To God Be the Glory

tumblr_mhuytozEfu1s2nlcoo1_500Living in the Spirit
August 7, 2015

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 5:15-20

So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. –Ephesians 5:17-20

We humans spend a lot of time chasing after things that do not satisfy our deepest needs. We are an addicted society. We keep returning endlessly to balms that do not heal applying temporal solutions to eternal issues. Whether we use alcohol, drugs, work, religion, sex, or food, we will never find fulfillment until we find God. There is fundamentally nothing evil about any of these things. They are actually all a part of normal life. It is when we substitute them for God we end up on a treadmill going nowhere.

I participated in a study many years ago written by Fred Craddock. In it he said something to the effect that we always sin in the areas of our greatest talents or gifts. I have never forgotten it. When we separate ourselves from God we are most likely being enticed into a bit of self-worship. If we trust we have been made in the image of God, we need to acknowledge our gifts are a responsibility not the source of adoration. Giving thanks to God at all times and for everything in the name of Jesus is a simple way, but the best way to focus our lives toward our purpose.

Much of our futile search for fulfillment in all of the wrong places, I think, results from our deep, deep understanding that our gifts, when used without God being a part of them, are void of meaning.

Prayer: Lord, let my songs and hymns be a blessing to you as I acknowledge you, the source of all that I am and ever hope to be. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.