Glorify God and Enjoy Him Forever

Yesterday it was my turn to teach our 3rd and 4th grade Sunday School class. I love teaching Sunday School it is a tremendous privilege and responsibility. It is also a source of great blessing and joy!

The lesson was on the Tower of Babel. As I prepared the Lord kept bringing to mind this phrase: "Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." As I studied the passage about a group of people whose chief aim was glorify self, I was challenged to try to bring this passage to a level of understanding for the age group being taught.

Any time I study to teach, the lesson has to first be applied to my own heart before it will mean anything as I teach it. I desire to glorify God in all areas of my life but fall short on a daily basis. In preparing for my class I came across ways we can glorify God. By being thankful, obedient and suffering we can glorify God.

Every where I turn I keep hearing messages of suffering. Whether it's persecuted Christians in different parts of the world, or the suffering of Saints who are serving the Lord faithfully. Last night the message was about not being surprised about fiery trials we will face.

"We glorify God when we love Him enough to suffer for Him." This was a phrase from my studying on glorifying God. I am afraid that in America we are in a land of quitters. If the going gets rough, the road stops there. (I know that I keep my running shoes handy when I think difficulty is coming)

In a Voice of the Martyrs magazine I received I was humbled and convicted by the stories I read. People are hungry for their own copy of Scripture. They risk imprisonment if found with one. They take pages of Scripture and place them in their walls or bury them in their yards so they can have a copy. They would love to be able to go to church and worship freely.

I am convicted by their stories because if I am tired I would rather stay home then make the trek out to church. People are dying to be able to worship openly and freely. Do I hide God's
Words in my heart so that if there ever comes a day that it is illegal to own a Bible I would have His Words to nourish me?

I will end with a strange story that happened the other night. We were coming home late in the evening from a band competition. I was sitting in the back with Rebekah while Michelle visited with her Dad whom she hadn't seen in a couple of days. I don't know what prompted the conversation but I was telling Rebekah about the stories from the magazine I was reading about the people hiding the Scriptures in the walls of their houses etc. When we got home our neglected dog (in her opinion) couldn't drag trash out (tissues and such) from our upstairs trash cans because I put them where she couldn't get at them (it's her way of letting us know she wasn't happy to be left home alone by taking out a few tissues, tooth floss or some other unmentionables and leaving them laying in the middle of the carpet for us to see). Not to be undone, Grace (sweet Grace), went into Rebekah and Michelle's room and decided to 'taste and see that the Lord is good' by munching on Rebekah's favorite Bible. Imagine Rebekah's surprise (or horror) when she walked into her bedroom and found her Bible shredded and in a pile on her floor. The cover (leather) was devoured (poor, starving, neglected dog needed some 'raw hide')!

Two things came out of this. I was encouraged by my daughter's response. She was devastated that her Scriptures had been torn up. She kept saying "this is my favorite bible!" She was in tears when I put her into bed and her last comment about the dog was that she was demon possessed!

I don't believe it was coincidental that I just told her about the pages in the walls earlier that evening. I prayed with her and was reminded of how blessed we are that even though her favorite Bible was in a frazzled condition she still had other Bibles and all those loose pages from the devoured one. (Maybe they are for our walls?)

God is faithful and I praise Him for the many privileges and freedoms He has given us. I pray that I use those freedoms and privileges to honor and glorify Him and not grow lax and lazy in my walk with Him.

First Time Blogger

OK, I finally did it. I am taking the plunge into the waters of blogging! When I first read blogs my first reaction was that they seemed to perpetuate our narcissistic culture. It seemed as though the blogs I read were self-absorbed diaries published for the world to see. I wondered why the world needed to read someone's personal journal? I was forming a negative opinion of blogs. Thankfully, I came across blogs that truly were thought-provoking and encouraging. There are blogs that can make you laugh instead of blush! I decided that I would join the world of blogging. I am not so sure what I am getting into but at least I will try!

The challenge I have set for myself is that this blog wouldn't be to glorify me but to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. I have been blessed to read other Christian blogs and have been encouraged. My purpose would be to share what God is doing in my life and the life of my family. We live in a fast paced world where it is difficult to have uninterupted fellowship with other believers. I think that fellowship with believers is one of the many blesslings God has given us. We don't seem to have time to sit and listen to all the wonderfull things God has done in each others lives. I hope that this blog will testify of the Lord's greatness in my life and will be a blessing to all who read.