To The Praise of His Glory

“Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”

Hebrews 11:12

 

Susan's glory

 

The collage of pictures above were taken at one of my favorite spots in Florida; Fernandina Beach. Each picture represents a different perspective of the same beach. Each one is beautiful in and of itself, but together we see the whole. I love the one from a distance because of the vastness of it. God’s glory to me is so vast, it reaches from eternity past into eternity future. The second one is beautiful in that it represents God’s glory in the variety of the different bits of shells. However different that expression is, the source and standard of glory is God’s alone! The third photo represents to me the promise of God’s glory. God choses who He choses to reflect His glory by the personal application of his Son’s atoning work through the Holy Spirit in order to fulfill the promise God made to Abraham. Below is a summary of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ found in the first chapter of Ephesians.  After you read it look at the picture again…to the praise of His Glory!

 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will…In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will…In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

Because of His Grace,

Susan

Infused Glory

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“This monarch butterfly was captured at Leu Gardens here in central Florida, quite by accident, while I was admiring the lovely rose garden varieties.  I find that some of the most beautiful things in life can be missed when we are distracted by our fruitless worries and inevitable disappointments.  The glory of God is infused in the smallest details of life, that flutter by, never to be seen again.  I must daily remind myself to slow down, embrace the moment, and look for the glory of God that is showered upon us daily.”
By Grace,

Ruth

 

 

Heavenly Glory

 

The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.


glory

 Psalm 19:1

This photo was taken as I stood atop a mountain in Medellin, Colombia, as dusk was making her entrance. The tiny light to the upper left is the moon—a minuscule speck!

Looking upward more intently I gasped at the magnificent open sky, where, for one brief moment, sun, moon and stars were all delicately resting together upon the blue velvet firmament. Indeed, it was one brief moment, but a moment declaring the glory of God.

Astounded, I recalled God’s first command for Creation, Let there be light, and with His mighty words there was light for the first time—except for His eternal brilliance. Then, on Day 4, God brought into existence sun, moon, all recorded in Genesis 1 of the Bible.

Think about it, Dear Sisters! What you and I observe in the sky are the same heavenly lights that God created—from nothing— on that phenomenal ancient day. How amazing!

The psalmist tells us in Psalm 148 that sun and moon and stars praise God. They were created to give Him glory, every day, without contest or objection, whether perceived, or behind clouds.

Psalms 148:3

Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light.

God’s eternal, infinite refulgence is unapproachable to us, but these created beings are visible to the eyes of such little ones as you and me! That we may give God glory—whether we stand atop the mountain or down in the valley.

 

Soli Deo Gloria!

Mimi

Glory

Dear Sister,

From Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of The English Language:

“GLORY, n. [L. gloria; Fr. glorie; Sp. and It. gloria; Ir. gloir, glory, and glor, clear; W. eglur, clear, bright; Arm. gloar glory.   It coincides with clear, and the primary sense seems to be to open, to expand, to enlarge. So splendor is from the Celtic ysplan, open, clear, plain, L. planus; hence, bright, shining. Glory, then, is brightness, splendor. The L. floreo, to blossom, to flower, to flourish, is probably of the same family.]

1. Brightness; luster; splendor.

The moon, serene in glory, mounts the sky. – Pope

For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory. 2 Pet. i.

In this passage of Peter, the latter word glory refers to the visible splendor or bright cloud that overshadows Christ at his transfiguration. The former word glory, though the same in the original, is to be understood in a figurative sense.

2. Splendor; magnificence.

Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Matt. vi.

3. The circle of rays surrounding the head of a figure in painting.

4. Praise ascribed in adoration; honor.

Glory to God in the highest. Luke ii.

5. Honor; praise; fame; renown; celebrity.

The hero pants for the glory in the field. It was the glory of Howard to relieve the wretched.

6. The felicity of heaven prepared for the children of God; celestial bliss.

Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory. Ps. lxxiii.

7. In scripture, the divine presence; or the ark, the manifestation of it.

The glory is departed from Israel. 1 Sam. iv.

8. The divine perfections or excellence.

The heavens declare the glory of God. Ps. xix.

9. Honorable representation of God. 1 Cor. xi. viii.

10. Distinguished honor or ornament; that which honors or makes renowned; that of which one may boast.

Babylon, the glory of kingdoms. Is. xiii.

11. Pride; boastfulness; arrogance; as vain glory.

12. Generous pride.   Sidney.

MoreGlory

 

 

 

 

 

 

GLORY, v. i. [L. glorior ,from gloria.] To exult with joy; to rejoice.

Glory ye in his holy name. Ps. cv.   1 Chron. xvi

2. To boast; to be proud of.

No one should glory in his prosperity. –Richardson.”

God’s glory is all around and within His creation, within us; His glory is waiting for us in heaven; and it is our purpose, goal, ambition, our hope to glorify Him!

Running with you,

Rebecca

The Glory of the Cross

Dear Sister,

This may seem like an unlikely music video for glory, especially its beginning, but please take the five minutes or so to watch the entire thing. The New Testament cannot speak of glory without Jesus and the cross. Jesus was crowned with glory because he suffered on the cross, “But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Heb 2:9). And we get our glory because of what Jesus did on the cross, “To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thes 2:14).”
There are two heart swelling moments for me in this video that have visualized for me the glory of the cross. The first comes when the wrath of hell is being blocked by the cross and the second is the man RUNNING to Christ in heaven. Oh how I glory in the cross because my wrath was taken by Jesus! Oh how I glory in the cross because it enables me to run to Jesus forever more! Glory!

All I have is Christ