GOD DOESN'T SHARE HIS GLORY

GOD DOESN'T SHARE HIS GLORY I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols. Isaiah 42:8 Christian music veteran Michael W. Smith stated that "the Lord doesn't share His glory with anybody," warning worship leaders to avoid celebrity culture and keep the focus entirely on God during the worship service. Smith said he's concerned about what happens when the person leading worship becomes more visible than the God being worshiped. “I just think we have to be careful that this thing is not celebrity-driven,” Smith told The Christian Post. “We can all say, ‘Well, oh, we’re doing it all for Him.’ But you watch social media, and it’s just a little me-focused.” Perhaps, he added, modern worship has also “lost the reverence.” Applause and attention can distract artists and cause them to lose their sense of reverence. Leaders should "kind of disappear" instead of building a personal performance platform. Smith says he prays to be clothed in humility before taking the stage. If we really want to experience God's Presence during worship, Christians needs to take this advice to heart also. When we come to worship God in humility with a prepared heart, He is more than willing to meet with us. You can read more at the Christian Post website: CLICK HERE

 

DO NOT WORRY

 

DO NOT WORRY Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6 Learning not to worry is a lesson everyone should master. Worry wastes our energy, strength, and focus. It makes us unfit for our responsibilities. It dishonors God, who has promised to care for us if we do His will. Plus, worry is pointless—it doesn’t fix anything. The Bible gives many lessons on worry, but none is clearer than Paul’s instructions on how to overcome it, in Philippians 4:6. First, we are told simply not to worry. “Do not be anxious about anything.” There’s no room for exceptions. We are not to be anxious about anything. What should we do with the things that cause us anxiety? We should take them to God in prayer and leave them in His hands. If we do this, the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds from anxiety. Learning this lesson will benefit us greatly in every aspect of life. By J.R. Miller

WHY CREATION GROANS

 

WHY CREATION GROANS Watch a lion sprint across the plains and your pulse tightens. A gazelle collapses in the dust while the predator takes its prize. People see that violence and accuse God of cruelty. Atheists wave these moments like ammunition, claiming suffering disproves the Creator. But Genesis declares a different story. Lions were not designed to hunt. Every beast originally ate plants. Their strength and beauty reflected majesty, not murder. The hunt is not evidence against God. It is evidence of a world that has been wounded by sin. The same accusation rises when cancer enters the picture. Cells multiply without restraint. Bodies weaken. Families pray through tears. Atheists shout that this proves a loving God cannot exist. But cancer is not part of God’s original design. It is a biological consequence of a spiritual catastrophe. Adam’s rebellion did not just break fellowship. It broke physics. It broke genetics. It broke creation itself. Romans 8 says creation groans. Cancer is one of those groans. It reveals that something is wrong and it is not God who failed. It is man who sinned and rebelled against Him. Here is the truth atheists cannot outrun: Pain and death do not disprove God. It proves that humanity knows deep inside that death is unnatural. Their outrage is not evidence of a universe without purpose. It is evidence that their soul remembers Eden. Every tear cried over cancer, every cry raised at the sight of suffering, every moral objection against death is a silent confession that the world was meant to be different. And God promises it will be different again! Christ did not come to explain pain. He came to conquer it. He absorbed the curse and rose victorious, proving He alone holds authority over life and death. And the story does not end with survival. It ends with restoration. Scripture promises a day when creation itself will be healed. A day when predators will be peaceful. A day when disease will have no breath left. A day when mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, and all the redeemed stand together in a reunion that crushes sorrow forever. No wheelchairs. No hospitals. No funerals. No fear. Only life overflowing in the presence of the King. Revelation 21:4 says, He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. That is not fantasy. That is the destiny of those who belong to Christ, and creation itself aches for that day. Biblical Creation on Facebook Used with permission.

DAY OF JUDGMENT

 

DAY OF JUDGMENT REVELATION 20.11 I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them. 20.12 I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. REVELATION 20.13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades [or, Hell] gave up the dead who were in them. They were judged, each one according to his works. 20.14 Death and Hades [or, Hell] were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 20.15 If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire. -WEB Bible  This incredible image of Judgment Day by renowned Russian Artist Viktor Vasnetsov (circa 1895) is exceptionally well-organized and conveys the drama of this dreaded day. At the top of the image is the typical scene in heaven, with figures that we are now familiar with: Jesus Christ on the white throne, with Mary and a disciple (or possibly John the Baptist) standing behind him. Christ holds a cross as his scepter, and a book because he is the Word of God, the Alpha and Omega. The four Seraphim are on each side, and under the throne. The twenty-four Elders are sitting on their thrones. Many angels are arranged in this scene, as well as archangels in beautiful uniforms.   In the center of the image stands the Accused, with Satan the serpent on the right, pointing an accusing finger at him, as he reads off the list of offenses. Behind the Accused stands an angel with the Book of Life in one hand and a set of measuring scales in the other. On the right side of the image, many poor souls have already been thrown into the lake of fire. On the left side of the image, many people have been judged and their names were found in the Book of Life, so they stand watching the proceedings. Their eyes are lifted up to Christ. In the lower left, angels with trumpets call forth the dead for their turn at the Judgment seat. In the lower right, many poor souls are sent to the Lake of Fire, because they rejected the Lord Jesus who did all he could to help them. The Lake of Fire is also known as Gehenna: this the final judgment. We know from scriptures that there will be Judgment for unbelievers Judgment for believers to examine their deeds and give rewards Christians aren’t afraid of Judgment Day. We won’t be judged for our sins, because of our blessed salvation through Jesus Christ. So, Christians don’t need to be afraid of the lake of fire. But we will face some kind of evaluation for our good deeds, or lack of them. Next week in Revelation: The Heavenly City!