The Organizing Principle of Life
Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!
The earth and everything in it,
the world and its inhabitants,
belong to the Lord;
for He laid its foundation on the seas
and established it on the rivers.
Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in His holy place?
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who has not set his mind on what is false,
and who has not sworn deceitfully.
He will receive blessing from the Lord,
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Such is the generation of those who seek Him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Psalm 24 gives a bigger picture of God's plan. These words describe a person who responds to God and note that we do not come to God or get saved through our works, but we receive his power to do the right thing from him and act on it, saying, "Yes, I will let you save me and receive your power to save me and now here is how I will live because of that work you are doing in my life." Being obedient to do the right thing results in blessings, but only God can bestow righteous standing before him through Christ.
It is always a temptation to be a Christian in name only, but God is alive and relational, wanting interaction and to walk together with his children. We are stewards of our lives, but always his child and his slave.
So, there is some paradox there. God relates to me as his child and as his slave. We need to live our lives happily responding to both paradigms.
The center of everything is the glory of God. We want to be in alignment with God and his gloriousness. God is glorified through saving us and then we bring him glory by living saved lives.
As a person in Christ, you are God's child, upon whom his favor rests. You also are his slave and it's not a bad position because the master is completely good and righteous. In those two roles that are yours towards God, you live out your life.
You are a citizen, a neighbor, a pensioner, a retiree, a friend, a husband or wife, a student, an employee, or a leader of a company or a business; to name a few roles you might have. No matter what your place or role in life here, above that, you are God's: God's child and God's servant or slave. He takes care of his children and he also takes good care of his slaves.
This is the bottom line: God, who is glorious, lavishes his glory upon us, saving us. We are now his: his children and his slaves. And he takes care of what belongs to him.
God's plan is to save us. Jesus exemplified God's glory. He is the glory of God. He calls us into God's kingdom and saves us and we become his, to be cared for by him.
The King of glory saves us, coming into our lives, when we open to him. His glory shines upon us and we are his children. And he is a good shepherd and a good father to his children. And we are on a path, following Christ, dying to our selves, and being his slaves. And he is the master and takes care of us, because we are not only in his care, as children, but he is living his life through us and his father watches over his life for his glory.
You might ask, "How can I give thanks in all circumstances?" This is the answer. God, his glory in his son. Having his life in my life and becoming rightly related to Father through him gives me thankfulness no matter what, and he uses the stuff of life to help me learn to walk in that relationship and draw upon the life that he gives me through Christ to be his child and let him be the master.
The earth and everything in it,
the world and its inhabitants,
belong to the Lord;
for He laid its foundation on the seas
and established it on the rivers.
Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in His holy place?
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who has not set his mind on what is false,
and who has not sworn deceitfully.
He will receive blessing from the Lord,
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Such is the generation of those who seek Him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Selah
Lift up your heads, you gates!
Rise up, ancient doors!
Then the King of glory will come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, you gates!
Rise up, ancient doors!
Then the King of glory will come in.
Who is He, this King of glory?
The Lord of Hosts,
He is the King of glory.
Lift up your heads, you gates!
Rise up, ancient doors!
Then the King of glory will come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, you gates!
Rise up, ancient doors!
Then the King of glory will come in.
Who is He, this King of glory?
The Lord of Hosts,
He is the King of glory.
Selah
-Luke 2:14, Psalm 24
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Many people are going through trials and even tribulations. There are big problems and small ones. Some smaller ones feel big.
There are people that are dying, who witness to us about their faith in the Lord and have a worshipful attitude of heart. I don't know if you have met ones like these. They have in place in their lives that God is our glorious King.
There is a verse, by Paul, that says, "In every thing (in all circumstances) give thanks, for this is the will of God" (1 Thess. 5:18). To be in God's presence is to worship Him. In Heaven, there is continual worship of God.
"Glory", is not a word most of us use in every day life. The first time it is used in the Old Testament is from the lips of Laban's sons, expressing their jealousy towards Jacob, who was, "getting the glory", or "getting the wealth", that they wanted (Gen. 31). We call the American flag, "Old glory", signifying the honor that we bestow on it, because of what it represents.
Glory means, abundance, riches, honor, and splendor. Glory has to do with the dignity of position, character, or reputation. God is the King of glory and we use glory and honor in our relationships with one another, while never glorifying anyone or any thing except God.
We give glory or honor to one another and act honorably, in line with God's glory. We see and function in our relationships, according to God's glory. To dignify others and receive dignity from one another is godly and reflects God's glory.
No matter who you are and where you are and what you are going through in your life, he is the King of glory. God's will for all humans is given in Luke 2:14, in a statement:
Glory to God in the highest heaven,God, in glory, who is glorious, who we glorify; wants to give us peace on earth; to those he favors. That peace is peacefulness in our lives. It is the opposite of worry, anxiety, strife, and agitation. And the people he favors or who bring pleasure to him are simply people who respond to him.
and peace on earth to people He favors!
Psalm 24 gives a bigger picture of God's plan. These words describe a person who responds to God and note that we do not come to God or get saved through our works, but we receive his power to do the right thing from him and act on it, saying, "Yes, I will let you save me and receive your power to save me and now here is how I will live because of that work you are doing in my life." Being obedient to do the right thing results in blessings, but only God can bestow righteous standing before him through Christ.
Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?We seek him, who has sought us, to receive righteousness and salvation. But it is another step to seek God's face. Seeking God's face is intimacy with God, opening your heart to God in your daily life. We will be in trouble when we are people who sought him in the past, but are not seeking his face today.
Who may stand in His holy place?
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who has not set his mind on what is false,
and who has not sworn deceitfully.
He will receive blessing from the Lord,
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Such is the generation of those who seek Him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
It is always a temptation to be a Christian in name only, but God is alive and relational, wanting interaction and to walk together with his children. We are stewards of our lives, but always his child and his slave.
So, there is some paradox there. God relates to me as his child and as his slave. We need to live our lives happily responding to both paradigms.
The center of everything is the glory of God. We want to be in alignment with God and his gloriousness. God is glorified through saving us and then we bring him glory by living saved lives.
As a person in Christ, you are God's child, upon whom his favor rests. You also are his slave and it's not a bad position because the master is completely good and righteous. In those two roles that are yours towards God, you live out your life.
You are a citizen, a neighbor, a pensioner, a retiree, a friend, a husband or wife, a student, an employee, or a leader of a company or a business; to name a few roles you might have. No matter what your place or role in life here, above that, you are God's: God's child and God's servant or slave. He takes care of his children and he also takes good care of his slaves.
This is the bottom line: God, who is glorious, lavishes his glory upon us, saving us. We are now his: his children and his slaves. And he takes care of what belongs to him.
God's plan is to save us. Jesus exemplified God's glory. He is the glory of God. He calls us into God's kingdom and saves us and we become his, to be cared for by him.
The King of glory saves us, coming into our lives, when we open to him. His glory shines upon us and we are his children. And he is a good shepherd and a good father to his children. And we are on a path, following Christ, dying to our selves, and being his slaves. And he is the master and takes care of us, because we are not only in his care, as children, but he is living his life through us and his father watches over his life for his glory.
You might ask, "How can I give thanks in all circumstances?" This is the answer. God, his glory in his son. Having his life in my life and becoming rightly related to Father through him gives me thankfulness no matter what, and he uses the stuff of life to help me learn to walk in that relationship and draw upon the life that he gives me through Christ to be his child and let him be the master.
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