I enjoy a good book, written in such a way as to whet my appetite, making me eager to discover more and more and the story unfolds.
The future apostles Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip and Nathanael slowly discovered Jesus’ identity. They found out that Jesus was the Lamb of God, the Messiah, the one that Moses and the prophets wrote about.
Read More revelation, glory, nowTemples. Holy places. Sacred spaces. We multiply shrines and worshipping places throughout the world in order to commune with the divine. Unfortunately, they often substitute for a true way to God.
Read More authority, glory, Temple, fellowship
What is God up to? Why does he do what he does? What is his purpose?
David knew. God’s desire and the purpose of his divinely orchestrated action was to be glorified. That’s a nice word – glorified – but what does it mean?
Someone once gave me an illustration that helped me appreciate and better understand the concept of “glorifying God.”
Read More glory
Some of the earlier psalms we went through in this series have been lament psalms. Times of despair and crying out to a God who sometimes feels absent. But here we have a “let it all out and light the fireworks” psalm.
In Isaiah 40:28 (the Message) there is a great line which reads, “He’s the creator of all you can see or imagine.”
Read More creation, praise, joy, gloryIn the end, the glory is always and only God’s. But the Bible is clear that honour is appropriate and right among his people. David introduces his son Solomon to the people and lets them know that God has chosen him to build a temple of worship in Jerusalem. There is not one iota of jealousy in David but a recognition that God calls each of us to our own task and we should serve God well in our calling but give honour to those whose call is different and perhaps even greater in some ways than ours.
Read More glory, jealousy, envy, honourAfter twenty years of building, Solomon adds the “coup de grace,” the exclamation point, to his masterpiece. With great ceremony and sacrificial ritual, he brings the Ark of the Covenant to the temple, placing it in the “Holy of Holies.” At this moment something astonishing happens.
A cloud of luminous haze suddenly fills the house as the priests leave the “Holy of Holies.
Read More holiness, glory, God’s presenceI enjoy a good book, written in such a way as to whet my appetite, making me eager to discover more and more and the story unfolds.
The future apostles Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip and Nathanael slowly discovered Jesus’ identity. They found out that Jesus was the Lamb of God, the Messiah, the one that Moses and the prophets wrote about.
Read More revelation, glory, nowTemples. Holy places. Sacred spaces. We multiply shrines and worshipping places throughout the world in order to commune with the divine. Unfortunately, they often substitute for a true way to God.
With time, and given the human sinful condition, even the Jerusalem temple – built at God’s command – became a place of idolatry and commerce.
Read More authority, glory, Temple, fellowshipThe author of this book notes that, as his great-grandfather, David, Asa did what is right in the eyes of the Lord. This was not said of his father, nor of his grandfather, in spite of the fact that both of them accomplished some things in the name of God. But God knows the hearts of men and women and discerns their thoughts. Asa served the Lord with his whole heart, even if he, like each one of us, was not perfect.
Read More faith, glory, God’s intervention