“O nations of the world, recognize the Lord, recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong. Give to the Lord the glory He deserves! Bring your offering and come into His presence. Worship the Lord in all His holy splendor.”
1 Chronicles 16:28-29
Can I just say that this email was supposed to be sent on January 15th but I had the hardest time putting this together? SERIOUSLY! When we take a step back to see if our actions bring glory to Jesus, it is both humbling and challenging. Like you, I find myself in different roles throughout the day. Where I would find victory in morning traffic or in the workplace, I would struggle miserably by the time I got home with my spouse or kiddos and vice-versa. Trying to bring glory to God in every thought, action and conversation sounds simple until you scrutinize every moment and feel like you keep missing the mark. Hello Over-Consumed Thinking. I had to give myself a break and find quiet time with Jesus because I felt like I was blowing it every day. What God laid on my heart is something that I hope He lays on yours frequently. He is not asking for perfection, He just wants to be involved in the process.
So what does the process look like anyway? I think it is different for every person but I will focus today on the one from our text above:
Recognizing
Giving
Bringing
Entering
Worshiping
In every thought, action or spoken word, we need to recognize who we are representing 1. The Lord 2. That He is glorious and strong. To recognize someone means that you identify with this person because you have had an encounter with them before and know them. So if we read this in context it would mean that we know God intimately and have encountered His glory and strength in our own lives. Let that soak in for a moment and think about a moment when you felt God’s glorious wonder all around you or a time when His strength was magnified in a weary life moment. Like a mini-montage across the sky, several moments come to mind that leave me in awe of the Creator of all things so intimately involved in the smallest details of my own life. And most important is to recognize that my dash (aka: my life) is not about me but about Him.
Now giving is pretty straight forward because I think we all have this down beautifully as we dish out our time, talents and treasures each week. But what do our hearts look like when we give? Does it match the plastered smile on our faces or do we do so grudgingly? Please know that I am not pointing fingers here because I have done the same. One of my favorite quotes from Pastor Levi Lusko in this area is, “Be careful that your gifts do not take you where your character cannot sustain you.” If my heart is not in it or I feel “obligated”, you can bet that my flesh will win out each time and I will deep sigh the entire time I am giving or pull the martyr card. In order for God to truly get the glory from my time, abilities or financial support, I need to ensure that my heart is 100% checked-in and for the cause. Otherwise I will be robbed of the opportunity to truly help someone and reflect God’s goodness and provision.
Bringing and entering go together in our scripture verse and I could not agree more. Think of the last pot luck you went to and what you brought? It was either your favorite dish that everyone praises you for or the prettiest store-bought cupcakes you could find, right? When we bring something that is going to have our names associated, we pull out all the stops to ensure it looks presentable. Now think about your actions this past week and what you brought to the table. Were you supportive, sympathetic, sincere, strong and Spirit-led? Or were you critical, complaining, comparing, competing or contending? The question is not just what you brought to each encounter with others but who did you bring? Did you invite Jesus into every aspect of the conversation or interaction? If Jesus walked up to any conversation or looked at your text history or media feed, would you cringe? Can you say I could have absolutely brought more to the table or presented a better representative of Jesus? The answer for me is a resounding YES. If I want to have others emulate what I say or do, I better look at my thoughts, words and actions as though I am about to enter into God’s Presence with them. Can you see why this was such a challenge and humbling experience for me?!
Lastly is worshiping and to me this is truly a state of mind. I love worship music and have a playlist that goes for days but I think worshiping God is so much more than songs. There is a woman in our church that is a beauty-seeker and what I mean by that is she looks for beauty in God’s creation. Her heart looks up at the sky and marvels at the sunrise and sunset. She comments to God like He is right next to her on the beauty set before her eyes. She has no idea that I know she does this; I was just privileged to witness it. Rather than texting, posting, tweeting or blasting, she talks to God constantly about what He is doing in her life and those around her. I simply adore her heart of worship. Her divine romance with Jesus dares me to live my life in a similar manner and I hope it does the same for you.
I aspire to be someone that exudes God’s glory at home, in the workplace, on I-10 (ha), in Church, at sporting events, on social media and even when I think no one is watching. I used the picture above because I spend about 75% of my day networked or plugged into some computer, app, or device. As often as I hit the Enter-Key on my keyboard, I want to remember to Enter God’s Presence and Glorify Him with every thought, word and action.
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