OUR FOCUS PRODUCES OUR ATTITUDES AND
ACTIONS!
Psalm 65:1-4
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion,
and to you shall vows be performed.
O you who hear prayer,
to you shall all flesh come.
When iniquities prevail against me,
you atone for our transgressions.
Blessed is the one you choose and bring
near,
to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of
your house,
the holiness of your temple!
This is the way every day should begin for
all of us: praising God for His wonderful work in our lives. Our lives should
be dedicated only to Him. Our every action should be consciously done to His
glory. Everything we are, have and are surrounded by is because of God’s provision
and loving care for us.
Being a son or a daughter should be done to
the glory of God: our respect and honor and care for our parents should be
obvious and heartfelt.
As husbands and wives: every attitude,
every response, every action, every desire should be done to the glory of God.
As parents: our education, correction,
encouragement, and care should be done to the glory of God.
As workers: whether we have nice employers
or not, the excellence of our work should be directed to the glory of God,
rather than as a response to recognition or for a paycheck.
As members of a local church: our
timeliness, presence, service, and love for the brethren should be done to the
glory of God.
We could go on, thinking about how we live among
our neighbors, how we drive, how we stand in line at stores, how we respond to
our authorities should also be done to the glory of God.
Have I been redundant with the phrase ‘to
the glory of God’? Well, I need to be reminded that as I have committed to
serve and submit to the Lord, I have also committed to do all things to the
glory of God.
Does God deserve this kind of commitment?
He most certainly does!
What a wonderful privilege we have, to know
that He listens to our prayers. We can come to God with our deepest feelings,
our sorrows, our hurts, our confusion, and our disappointments and lay them at
His feet. God hears them and is always careful to respond in the most loving
and appropriate way for meeting our need to grow as children who are pleasing
to Him.
As we approach God in His holiness and
perfection, it is no small blessing to know that He forgives our iniquities. He
forgives by grace alone, for we cannot merit or repay any of the forgiveness He
offers to us. We never need to wonder if there is something He is holding
against us. His forgiveness is always complete, when we repent and confess our
sins to Him. Christ paid for our sin and God is pleased to show mercy and
forgive.
Dear friends, as we reflect on God’s care
for us and His forgiveness, living our lives to His glory is the only response
we should ever have.
Lest we forget, it is God who chose us and
brought us near to Him. He knew exactly what kind of sinners we would be and
how many times we would be unfaithful. He chose us before the foundation of the
world. We cannot respond in any other way but with humble and grateful
amazement.
There is complete satisfaction in God’s
presence and His care.
Do we ever become ungrateful and dissatisfied?
Certainly yes, and it happens when we take our eyes off of the glories of who
God is and onto the world’s empty enticements. When this happens, we are paving
the way to sin.
Each day anew, we need to devote ourselves
to our wonderful God and Savior. We must take time to reflect on our privilege
to know Him, to speak to Him, and to be cleansed by Him. We must recommit
ourselves to leading lives that bring glory to Him in every aspect. Then we
will be blessed and find the inner peace and joy that cannot be tarnished or
taken away.
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