Hi, I’m Joni and it’s my prayer your faith will look up to Jesus today… in fact, sing this with me:
My faith looks up to thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary
Savior divine
Now hear me while I pray,
Take all my guilt away
Oh, Let me from this day be wholly Thine.
That last line that we just sang is quite a prayer, isn’t it… oh, Lord, may we from this day be wholly Thine. And to be wholly God's is to glorify Him in everything, at every turn, in every way. What does it mean to glorify the Lord? Well friend it just means showing off Jesus; it means making Him famous; showcasing His best attributes! It means talking about Him, thinking about Him, obeying Him, singing about His goodness, pointing people to Him, letting all His wonderful character qualities shine through our lives. To glorify Him is to be utterly and completely satisfied with everything that Jesus is, and all that He has bestowed upon us. That's what it means to glorify Him.
The other night while lying in bed, I had the chance to glorify Him by just thinking about His goodness. I was pondering I Timothy 6:17, which says that He "richly gives us all things to enjoy." Lying there in the dark, I recalled how God's hand of blessing often stopped and started in the Old Testament depending on the Israelites' obedience. But then I started thinking about God's New Testament way of doing things. Because when Jesus arrived on the scene, God's hand of blessing no longer stopped and started. Because of Jesus, He is always blessing those who claim His name. He is always giving, always richly giving us all things to enjoy. Jesus is the manna always falling on the camp. Jesus is the rock in the desert, ever sending out streams of life. Jesus is the bronze serpent, lifted high, and always healing. He is the sun always shining. He is the well of grace constantly overflowing. Whoever returned from His door unblessed? Whoever rose from His table unsatisfied? The Lord Jesus is so good. Taste and see how really good He is. Drink deeply from the Living Water today... and glorify His name.
I think we glorify the Lord best when we pass on His goodness to others. By God's grace, you are His manna to others. You are His light shining in the darkness. You are the vessel through which His grace overflows to others, and out of you flow streams, rivers of life touching the thirsty world around you. Matthew chapter 10 says, “Freely you have received, freely give.” That’s the charge to us today: richly give all things for others to enjoy.
And I’d like to give you something to enjoy; I’d like to send you three of my beautiful new Christmas cards with gold-foil envelopes. I just love these new cards – and I’d love for you to have three to enjoy and, Lord willing, send them to special friends this season. So after our time together, head right away to my radio page at joniandfriends.org.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
© Joni and Friends