The Christian Church has been around for almost 2000 years. Since God made us he is our Father and he has shown his love for us by giving us eternal life in heaven in his presence. What is the purpose of the church? Our first duty as members of the Christian Church is to love God. It’s easy to love someone who loves you first.
Matthew 22:37 – (Jesus speaking) – You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
If we love God we are then to show that love by glorifying God. Christians often use the term, “glorifying God,” very loosely because most of the time they don’t fully comprehend what that means or understand exactly how it’s achieved. If you don’t believe me ask any Christian you know how they glorify God. If you’re lucky you may get a couple of right answers when there are at least nine known ways to glorify God.
Few Christians know all the ways that God can be glorified and fewer still make the effort to glorify God in all areas because it takes a lot of willpower and discipline. God is worthy of our love, praise and worship so we need to make the best effort possible. Being an effective Christian takes a lot of hard work but if your mind is focused on God it becomes a labor of love. Let’s always look for ways we can glorify the God we love, honor and cherish. Review the following list regularly to see if you’re glorifying God to the best of your ability:
GLORIFYING GOD:
1. Through our praise and prayers – Prayer is how we talk to God. Without prayer there is no two-way communication going on between you and God and therefore no fellowship, no deepening of the spiritual relationship with God. We aren’t walking with God if we’re not praying to God. We should be praying daily to God and the more often during the day the better. Praying to God should be as easy as talking to your best friend sitting beside you. Praise is a natural result of prayer as you realize how much God loves you and how much God has done for you and what God will continue to do for you forever in heaven . The Bible is chock full of Scriptures telling us to give praise to the Lord because he is worthy of that praise.
The definition of praise is to show respect and gratitude as an act of worship. Worship is not some pompous ceremony. Worship simply means showing God the deep respect and admiration he deserves and we can do that publicly or privately at any time. It’s as simple as that and there’s no reason to make a big production out of it. The definition of glorify is to praise and worship God. When we use the terms glorify, praise and worship these are all words saying pretty much the same thing which is to always show God the deep respect, admiration and gratitude he deserves for what he has done for us. These words don’t depict a specific action on our part but is more of a permanent attitude of reverence for and acknowledgment of our Father in heaven. Along that same vein, in the biblical context when we say to, “fear the Lord,” it means to look upon God with awe and reverence.
Psalm 50:23 – Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.
2. Through our acknowledgment of Jesus – Scripture says we cannot please God without faith and that faith is in his Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have the forgiveness of sin and eternal life. From the foundation of the world God’s salvation plan for man was to send his precious Son to die on the cross to redeem us from our sins. God made the ultimate sacrifice by giving up what he loved most because of his love for us. There was no other way for us to escape eternal death for our sins. God is glorified when we acknowledge what Jesus has done for us on the cross and, conversely, if we reject Jesus’ sacrificial death on our behalf it’s the ultimate insult to God which will result in our condemnation and spending eternity in hell. It never pays to piss off God.
Philippians 9-11 – Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on the earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
3. Through believing God’s Word – When you believe every word in the Bible is the wisdom and truth of God then God is glorified. When you read the Bible daily God is glorified. When you memorize Scripture, hear Scripture or speak Scripture God is again glorified. When we study the Bible in-depth that also glorifies God. When we spend time in God’s Word we are showing our deep respect, admiration and gratitude to God for what he has done for us. Spending time reading your Bible is glorifying God, praising God and worshipping God at the same time. Reading the Bible is the best way to stoke our faith in God and maintain a health “fear” of the Lord at the same time. Reading God’s Word fills you with the Holy Spirit.
Romans 4:20 – He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.
4. Through our witnessing – We know why we’re here and where we came from. God created us and put us on earth for two reasons. First, to seek out God and make the decision to serve God or Satan. Assuming we find God and accept his grace unto salvation through faith in his Son Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we can then focus on the second reason God leaves us on earth instead of taking believers on to heaven. That reason is so we can share our witness for Christ with others.
Scripture reminds us that God’s harvest field is great and the laborers are few. God’s hope is that all his children will repent of their sins and turn to God and the salvation he offers for the asking. God is blessing us by letting us help save others. Every time we witness the gospel of Christ we’re glorifying God. When we emulate Christ by doing good works we’re witnessing for God by our actions and thereby glorifying God the Father. Those who see the light of God in our Christian works may be drawn to God by our example and be saved, to the glory of God.
Face to face witnessing for Christ is always the best but let’s face it, we don’t really get that many opportunities to do that. Or we don’t get all the opportunities to witness that we’d like to have. We have to think outside the box and make our own opportunities to witness for Christ. If you distribute Bibles to those who can’t afford them or support those who do, like the Gideons, that’s also witnessing because you’re sharing the gospel message contained in each Bible you provide. My favorite way of sharing the message of the gospel is by passing out Christian tracts which is also witnessing because it contains a Christian message and a sinner’s prayer at the end to guide the reader to salvation on their own.
The twin themes of my Christian blog site are studying God’s Word and witnessing for Christ. My blog is what I refer to as, “passive witnessing.” This is my 530th blog and every one was written to share my love for God and to exhort believers to study God’s Word so that they can be effective witnesses for Christ. Every time I write a blog or post a blog I’m glorifying God with my time and attention on heavenly matters. Every time someone takes the time to read my blog they’re glorifying God too because their mind is on God as it should be. I’m glorifying God every morning when I take quiet time to meditate on the majesty of Almighty God over a pot of coffee. Each of us must find our own personal time to be with God and worship him in our own way. Reach out to God and he will bless you for it.
2 Thessalonians 3:1 – Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is in you.