E41 - Hope’s Harbor Gritty Bible Devotions - GOD’s Glory - Can we add to it?
Hope’s Harbor
Gritty Bible Devotions
Episode #41
Title: GOD’s Glory – Can we add to it?
Date: February 14, 2022
Contact: info@hopesharbor.net
Key verse(s): Psalm 19:1 – ‘The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.’
Glory here is - splendor or copiousness , meaning sizable.
If you study the universe, its dimensions, and consider GOD created all we see or know about the universe, it’s a mind-boggling exercise.
John 15:8 – “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
Glory here means to esteem glorious / to Honor – Praise – Worship The root meaning is to account for, of reputation.
Intro: Let me answer the question ‘Can we add to GOD’s Glory?’ No. GOD is complete in Himself and we cannot add anything to Him. GOD’s Glory is His nature, His personality if you will. However, we can point to or reveal GOD’s glory by what we do when we live like Him. And this is according to His commands. It is also our part, the least we can do for GOD.
I want to look at 2 uses of the glory in the Bible. The first is to ascribe glory to GOD, to recognize His absolute power. And the second is to account for GOD’s glory by the good work you do as a Christian.
It is this second use of glory I will focus on.
Devotion focus: The Glory of GOD stands on its own merit.
All of creation reveals GOD’s nature as the Creator. Do a study of the human body in all of its wonder and you will find it glorious.
Study the insect kingdom, the animal kingdom, or the bird kingdom, and you will find GOD’s handiwork.
There is no way the intricacy of our world oozed up out of primordial soup.
The false claims of evolution would have us believe that all life came from one cell joining to another and so on until life as we know and see it came into being.
So let me ask: how long did we have dry eyeballs until tear ducts evolved? See what I mean?
Speaking of eyeballs – the ability of living tissue within the eye to interpret a signal frequency of light and display that signal to the brain so that we ‘see’ the world around us is a miracle in itself and alone refutes evolution.
But to the point of this devotion, when we worship we can ascribe glory to GOD by acknowledging His supremacy in song and praise. This is good and necessary. It helps keep us humble.
To point to GOD’s glory by how we allow the Holy Spirit to have His way in our lives is another matter. One worthy of much study, more than we can cover here.
However, we can look at a passage in John 15 and read what Jesus had to say about us bearing fruit glorifying His Father and ours.
Listen to Jesus in John 15:5 - "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
And then in John 15:8 – “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
Let me cut through some clutter here: fruit in this passage and Galatians 5:22-23 is symbolic of good works. Here we can find a schism in Christianity by which many find it easy to believe GOD wants us to bear fruit, do good works in His name, but difficult to pay the price to do the work.
This is belief without action on our part. Good works come in numerous forms from honesty to loyalty to sacrificial giving to those in need.
May I point out as an example something I find exceedingly vexing? By the way, I try not to get up on a ‘soapbox’ or high-horse in these messages. What irks me is Americans will spend an extra few thousand on luxury options on their vehicles, like heated seats, custom wheels, etc., but they won’t support their brothers and sisters and their children, around the world who are going hungry, are sick without medicine, are cold, in prison for their beliefs, etc.
Beloved, we are going to be held accountable for this indifference to suffering while babying ourselves with unnecessary comfort. And listen, I’m all about comfort and I like luxury. But how can we live so far above others who are suffering – listen- WHEN WE CAN RELIEVE THEIR PAIN?
But when we glorify the Son of GOD, who died in our place, by yielding to the leading of the Holy Spirit through His Word and serving others instead of our desire for utter comfort, we will stand unashamed before the Bema seat of Christ when we are judged, not for Heaven or hell, but for rewards
And I mean rewards for eternity. I’m afraid there is a large number of those claiming to be Christian who are living only for today, neglecting their eternal future.
Now, before you boil me in oil, I know we are told to enjoy the fruit of our labor in Ecclesiastes 3:12 – ‘I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, Ecclesiastes 3:13 – ‘and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes 3:14 – ‘I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him.’
I’m talking about balance here. That’s what GOD wants, balance. Nothing done in excess.
Summary: GOD’s glory stands alone by His merit and His merit only. Our Lord does not need anything from us concerning His nature, which is His Glory.
However, there is plenty we can do to reveal His Glory, His nature, to others. Our actions of love, mercy exhibited by giving to others and sacrificing some of our comfort and luxury to do so will ‘do for the least of these, my brethren.” Jesus in Matthew 25:40 – [“And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'”]
Action to consider: Is your life pointing to the Glory of GOD or detracting from it? Ponder this question. And do so with courage. The truth may hurt.
Next week’s devotion: To be announced (I’m still waiting to hear from GOD).