“Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy him forever” - Westminster Catechism #1

I’ve been thinking this week about what it means to glorify God. In Scripture, the word glory seems to refer to the essence of God, his nature. For example, Moses could only catch a small glimpse of God’s glory because if the Lord revealed his glory to Moses completely it would be too much.

God’s glory was represented by fire and smoke as he guided the Israelites out of Egypt. His glory filled the tabernacle. In fact, Moses’ face shone so brightly after entering the tabernacle he had to wear a veil because the people couldn’t handle it. God’s glory was too much.

I’ve been thinking about Jesus’ words as well. Jesus said that he had brought glory to God by doing everything God asked him to do. Rather than a cloud or fire or wind, God chose to reveal his essence through ther person of Christ.

God seems to continue to reveal his essence through Christ-followers. Paul emphasizes this point in 1 Corinthians 10:31 when he writes:

“Whatever you do, you must do all for the glory of God.”

Or when he writes in 2 Corinthians 3:18:

“And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.”

When people ask me to describe my wife, I share the great things about her. My desire is to elevate others’ perceptions of her. I demonstrate my love for her in this way. This, in essence, is what Christ-followers should be doing. Our lives should help elevate others’ perception of God. I bring God glory when I seek to do his will and help others gain a better picture of God.

So, I’m asking myself the following questions this week:
1. In what ways does my life help others better understand God?
2. What do I need to change in my life to help others better understand God?
3. What needs to happen in the community of faith for those who don’t know Christ to gain am understanding of who God is?

“We are becoming who we will be – forever.” – Dallas Willard

I’m running more these days. The more I run, the more I become a runner. My body recovers more quickly; I can run greater distances and faster; I can run more frequently. It didn’t start that way though. My running habits are shaping the type of runner I’m becoming. I don’t spend all my time running sprints because I’m not trying to become a sprinter. I don’t run and jump because I’m not trying to become a hurdler. I train in such a way that it conditions me to become a long-distance runner.

Spiritually, I’m training to become a mature Christ-follower. I don’t just simply become one. The way I train and discipline my life impacts the way a mature as a disciple. Part of that training includes developing the habit of serving others. A mature follower is one who gladly serves others without expecting anything in return. In doing so, we express the heart of God for his creation. Jesus himself said that he came not to be served, but to serve. Part of God’s nature is to serve others. To help those who need it. In doing so, brokenness is healed.

An important part of helping our children mature includes finding opportunities to help them serve others. We are doing this in our student ministry in the next few weeks in a few different ways. First, students are encouraged to participate in Operation Christmas Child. Second, students are invited to join me in our food bank ministry for the next 4 nights we serve others. Finally, we will participate in the canned food drive.

I want to encourage you all to participate in these, but work to make it more than a service project. Take the time to talk with your teens about why we serve others. Talk about being people who want to be a part of God’s work to bring redemption to the world through acts of kindness and sharing the love of Christ with others.

“Through God’s grace in Christ, we become active participants in God’s grace, and Christ takes shape in us… It is like the cripple by the pool of Bethesda… He could not walk until Jesus delivered him, then he was empowered to move, to participate in the deliverance that Jesus brought.” Stassen and Gushee, Kingdom Ethics

Over the next several weeks beginning Sunday, November 4, our student ministry is using the One Life: Your Kingdom Come curriculum to help students understand the needs of others around us, particularly those in poverty and the AIDS crisis. The curriculum will help students understand the potential that exists within each of us to be a part of what God is doing in this world. It will challenge our teens to open their eyes to the needs of others around them and be the hands and feet of Christ. We invite your participation in One Life in a number of ways:

Please pray that God’s will is done in the students’ hearts, souls and minds.

Encourage your student to work to raise money and provide toys for Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child program. Students will receive brochures about this on october 28.

Encourage your teen to help in our Food Bank ministry on Nov. 5, 19 and Dec. 3 as part of this study.

Encourage your teen to be a part of the food drive and find ways to bring in food apart from asking you for money.

Each week, you’ll receive a Family Page sheet. Use this to talk with your teen about what he or she is discovering.

Monday, while visiting with Dad at Methodist Hospital in Houston, TX, I was struck with the realization that I’m not living or doing what I had planned to do when I graduated from high school when I had it all figured out. I had plans. I was going to become an elementary teacher and commercial fisherman in Alaska. My wife was going to moose hunt with me and get as excited about catching salmon as I did.

I’m reminded of the Lord’s words to Israel through the prophet Jeremiah:

“For I know the plans I have for you, plans to propser you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

I’ve been thinking about how God’s Word is a “lamp to my feet, a light to my path.”

I thought about the movie Evan Almighty. When Evan Baxter explains that building an ark is not part of his plans to change the world he’s laughed at.

I’ve been reminded this week, that the best plan of action is simply to trust God with each step and allow him to take care of the rest. And by the way, I couldn’t have led myself to such an amazing place, loving and working with such amazing people. I’m thankful to know the Lord has plans for me.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”
2 Corinthians 5:17-18

“What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
Romans 6:1-4

“I don’t understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I can’t carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no the evil I don’t want to do – this I keep on doing.”
Romans 7:15-19

I have a statue in my office of a man. The top half of the man is made of crystal. He is bronze from the waste down. As you study the sculpture you notice that the man is struggling. The bronze is being ripped away from the man revealing the crystal. The statue represents our struggle to be made new. The sculpture is entitled “Born Again.”

I love this statue because it’s symbolic of my desire to be made new. Yet, like Paul, I struggle with the reality of sin in my life. Being made new isn’t so easy. It’s not like replacing an old car with a new one. When I gave my life to Christ at the young age of 9, not all my old habits instantly went away. As I continue to learn what it means to be a follower of Christ, I still struggle with my own habits and sins. Yet, my desire is to be made new. I ask God every day to free me from these things. I look forward to the day when I will be free from my own struggles. Until then, I fight the good fight; I do everything I can to allow God to make me new.

I share this with you today because we’re continuing our series, “Under Construction” tonight at Refuge. We spent two weeks discussing our understanding of who God is. Last week, Connor talked about understanding that we are children of God. Tonight, we’re going to talk about understanding that when we are baptized we become a new creation. Yet, we still struggle to become this new creation.

My prayer is for our teens to hear the gospel, desire to be made new, and choose to join us on this journey of allowing God to shape who we are.