Tag Archives: Omnipotent God

God’s Glory

Kingdom Building

June 13, 2019

Scripture Reading: Romans 5:1-5

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

I recently concluded that I do not know what “glory” is in relation to its use in the Bible. I understand it in terms of giving honor to someone or something. I sing it lustily in the chorus of the Battle Hymn of the Republic and majestically in the hymn To God be the Glory.  But I have an uneasy feeling neither is what Paul is describing in Romans 5:2 included in the scripture above. Perhaps they skirt on the edges of its meaning but do not convey the complete substance.

Having never taken courses in either Hebrew or Greek, I regularly stumble around in Strong’s Concordance* searching for deeper understanding. Hear is what it says about the word “glory” in both the Hebrew and the Greek, in general:

dóksa (from dokeō, “exercising personal opinion which determines value”) – glory. 1391 /dóksa (“glory”) corresponds to the OT word, kabo (OT 3519, “to be heavy”). Both terms convey God’s infinite, intrinsic worth (substance, essence). a most glorious condition, most exalted state

And specifically, as used in Romans 5:2

“the glorious condition of blessedness into which it is appointed and promised that true Christians shall enter after their Savior’s return from heaven” which God bestows

I get the part about glory conveying God’s infinite, intrinsic worth as we worship God. The part I think I am missing is the blessedness God bestows on us. Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. I need that peace now and forevermore as it keeps me balanced in dealing with the challenges of the world.

Prayer: We do praise and give you glory for who you are, O God, and we thank you for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ, who endowed us with the legacy of your peace as you empowered us to carry forth your cause. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/1391.htm

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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Who is the Persecutor and who is the Persecuted

No Jews AllowedEastertide
April 20, 2015

Scripture Reading: Acts 4:5-12

The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. –Acts 4:5-10

This scripture is hard to read and harder still to address for, I believe, we can put ourselves in the shoes of the religious leaders of the day rather than the ones declaring the message of Christ crucified. There are states that are passing laws, my own considered it, to actually guarantee the rights of people of faith, mainly Christians who are seeking such laws, to discriminate against those who are not Christians or at least not of their particular brand of Christianity. When I first heard about these laws I flashed back to documentaries I have seen of Nazi Germany with signs in the windows that said ‘Juden nicht erlaubt‘ (Jews not allowed) or ‘Juden sind nicht erwünscht‘ (Jews not welcomed). I do value highly the fact that I live in a country that’s First Constitutional Amendment includes language that prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, or impeding the free exercise of religion. It seems to me that that is exactly what these laws are attempting to do.

From a strictly faith-based perspective, I cannot believe that an omnificent, omnipresent, and omnipotent God would ever need any kind of civil authority’s protection. I believe that is what Isaiah was saying to Judah when it tried to enter into a pact with Egypt to protect Judah from the invaders that eventually overthrew it. Isaiah was counseling that Judah needed to get its own house in order. These are words we in the United States need to hear. We invest our time an energy in trying to save a Christian from the persecution of having to sell cakes and flowers to someone whose lifestyle we do not approve, while 45,000,000 Americans live in families with incomes below the poverty line, our children are failing at an alarming rate in schools, our prisons are overflowing with people who need mental health and addiction treatment, and our shorelines are moving closer and closer overland, while the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. We need to ask ourselves who is the persecuted and who is the persecutor. It might be a good time to read Matthew 25 again.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for our failure to follow your call courageously. Forgive us for not loving all your children condemning some to shame and others to hunger. Show us your way, your truth, and your life. 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.