Tag Archives: glory

Who gets the glory? (John 17:1-10), April 15, 2017

Today’s Podcast

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
Do you ever get confused about who should get the praise or reward for the work you do? We probably all feel that little twinge of jealousy sometimes when someone else gets the glory for our work, but should we?
Scripture
1. John 17:1-10
2. Jesus (lifting His face to the heavens): Father, My time has come. Glorify Your Son, and I will bring You great glory because You have given Me total authority over humanity. I have come bearing the plentiful gifts of God; and all who receive Me will experience everlasting life, a new intimate relationship with You (the one True God) and Jesus the Anointed (the One You have sent). I have glorified You on earth and fulfilled the mission You set before Me.

In this moment, Father, fuse Our collective glory and bring Us together as We were before creation existed. You have entrusted Me with these men who have come out of this corrupt world order. I have told them about Your nature and declared Your name to them, and they have held on to Your words and understood that these words, like everything else You have given Me, come from You. It is true that these men You gave Me have received the words that come from You and not only understood them but also believed that You sent Me. I am now making an appeal to You on their behalf. This request is not for the entire world; it is for those whom You have given to Me because they are Yours. Yours and Mine, Mine and Yours, for all that are Mine are Yours. Through them I have been glorified.

Devotional
1. As a new officer in the Army, it bothered me when my commander would praise me for the work my platoon did. I had some really good soldiers in my platoon and they provided really great support for the unit in which we served.
  1. Medical support for a battalion
  2. Dining facility officer with soldiers that won Army competitions for their excellence in foodservice and culinary excellence
  3. High scores on inspections and competitions
  4. Soldiers did the work, but I got the praise from the commander
2. I always tried to share the praise with my soldiers
  1. Shared what the commander said
  2. Tried to give them awards and decorations for the work they did
  3. Recognized their individual efforts whenever possible
  4. But I still often got credit for the team effort
3. Learned over time to accept the praise because I was the leader responsible for whatever success or failure happened
  1. I also took the blame for the failure of any soldier in my charge
    1. Answered to the commander for DWI, AWOL, other disciplinary problems
    2. Described in detail why any particular soldier didn’t mean the training standard and what I was doing to correct it
    3. I took and accepted responsibility for good and bad within my unit
  2. My leaders taught me to accept both, success and failure, for the actions within my unit because I was their leader, just as my actions and performance reflected on my commander
4. In some small way, I learned a little of what Jesus let His disciples hear as He prayed
  1. Their actions would give glory to Him, not them
  2. His actions would give glory to the Father
  3. We don’t need to seek glory for ourselves, we just need to do the work He gives us to the best of our abilities and let Him receive all the glory
  4. We are His soldiers and He is our leader, He deserves all the credit, all the recognition, all the glory we can give Him
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town (John 14:13-14), March 29, 2017

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
Topic Introduction with headline.
Scripture
1. John 14:13-14
2. Jesus: Whatever you ask for in My name, I will do it so that the Father will get glory from the Son. Let Me say it again: if you ask for anything in My name, I will do it.
Devotional
1. When I was growing up, there was a show in which a multimillionaire went around the country and just arbitrarily wrote a check to people for several thousand dollars.
  1. Not worth quite as much today, but a lot of money then
  2. Never showed the millionaire’s face or mentioned his name
  3. Show focused on what the recipients did with the money
  4. Some squandered the money on frivolous junk
  5. Some spent it on things that seemed like good investments, but only on themselves
  6. Some did charitable things for other people
2. Sometimes we read these verses with that kind of thought in mind
  1. Santa is coming
  2. Get whatever we want
  3. Just ask and it will appear
  4. All we have to do is tag on His name at the end and it will happen the way we want
3. Twisted view of these verses
  1. About His name, not ours
  2. About His ministry, not ours
  3. About His plans, not ours
  4. About His wants, not ours
4. Jesus wants to answer our prayers to bring glory to Him which gives glory to the Father
  1. Goes back, then, to what is the Father’s desires and plans for this world
  2. Desires that all will know His saving grace and follow Him
  3. That all will recognize Him as God and serve Him as God
  4. That all will come to a saving relationship with Him
  5. That all will worship Him
5. Do our prayers reflect that attitude, that request, that outcome as an end result?
  1. He will answer
  2. He wants the glory
  3. First commandment, He is a jealous God, He will not share our devotion with anyone or anything
  4. He alone deserves our worship
  5. He wants His name untarnished
  6. Ask in His name
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

Effective prayer (John 11:39-42), March 14, 2017

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
Is silent prayer effective? Yep. Is vocal prayer effective? Yep. Is prayer effective? Yep. When it’s for the right reason.
Scripture
1. John 11:39-42
2. Jesus: Remove the stone.

Martha: Lord, he has been dead four days; the stench will be unbearable.

