Christian Writers Circle

By Brenda D. Flowers

Several weeks ago, I found myself humming the melody of the song, “The Joy of the Lord.” It is a song I sang many years ago when I volunteered at Children’s Church. I was a young mother at the time and the chorus was fun to sing with my own children. After some on-line research, I located the version of the song I remembered. If you have an interest, see www.PraiseInMotion.net.

Instead of singing “The Joy of the Lord” from the phrase in Nehemiah 8:10, I found myself singing a new verse:  “The glory of the Lord is my strength.” I am excited to share what I learned from the Scriptures related to this new song, a message of warning and hope.

In 1 Samuel, I discovered the LORD lifted His glory from Israel when the high priest, Eli, refused to deal with sin in God’s house. At this time, God judged Israel, disciplining them for not seeking Him and His ways. They lost their strength because God’s glory had been removed. God allowed the Israelites to be defeated by the Philistines and the ark of God was captured. Eli’s two sons were killed in the battle. When Eli heard the ark of God had been captured, he fell off his seat backward and died of a broken neck. Eli’s daughter-in-law went into premature labor when she heard the news of the death of her husband, father-in-law and that the ark had been stolen. Even in the agony of dying in childbirth, she realized the judgment of God as she named her son Ichabod, stating “The glory has departed from Israel!” (1Samuel 4: 21a, NKJV)

During this period of history, disrespect for God and His ways permeated the culture, much like we see today. People were unaware then as today of their need to repent from their ways to seek God and follow His ways.

This sad time in Israel’s history can be contrasted to the joyous time when King David had the ark of the LORD brought back to Jerusalem. David learned the importance of recognizing God’s holiness and majesty. Even in the face of criticism, David willingly humbled himself by offering sacrifices to God and by dancing before the LORD, wearing only a linen ephod. (2 Samuel 6: 12-23)

After the ark was returned, the LORD gave David rest from all his enemies (2 Samuel 7: 1). David longed to build God a house where the ark could dwell, made of cedar, the finest material for construction in that day. David realized a tent was not a worthy lodging place for God’s ark in Jerusalem. The LORD spoke to David through the prophet Nathan reminding him of His Sovereignty. God promised He would make the house and He revealed His plan:

          When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers,
           I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body,
           And I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name,
           And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father,
           and he shall be My son.  (2 Samuel 7: 12-14a, NKJV)

I wonder how many of us have grasped the deeper meaning of these words. God promised to build a physical house through David’s line but more importantly He promised to build an eternal kingdom. Both of these promises have been fulfilled! Solomon, David’s son and first heir to the throne, built the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus Christ, son of David, built and is building the heavenly kingdom! As sons and daughters of the King of kings, we are part of His eternal kingdom. We can reign in life as we know we are His beloved and as we trust Jesus as Savior and Lord, not trusting in man’s ways.

David’s words, where he received his strength:

           But You, O LORD, are a shield for me,
           My glory and the One who lifts up my head.
           I cried to the LORD with my voice,
           And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah   (Psalm 3: 3-4, NKJV)

The glory of the LORD, His precious presence, is where we gain our strength. We can trust God to fulfill all of His promises to us.

Prayer: LORD, thank you for teaching us Your ways to heed Your warnings, repent and walk in Your ways. May Your glory be our strength and joy. Amen

by Judy Hitson

Luke 2:14 NIV “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

With these words, angels in heaven praised God with the angel of the Lord who appeared before the shepherds.

Peace  to those on whom his favor rests seemed a different perspective to me. Other translations say, on earth peace, good will toward men. God made His peace available to man  through the birth of His Son. Only those who please Him, who have His favor experience His peace on earth.

Pray for the favor of God, I heard preachers and teachers say these words in the church. It caught my attention to begin praying this prayer. I taste God’s favor in my life and His peace on earth, though there is much chaos in the world. The New International version of this verse leaped off the page to my heart. When Glory came down from heaven to earth, our Savior was born in Bethlehem to a virgin called Mary. This was something only God could do to bring about the birth of His only begotten Son. I thought about the angel appearing to the shepherds in the field bringing them the good news. As Christians, we know the Christmas story of Luke Chapter Two, the most important story ever told.

Think about this glorious event in history from Philippians 2:6-7 New Life Version 6 Jesus has always been as God is. But He did not hold to His rights as God. 7 He put aside everything that belonged to Him and made Himself the same as a servant who is owned by someone. He became human by being born as a man. I recall a song, “When God Became a Man” from this passage of Scripture. I found it searching on Google with another hymn titled, “Love was when God became a Man.”

The shepherds heard the good news the angel brought them, Luke 2:11a Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. In Bethlehem they found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  The shepherds spread the word about this child. All they heard and saw were just as they were told.

