Oh God,
i am up and ready.
My coffee is in hand.
My busy schedule is before me.
There is much to be accomplished.
So there is part of me that selfishly asks that all may go well for me and my family, but,
oh God,
i ask even more than that – that i would glorify You in my busyness.
As i go on my way this day may the busyness not distract me from You.
May i not forget to glorify You through my words and deeds.
May i not forget to receive people as i would receive Jesus.
May i not become overcome by my schedule, so much so, that i forget to show the love of Christ to others, including to my own family.
May i not get caught up with thinking that this is MY schedule, but rather it is YOUR schedule.
May i go through this day with the peace of Christ in my heart.
May i go through this day in patience – looking for mission opportunities that You create for me.
Oh God, may i not let Satan make this day just about me.
This day and every day is about You, and so here i go.
I am up and ready – with coffee in hand.
To You be the glory, this day, and always.
Amen.
Glorifying God
Just do it and bring glory to God
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. [1 Corinthians 10:31]
The context of this verse is Paul urging the Corinthians to honor God in what they eat/drink or don’t eat/drink, for everything belongs to the Lord. For example, in verse 27 Paul says that if an unbeliever invites you to dinner and you feel compelled to go; eat what is placed before you and don’t make a scene on the basis of conscience (for example, if you know the food was offered to a pagan god, eat it, it won’t kill you). Why turn the unbeliever off from the faith based on things they don’t understand now. Don’t use your freedom in such a way that it causes a “little one” to stumble.
…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
And isn’t that the purpose of our lives right there; to glorify God?
My wife shares the story of when she was doing a home visit, in her previous job, with an Hispanic family. When she arrived they offered her something to drink but all they had was orange juice (my wife hates orange juice). But to turn down a gesture of hospitality would have been offensive, especially considering the language barrier. So my wife bravely drank the orange juice, with a smile on her face the whole time. For her, it wasn’t worth risking offending this family and possibly ending any chance she had to share her faith with them in some way. The juice didn’t kill her and it definitely didn’t offend God.
Sure, there are things we need to stand up for and not do based on conscience and belief. I am not going to attend a drunken orgy on the off chance I could possibly pray with the people there. And I think you get the point. We are to bring glory to God and not use our freedom to cause others to stumble in the faith or to stumble before they even come into the faith.
…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
So basically we need to be mindful of how we act or don’t act, especially when it is known that we are Christian:
~ How do your actions or in-actions bring glory to God?
~ How are people seeing your faith being lived out?
~ Do your actions or in-actions cause others to stumble in their faith?
~ Are you giving God a bad name in how you live?
In whatever you do (or don’t do), are you bring glory to God?
Meditate on this today and contemplate what changes (if any) you need to make to your public (and private) display of faith. We are here to glorify God, through Jesus Christ, so just do it.
Praise be to God and Amen!
The Pastor -|—
The Heart of a Pastor 