Jesus: Remember, I told you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God.

They removed the stone, and Jesus lifted His eyes toward heaven.

Jesus: Father, I am grateful that You have heard Me. I know that You are always listening, but I proclaim it loudly so that everyone here will believe You have sent Me.

Devotional
1. I know people that are scared to death to pray out loud.
  1. They are afraid they’ll say the wrong thing.
  2. They think someone might think poorly of them because of the words they say.
  3. They get their tongues tied and nothing seems to come out right
  4. They’re afraid they’ll forget something they really want to say
2. I know others who think you really need to pray out loud to keep focused during prayer
  1. It’s too easy to let your mind wander
  2. It’s easier to gather your thoughts
  3. It helps you articulate your praise to God
  4. It helps you focus on others instead of yourself
  5. It forces you to think more clearly about what you’re doing
3. Jesus shows us that prayer is effective no matter how we pray as long as it’s for the right reason.
  1. “Father, I’m grateful You have heard Me.”
  2. But He hasn’t said anything out loud yet. He has obviously prayed, but communicated silently with His Father.
  3. “I know You are always listening”
  4. “I proclaim it loudly so that everyone here will believe You have sent Me.”
  5. His vocal prayer is heard so others will know His specific prayer to the Father for Lazarus’ resurrection
4. What was all of this about?
  1. Everything Jesus did was to bring glory to God
  2. He stated before He left for Bethany that His delay and actions would bring glory to His Father
  3. All His prayer requests sought direction to give the most glory to God
  4. His actions aimed glory to God and not Himself
5. Jesus came to Bethany to bring glory to His Father
  1. He would raise Lazarus from the dead
  2. He would show He was one with the Father since only God had the power to give life
  3. He would point all of those action toward one purpose and one cause
  4. Bringing glory to His Father
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

Are you ready for this? (Luke 9:26-27) October 21, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Habakkuk

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 9:26-27
Jesus: If you’re ashamed of who I am and what I teach, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when He comes in all His glory, the glory of the Father, and the glory of the holy messengers. Are you ready for this? I’m telling you the truth: some of you will not taste death until your eyes see the kingdom of God.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word ashamed as:
1a : feeling shame, guilt, or disgrace
b : feeling inferior or unworthy
2: restrained by anticipation of shame
But that definition is a little bit circular since it uses shame as part of its definition, so we need to look a little deeper and ask what does it mean to feel shame or guilt or disgrace. If you look at the definition of shame, Webster defines it as:
1 a : a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety
b : the susceptibility to such emotion <have you no shame?>
2: a condition of humiliating disgrace or disrepute : ignominy 3 a : something that brings censure or reproach; also : something to be regretted : pity <it’s a shame you can’t go>
b : a cause of feeling shame
So now let’s apply that definition to Jesus’ words.

Are you susceptible to feelings of humiliating disgrace or disrepute because of following Jesus? Do you have feelings of guilty or shortcomings or impropriety because of your faith in Christ? Does your faith bring you censure or reproach that you regret? Be careful in answering that last question. If you follow Christ, you can expect censure and reproach, but do you regret it? That’s the real question.

Do you let the world push you into their mold or make you think it’s not okay to follow Jesus? Do you let them quiet your voice in sharing the truth that He has freed you from the burden of guilt that enslaved you and now you live with His peace and joy each day? Do you live in hiding afraid to share the news that Jesus is still alive and lives in you?

If so, it’s a dangerous place to be. Jesus told those around Him, “If you are ashamed of Me, I’ll be ashamed of you when the Son of Man comes in His glory.”

We don’t know exactly what that will be like when He returns. We have some hints in Daniel, Revelations, and other eschatological writings, but those are just brief glimpses into what will be. What we know is He will return, not as the suffering servant, but as the victorious warrior over death and evil. Those who fail to proclaim Him as Lord in this life will be banished from His presence eternally.

So Jesus asks a question after His proclamation. “Are you ready for this?” If you’re ashamed of Me, are you ready to face the consequences that will come when I return? Are you ready to feel My shame toward you when I return in My glory and sweep across the earth as the victorious King of kings? Do you understand the wrath that will be poured out on all who cower because of My name when I come back from sitting at the Father’s right hand? Are you ready to face the consequences of your feelings of shame in following Me?

Ouch! Jesus’ words are aimed directly at America’s Christian population, it seems. We have buried our heads in the sand for the last several generations in our unwillingness to seem intolerant of others faith. In our misinterpretation of Jesus’ command not to judge others, we tolerate every violation of His commands among our fellow citizens and even among those who worship beside us with the crazy thought, “we’re not supposed to judge.”

We will not be the final judge and we should be careful how we judge others, but when others clearly behave in ways contrary to God’s word, that is not judgment. That is fulfilling the part of the great commission that says, “…disciple them. Form them in the practices and postures that I have taught you, and show them how to follow the commands i have laid down for you.”

