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ED BANGHART

declaring God's Glory
It's what you are created for.

     My 5 year-old granddaughter, Hannah, asked my wife one day, "Did God make God?" That's a profound question for such a young philosopher! Do you know how hard it is to answer that question to a 5-year old ("Well, Hannah, God created everything, but God Himself is uncreated and eternal, without beginning or end."). Hannah accepted that explanation, and I don't think  she lost any sleep over it. But it reminded me of a truth that is so easy to forget and yet is so important to remember:

    The purpose of all creation is to declare and display
                                  the glory of God.

                 God created all things for His glory.

      All of creation exists to showcase the glory of God. Man, the crowning achievement of God's creation, has been set apart to make known the glory of God and to "proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).

      The psalmist, while contemplating the vastness of our universe, pens the words, "The heavens declare the glory of God..." (Psalm 19:1). When you look up at the night sky and consider the billions of stars in our galaxy and the billions of galaxies in our universe, the sheer immensity of the space-time universe we inhabit is mind-numbing. 

​      THINK ABOUT IT: we share the celestial cosmos with countless galaxies, stars and planets, supernovas, black holes, meteors, comets, and who knows what else. 

      The heavens don't just declare the glory of God, they shout it out with a deafening sound!


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     How much more should we, His people, declare and display His glory. It is the reason we exist.

Consider the following scriptures:


​"Ascribe to the Lord the GLORY due His name" 
(1 Chronicles 16:29).


"There is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we EXIST for Him" (1 Corinthians 8:6, NLT).

"Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but  to your name be the GLORY" (Psalm 115:1).

     Everything that God does is for the sake of His great name, and to the praise of His glorious grace so that He might be our All in All--for all things are FROM Him, and THROUGH Him and TO Him (Romans 11:36:1; 1 Cor.15:28).

He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,          the Beginning and the End and Everything in between.

     History is HIS STORY--the unfolding of God's eternal purpose in this present evil age. It's not about our glory, our name, our honor or our greatness. It's not about me; it's not about you; it's all about God! 

     An astronomer once quipped, "When scientists discover the center of our universe, a lot of people are going to be very disappointed that it isn't them!"

      The Bible is essentially a story about God, not a story about us. A key theme of the scriptures is the redemption of fallen mankind, however, the ultimate value of salvation is not to be seen in what we are saved FROM ; it's value is in what we are saved FOR!

Steven C. Hawthorne points out that, "The rationale for mission is the colossal worthiness of God...Since God is supreme, every creature should bow down in subjection" (Perspectives: The Story of His Glory, pg 50).

      In American culture, we have trivialized the God of transcendent glory and pushed Him out to the periphery of our lives. 

Donald W. McCullough proposes that we "Visit a church on Sunday morning and you will likely find a congregation comfortably relating to a manageable deity who fits nicely within precise doctrinal positions or who lends almighty support to social crusades...but reverence and awe have been replaced by a yawn of familiarity" (The Trivialization of God, pg 13).

God has set us apart as His people to make known His glory. His eternal purpose is to bring many sons to glory, who would share His life, His nature, His purpose and His glory.

Declaring and displaying the glory of God--it's what you were created for!

The Morning and Evening Sacrifices

2/13/2019

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      I recently read the Book of Leviticus in my devotional reading. Not the most exciting book to read. A lot of meticulous details about how to assemble the tabernacle, how to dress the High Priest and how to offer animal sacrifices for every occasion.

       I didn't get a lot of jaw-dropping revelations, but I was impressed with how often the Bible speaks of "the morning and evening sacrifice." The morning "sacrifice" (and for most of us it really is a sacrifice) seems a natural time to draw near to God and offer up to Him our praises. But how often do we consider the evening sacrifice?

       I was reminded of these words from Psalm 92:
"It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness at night." (Psalm 93:1-2).

     Church liturgy has recognized the morning and evening sacrifices in the matinee and vesper services. The psalmist has his own version. His morning sacrifice of praise begins with meditating on God's steadfast love. God's steadfast and everlasting love is the appropriate theme as we anticipate the blessings of a new day. We're reminded that God's mercies are new every morning. Our prayer is, "Surprise me with your goodness today, O Lord." There is a peculiar freshness and renewed hope in the early morning hours that makes it suitable to mediate on, and praise God for, His steadfast everlasting, unconditional love.

       On the other hand, the early evening is the time to look back in retrospect, recounting the blessings of the day. If the stress of the day's labors haven't robbed us of our peace (or, even if they have), we'll find our hearts welling up with gratitude to God, and a song of praise on our lips, as we meditate on the faithfulness of God.
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       Maybe there is something to the ancient practice of the morning and evening sacrifice that we can learn. 
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"January" Rhymes With...

2/1/2019

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Did you realize that: "January" rhymes with "Brand New Worry?"

How fitting! The new year brings new worries. That's why it's so important to leave behind last year's worries...so you can make room for January's brand new worries!

Let me share with you an important spiritual truth: Spiritual maturity doesn't mean that you'll have less problems as you mature, just different ones. As long as you have a pulse, you'll have problems. The question is: Are they the same problems you had last year? Five years ago? If you still have the same problems you had 5 years ago, you're not growing. Likewise, if you still have the same worries you had five years ago, you're not growing.

The converse is also true: If you're still living on the same blessings you had five years ago, you're not growing. So, be sure to make room for January's brand new blessings, brand new revelations, brand new challenges and brand new opportunities as well!

I promise you that this will be the last blog dealing with the topic of January, at least until...JUNEUARY.
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    Founding Pastor of Montclair Community Church.  Internationally unknown author and speaker.

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