Feb 19 - DAY 7 - The Reason for Everything

Day 7

The Reason for Everything

You are worthy, O Lord our God,

to receive glory and honor and power.

For you created everything.

Revelation 4:11a NLT

God’s glory has been on my mind lately.

•      In the Old Testament, God often met with Moses in a cloud. Why? If God’s glory hadn’t been “clouded” or “veiled” Moses would have been overwhelmed. He probably would have disintegrated!
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•      God promised to be with his people. Therefore, by his command, they built a tent of meeting and eventually a great temple. But a veil – a literal huge curtain – separated the Holy of Holies where God dwelled from the place mere mortals could enter. Again, it was a protective, anti-disintegration measure.
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•      Moses, nevertheless, wanted more of God, so he cried, “Show me your glory?” (see Ex 33). So God actually gave him a glimpse. But to do so, God hid the prophet under a rock. God then covered him with his own hand. Then God said, “Wait until I pass. Look only at my backward parts.” The implication: If we see God’s full glory face-to-face … poof! Disintegration!

The miracle of the incarnation – Jesus’ coming to earth in love – is the re-integration. Re-integration has nothing to do with fire! It is a knitting together of what has been torn apart. Sin separates us from God. When God came in human flesh and when Jesus, the Messiah, died upon the cross to conquer sin, what was torn apart was stitched back together. Through Jesus Christ, we have a path back to God.

Better yet, we can stand now in God’s presence without evaporating in flames! Mere mortals – like Paul and John – say, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory [and] we have seen his glory … full of grace and truth” (Hebrews 1:3, John 1:14).

•      God is glory.
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•      Our purpose is to bring God glory. (God actually says that in Isaiah 43:7 – “I created them to bring me glory.”)
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•      I love therefore, Rick Warren’s explanation of how to do this: “When anything in creation fulfills its purpose, it brings glory to God.”

This begs the question: What’s my purpose? That’s what the rest of this book and these next 35 days of lessons are about – discovering God’s purpose and discovering greater joy.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who likes

2 Corinthians 3:18 …

All of us have had that veil removed

so that we can be mirrors that

brightly reflect the glory of the Lord.

And as the Spirit … works within us,

we become more and more like him

and reflect his glory even more.