Comfort, Commands, Completeness, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Eternity, Evangelism, Family, Fatherhood, Forgiveness, Glory, God's Will, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, Obedience, Surrender

ALL MINE


2 THESSALONIANS 2:14

“It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Can you believe that? If you respond to God’s call given through the Gospel, you will gain (fully possess) His glory. What? Are you kidding me? That’s what it says. God wants to glorify us. But He can only do that if we are His.

You hear a lot people claiming to be believers but who live like the world. Being called through the Gospel has to change us. Our motivations for life shift. Our desire and wishes become more heaven focused. Am I right? The things of this world hold no value, or at least lesser value. All we want is His glory.

APPLICATION

This may be one of the toughest things to teach our children. They really have to just live it and experience it. So, our jobs are to lead them to Christ and disciple them once they have surrendered. You can’t disciple a lost child. If your little Johnny doesn’t know Jesus, he will never respond to your efforts to “build him up” spiritually.

BUT if your child comes to the King of Kings, they too will be glorified. You should see a change in their attitude. Will they still mess up? Don’t you? Will your child make some mistakes? Probably so. Pour into them. Let other mentors do the same. Sometimes our kids respond to others better.  That’s okay.

So, have you responded to the call? Have you yielded your heart to the Lord of Lords? He will make you His own. He will exalt you as you humble yourself. Don’t you want His glory all over you? I sure do. Give Him praise.

Father God, You are worthy of all my praise. I do desire Your glory. I long for you gentle hands which direct me toward others who are also in need of it today.

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Advice, Busyness, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christianity, Commands, Completeness, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Eternity, Family, Fatherhood, Glory, God's Will, Inspirational, Love, Mentoring, Modeling, Motherhood, Obedience, Parenting, Surrender

BUSY BEE

2 THESSALONIANS 2:9

“that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,” 

Busy! Busy! Busy! Have you ever been so busy you lose track of time? That happens to me sometimes. I run from meeting to meeting and before I know it, it’s bedtime. Being busy isn’t a bad thing unless you are busy doing things that don’t really have an eternal purpose. That’s the point of today’s devotional.

The word “activity” in today’s verse is used eight times in the New Testament, all by Paul. But the interesting thing about today’s verse is that this is the ONLY time it is used when it doesn’t refer to God’s energy or activity. Here it’s talking about Satan’s activity. You have to remember, though, that Satan can only do what God allows him. So, this lawless man Paul is referring to in this chapter is on the same leash with Satan.

APPLICATION

Are your kids busy? Does your little Johnny wake up fully charged for the day and not stop until he drops? My fourteen-month-old granddaughter is that way. She will play and run until she literally passes out. Busy, busy, busy!  One of our goals as parents (or grandparents) is to teach our children to be busy about God’s things. There is so much stuff in the world that can distract us. Before we know it, we don’t have time for God.

Give your children some activities to do that will cause them to think about God. Hey, even chores can be done for His glory. Make sure that their daily schedules include some time to learn about and live out the Word. Don’t let the activity of Satan get a grip in your home through busyness.

Look at your calendar today and see how busy you are. Do you have 25 minutes to spend alone with the Lord? Find the time. You need it. You need to spend alone time with the Creator of the universe. Slow down. Get rid of some distractions. Take a deep breath.

Lord, I like staying busy. But help me point all my activities towards You. Don’t let me get sidetracked by the enemy and get engaged in his activities unknowingly.

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