Have you seen Jesus?
Are you telling the good news when glory came down, when God became a Man?

by Brenda D. Flowers

January 21, 2016 marked a milestone in my life. It was the fortieth anniversary of my spiritual birthday. I have been praying about the significance of this event and have been impressed to write these words.

On our spiritual birthday, when we believe in Jesus as Savior and receive His Spirit, we begin our journey of learning how to experience resurrection life as a new creation. As we daily read God’s love letters to us in the Bible, we learn to put our trust fully in Jesus Christ, not only as Savior but also as Lord of our lives. By spending time in God’s Word and in communication with Him, we learn how He empowers us by His Holy Spirit to be ambassadors of His love to the world. We are successful ambassadors, fulfilling God’s purpose in us, as we reflect His character and as we step forward in His Glory.

As this marks the fortieth year of my journey as a Christian, I am challenged to move forward even more to reach my God-given purpose. Like Joshua and Caleb of the Old Testament, I want to declare with confidence and joy the victory that is possible because God is with me.

Caleb and Joshua never gave up on God’s promise, although they had to live through many difficult circumstances while wandering in a desert wilderness for forty years. I imagine their heartache, as they had to bury loved ones of their generation along that long desert journey. I firmly believe, however, they realized God’s provision and sovereignty. It is evident in the Scriptures that they were thankful for what they learned along the way and gave God the glory.

God also wants us, as Christians, to live our lives focused on Him, not focused on our circumstances. We must be willing to die to our selfish ways to discover the rich fruits of His Spirit and reach our “promised land”, experiencing His Kingdom life on earth as it is in heaven. My prayer for all of us this year is that we each may trust God with our whole heart, knowing He is all we need to live fruitful glorious lives, and may we step forward to fulfill our created purpose. It is in Jesus’ name I pray this prayer, trusting His promises.

But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is
the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with
unveiled faces contemplate (or reflect) the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his
image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
 (2 Corinthians 3:16-18 NIV)

by Brenda D. Flowers

As Christians, we have a time in our lives when God pursues us in love and we open our hearts to receive Jesus Christ, as Savior. We mature in Christ as we realize He is alive in heaven interceding for us daily, wanting a close personal relationship with us. As a new creation in Christ, we embody His Glory.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21 HCSB)

      In the year 2016, the members of Christian Writers Circle are writing on the topic of glory. One key definition of glory is the essence of God. When I researched this meaning, I found clarity by the following statements at the site: biblestudytools.com. Under the heading “Its Ethical Significance”, “In all these cases (referring to the usage of the word glory in certain scriptures) it has a distinctly ethical signification, for it is the term which is used to describe the essential nature, the perfection of the Deity, and is shared by others because they are made partakers of the Divine nature.” Also under the heading “Messianic Ideal” this statement asserts the type of glory we may experience as we mature in Christ, moving from being immature Christians to Christians reigning in life, “The light of the restored community is to be the glory of Yahweh.” (Isaiah 60:1) The presence of Yahweh brings grace and glory (Psalms 84:11), and His salvation of those that fear Him causes glory to dwell in the land (Psalms 85:9)”.  

Prayer:  Father, bless us each day to walk in the light of Your Glory.

by Judy Hitson

Psalm 19: 1 HCSB The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands.

From a reclined dental chair, I sat looking up through the skylight above to see a clear blue sky. As the dentist waited to be sure the local anesthesia did its work to numb the tooth area he was going to work on, this verse came to mind. I quoted it to him. Knowing  I prayed for him and his family, I asked the Lord for a word to share. The thought of this verse excited me! Sensing it was a word from the Lord for my dentist that day, I asked him to look to the heavens and think of God’s glory in creation. It was a blessing to share this verse from the Psalms with him. Though he acknowledged it, my hope for him to respond with the same excitement I felt, didn’t happen. I believe the Lord wanted to get his attention to look up, know there was a God in heaven who cares for him and wanted to show Himself strong on his behalf. It tore at my heart when I got word he and his wife divorced. O that men would see the glory of God in their lives is my prayer.

Now I hear, Look up. Be watchful for our redemption draws nigh. Looking for this Bible passage, I found Luke 21: 27-28 KJV 27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Lord what are You saying to us today?

As I read Luke 21, I noticed the New International Version had the subtitle for Luke 21: 5 to the end of the chapter, Signs of the End of the Age. I sensed the Lord says this is a word for us to heed at this time of history as we look to the heavens declaring the glory of God.

Prayer: Lord Jesus help us as people of God to discern the times and follow You day by day. We look up to the heavens that declare Your glory, O God. Assure us  of Your presence, peace and plan for our lives. Amen.