Do we stand for Jesus or not? Do we accept our faith in Jesus as the only way to reach heaven and please the Father or not? Do we stand with Him when the rest of the world stands against Him or not? It is always our choice, but these words from Jesus should make us consider carefully the consequences of not standing for Him now. If we are ashamed of Him now, He will be ashamed of us when we stand before Him at the judgment. What will that mean for us? If He regrets He knows us, what does that mean for us in eternity?

I must admit, I don’t know the answer to that question. But I also don’t want to be on the wrong side finding out what it means through personal experience. I don’t want Jesus to be ashamed of me when I see Him in His glory. Paul says the indignities and suffering we endure now is not even worth noting compared to the glory we will receive when we come into His presence on the other side of the veil of death.

Are you ready for this?

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Get up, don’t be afraid (Matthew 17:7-9) April 17, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Mark 11-12

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 17:7-9

Jesus: Get up. Don’t be afraid.
And when the disciples got up, they saw they were alone with their Lord.
The four men hiked back down the mountain, and Jesus told His disciples to stay silent.
Jesus: Don’t tell anyone what happened here, not until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

What would you do if you had been Peter, James, and John? These were Jesus’ closest friends. He stuck to them closer than to any of His other disciples. He shared with these three more than He shared with the other nine. He seemed to sense that these three would carry the weight of the development of the early church on their shoulders. The new converts would look to these three for guidance, interpretation of Jesus’ teaching, a strong but loving hand in the face of the adversary in the midst of the growing church.

Jesus had a special assignment for His three friends this day. He took them to the mountain top with Him to pray. While Jesus was praying, the three of them saw Him in His glorified form. Bright and shining like the sun, Jesus stood with two other figures that the three identified as Moses and Elijah, the great prophets that foretold their Savior’s coming. What would you do if you had been there? How would you react to such an appearance?

I expect I would do the same thing they did. I’d fall flat on my face and try to crawl into a hole that wasn’t there. Complete and total fear would describe the reaction. Oh, we’d like to say we’d be all brave and sit around and enjoy the event, talk to Jesus and Moses and Elijah. We’d like to brag about how we’d just revel in the thought of being in their presence. I don’t really think so.

Jesus in His glorified form as the Son of God, light of the world, brighter than the morning sun would scare me to death. He has everyone who has seen Him. Paul fell on His face as though dead. Daniel fell on His face as though dead. John fell on his face as though dead. These three together fell on their face as though dead. That’s the reaction when you see Jesus as He really is. He is God. We are not. Standing before God is a fearful, yet wonderful thing. But I expect our first reaction will always be to fall on our face. Either in fear or in worship or both.

I like what usually happens when Jesus breaks in on the scene, though. The first words He usually says to those who believe in Him and are trying to follow God’s path are, “Don’t be afraid.” He calms our fears. He lets us know He’s on our side. He wants us to know He is for us, not against us. When we’re flat on our face, He says, Get up, don’t be afraid. What wonderful words.

Peter, James, and John were ready to run down the mountain and tell everyone they saw what happened. They wanted to give this irrefutable proof that Jesus was the Son of the living God. They heard God speak. They saw Moses and Elijah speaking with Jesus on the mountain. They saw Jesus shining like the sun. They saw Jesus standing between heaven and earth, in His human form, but wearing His heavenly glory. They were astonished, afraid. They didn’t know what to make of it, but they knew without a doubt that Jesus was the person He said had been saying He was. Jesus was the Son of God.

But Jesus told them to hold on to that information until after His resurrection. Keep the encounter a secret until He was raised from the dead. Now that is a mysterious statement at this particular time. Jesus hinted at His death and resurrection, but hadn’t come out and told them in plain language about it. They still saw Jesus as a political savior as well as a spiritual leader. They still wanted Jesus to break the political bonds that held their nation.

Jesus wanted it kept quiet. He still had a mission to complete. He knew His task meant the sacrifice of His life for the sins of humankind. He marched that direction, but hadn’t arrived yet. And at this point, He was to close to His goal to have a circus of people distract Him from that goal. If the three disciples started telling others about this encounter then, Jesus would have faced incredible crowds that would want to see the sight for themselves. The arguments about who He was and the factions that wanted Him to prove His deity would stop His progression toward the cross.

Jesus’ transfiguration would lend credence to the disciples’ claims later as they told the story of their travels with Him. But to tell of the event now, would disrupt Jesus’ plans and the Father’s plans. We see God’s resurrection power at work as Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus on the mountainside. We will see it in full force in just a few months after Jesus’ crucifixion. He will rise from the dead and appear in all His glory. The disciples will fall on the face in fear again. And Jesus will say, “Get up. Don’t be afraid.”

When He is on our side, we have nothing to fear.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.