He Gave Us His Glory

Thursday, July 11, 2013             He Gave Us His Glory

“And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.”

Romans 8:30

God has very high aspirations for the followers of Jesus. Because God’s love and affection for us is the very same as His love and affection for Jesus, God’s highest desire for us is that we would relate to Him with the very same love, affection, faith and trust that Jesus has for our Father. Even though God is infinite in wisdom, power and love, He is a bit of a miser and will not waste anything: “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28). Things we consider useless, such as failure rejection, insults, abandonment, illness, and helplessness, God sees as perfectly useful to Him as He handcrafts us until Jesus is perfectly formed in us. (Romans 8:29) While God is working everything together for good in our lives, we experience His presence in difference ways.

For instance, I recall a time when I was trying to muster up boldness in my prayers and presented God with a whole laundry list of things I thought I needed to make my life better. As I said Amen to my prayer, in my spirit I distinctly heard God answer me, “So, what’s your point?” My eyes were then drawn to Hebrews 12: 28-29, “Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire.” I realized that the fire of God’s love was leading me to the place where the joy of my heart was in God’s unshakable Kingdom, not things. Going into my prayer, I had been convinced that having the things on my list would free my life from worry and make me a more effective witness for Christ. Coming out of that prayer, I began to see that God was using my present circumstances to mold me to become like Jesus.

I also a recall a time when I was in great distress and emotional pain and my experience of God was different. I felt paralyzed by the experience I was going through and I had been unable to pray. I was lying in bed, feeling nothing, when in my spirit I distinctly heard God speak to me: “Alex I have left the 99 and come for you. You are not alone. I have been with you since day one. Don’t worry about praying. The Holy Spirit is praying for you. You are not alone.”

Yes, the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. When we don’t know how to pray, the Holy Spirit prays for us, perfectly in harmony with God’s own will. (Romans 8:26-27)

But wait, there’s more! The Apostle Paul ends this passage (Romans 8:26-30) with what I believe is one of the most exquisite affirmations of faith ever written:

“And having chosen (us), he called (us) to come to him. And having called (us), he gave (us) right standing with himself. And having given (us) right standing, he gave (us) his glory” (Romans 8:30).

Hallelujah and Amen!

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  In addition to this BLOG they are distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com. The Kindle version will follow soon.

·        The second edition First Think – Then Pray has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.