To whom do you seek to ascribe glory?
30 Jan 26
Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One
Readings:
Exodus 22
Exodus 23
Exodus 24
Matthew 20:17-34
I am the LORD, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another (Isaiah 42:8).
To whom do you seek to ascribe glory?
Moses depicts God’s glory, “The sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel” (Exodus 24:17). Jesus unveils His glory to Peter, James, and John, being transfigured before them (Matthew 17:1-2). Yet in conjunction with their mother, James and John seek their own future glory. They desire to sit at Jesus’ right and left hand in His kingdom (Matthew 20:21). Jesus explains that He would be mocked, scourged, crucified, and resurrected (Matthew 20:19). Matthew immediately uses the adverb of time, “then,” capturing the timing of their selfish request (Matthew 20:20). Our Lord reveals that His own future status is predicated upon His service by giving “His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).
Employment Point: Live for God’s glory by becoming the servant of all.
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Reflections
“When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.”Exodus 22:27b NIV
- the bible explicitly wrote and tell us all, one of God’s attributes - that is compassion. Aren’t you glad that our God is a compassionate God, hearing and knowing all our sufferings and tries to alleviate us out of it. He cares enough and loves us enough to do this.
““I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.”
Exodus 23:27-30 NIV
- I see the Lord being so caring and loving to the nitty gritty details of such things. He thought far ahead of us and beyond, preparing the road ahead for His people, ensuring that they will be well. So awesome is our God. Give thanks to Him!!
“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.””Matthew 20:26-28 NIV
- a lesson for the previous, current and future seasons too. Remove our pride and be of service. Indeed Jesus comes to serve and not to be served and He gave His life as a ransom for many. If we are to follow Jesus and do what He does, are we truly serving Him and not our own pride or glory? What are we most concerned about? Our future or His glory?
- While I was typing this, a few people came to mind and it was a fine reminder that no Christian is perfect. We are all work in progress and that one may be good in one thing but not so good with the other, for we each were given different gifts.
- It is thus important for us not to look at others and the areas they fall but to look at them on the areas they are good at. And there is always something good in any person. Let not our prejudice blind our heart to see the good in others.
- We can always cite examples of how Christians behave in a not so Christian way. What about Christians that behave in very Christian ways? Do we uplift them or do we take them for granted?
- I give thanks to the Lord for giving me both sides of the coin, both the good and the bad and allowing me to realise even the good has his bad and even the bad has his good. There are no absolutes in this world. Only until the day when the Lord calls us home will we truly be able to say that we have fight the good fight and have the run the race that is set out for us.
- Meanwhile, while we are still moving along the earth and yet to be home, may us all be gracious towards one another, pray for one another and learn from one other.
Lord, take away the pride in our lives. Help us to live a humble life, full of Your wisdom and Your peace. Teach us Your ways Lord, so that we will not stumble and fall into the enemy’s traps. Help us to see the good in the people around us. Thank You Lord. In Jesus’s name I ask and pray. Amen 🙏🏻
My friend send me this devotion.. i think it’s quite apt. Sending it to you too
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The Dilemma of Obedience
BY OSWALD CHAMBERS
January 30
Samuel . . . was afraid to tell Eli the vision. —1 Samuel 3:15
When God speaks, it is never startling, seldom obvious. He comes to us in our circumstances, moving so subtly and mysteriously through our lives that we wonder, “Is that God’s voice?” Isaiah said that God spoke to him with a “strong hand”—the all-encompassing hand of circumstance, holding and guiding him (Isaiah 8:11). Nothing touches our lives that God isn’t speaking through.
What do we see in our own circumstances? The hand of God, or simply accidents? When we begin to understand that there are no accidents, that all is God, life begins to change. We begin to say, “Speak, Lord,” and to listen. We begin to realize that difficulty does more than discipline us; it brings us to the place where, attentive and hungry, we say, “Speak, Lord.” Get into the habit of saying, “Speak, Lord,” and life becomes a romance.
Perhaps we’ve already heard the call, but we were afraid to answer, fearing that answering would hurt someone we love. God called to Samuel, and Samuel hesitated, wanting to protect Eli. But Eli knew that Samuel must obey; if he did not, he would turn himself into an amateur providence. As cruel as it may seem, we must not prevent the gouging out of the eye, the cutting off of the hand (Matthew 5:29–30). We too are circumstances God is using to speak to others.
Every time circumstances press, say, “Speak, Lord,” and make time to listen. As you listen, your ears grow sharp, until, like Jesus, you hear God all the time.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
We are all based on a conception of importance, either our own importance, or the importance of someone else; Jesus tells us to go and teach based on the revelation of His importance. “All power is given unto Me.… Go ye therefore ….”
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Reflections
This just reminds me of how God is with us and that He knows us all really personally. Our every needs, wants, challenges, joyful moments, etc., He knows it all, without a doubt.
The hearing of God’s voice comes with practice and of course obedience. We may debate with the Lord and say Lord I cannot, just that what Moses did but I guess the worse thing we can do is to just push God away, pretend we did not hear Him and continue to “act blur”.
I think often times people say they don’t hear God or they don’t hear God being so detailed or precise about certain things, which may happen. However, I find that hearing God is a form of training, where when we think we hear, we pause and pray and seek the Lord for confirmation. Other times we get impatient and get do whatever we think we hear, only to find out it is our own voice or will that we are hearing.
My own way of discerning happens when I first hear a call, a prompting which seems to come from the Lord. I need to remember to be intentional and wait for Him, seeking Him to confirm or proceed. If He did not respond, I will wait till He does. This wait sometimes takes quite long, other times it becomes obvious over a period of two or three days. But my own lesson learnt is never to act on impulse.
I ever felt so prompted to move that I almost took action to say yes to a proposal. But something (I’m quite sure it’s the Lord on retrospect) kind of stop me in my tracks and made me focus on something else instead. Eventually I did not say yes to the proposal and I also never hear from the person again. I realised the enemy can make use of these so called “good” opportunities to derail us from our paths. We need to realise not all good steps are meant for us to take on and it is always better to seek the Lord and ask Him for directions.
Ministry wise, it is also the same. Some things which I thought is hard to continue, the Lord turns things around and made it happen without me having to lift a finger. So I learnt that if He wills it, it will go, it is not up to me but up to Him. I only need to commit it in prayers to Him for Him to reveal and to surrender the outcome all into His hands. Learning to do His will.
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