1 Corinthians 10-31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
It’s May Day my Friends! Time to dance the maypole! Reminds me of back at Bishops High in sweet Tobago. In the merry month of May we’d have a Mayfair on the school grounds, with the centre of attraction being the flagpole in the middle of the lawn, bedecked with flowers and streamers for the festive occasion, while costumed dancers did their thing around it. Those were the days people, when life was simple, but much more satisfying. There wasn’t as much haste, hassle or busyness as there is today. You could stop and smell the roses for a moment, or admire a sparkling sunrise, a fiery sunset, or a multihued rainbow without feeling like you were wasting time or missing something. Our God created created these things for us to admire, to wonder at their beauty, and consequently praise and glorify Him for putting such remarkable moments in our lives. Bruh Paul wrote very true words when he penned this advice; ‘Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.’ Why? Because to glorify the Most High is our main purpose here on earth. Jesus said: ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Mat.5:16) The Lord God Jehovah Himself announced from olden times that come what may, He will be glorified. When Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, unasked, offered incense and strange fire to God, they were instead devoured by God’s fire. ‘Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.’ (Lev. 10:3) Poor Aaron could only meekly accept it, cause it was the Lord’s doing. Ezekiel was also instructed to inform the Zidonians: ‘Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have executed judgements in her, and shall be sanctified in her.’ (Eze.28:22) Yes my Friends, our God is a jealous God, as He, Himself declared, and He created us to walk and talk with Him; to praise and thank Him for the wonderful things He does for us, and overall, just to exalt His Holy Name. It’s logical then, that whatever we do should be appraised and judged by how it reflects on God’s name. Before doing any thing we must first consider the question: Does it bring glory to His Name? And only if the answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’ should we do it. I know that trying to make our every action, thought and word glorify God isn’t an easy task, cause sometimes we don’t have time to think, just to react. But like most things in life, that too takes time, experience and effort. Only when we become fairly mature believers will that action become semi-automatic. The mind, body and soul would have been programmed along the way to immediately embrace or deny certain things because they don’t jive with God’s Word and don’t glorify Him. So we shouldn’t feel badly if we make mistakes, or occasionally forget to stop and ponder the wisdom of our behaviour. Once we’re aware of the requirement, and sincerely try to practice it, our God will understand. Even Bruh Paul admitted he didn’t always do what he should, although he knew better, and couldn’t understand it. Because our flesh naturally lusteth toward sin. My brethren, we live in a rough, crazy world, and life can oftimes be like a roller coaster; up and down, round and round. But I can assure us of one thing; if we concentrate our efforts on serving and glorifying the Most High God, Jehovah, our lives won’t be as topsy-turvy. It won’t stop rolling along, but at a more sedate pace, one that we can more easily deal with. Let’s close with some passages of excellent advice on the topic. Bruh Paul put it this way to the Ephesians. ‘Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5: 20-21) Meanwhile, to the Colossians he said: ‘And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.’ (Col.3:17) And Peter said it thus: ‘If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.’ (1 Pet.4:11) Oh my Friends, please, let’s heed those wise and wonderful words of advice from those men of faith, so that we can achieve some semblance of peace and security in our lives, in this rather tumultuous world. Much LOVE!…to acknowledge God in all we do…is to glorify Him…
It’s May Day my Friends! Time to dance the maypole! Reminds me of back at Bishops High in sweet Tobago. In the merry month of May we’d have a Mayfair on the school grounds, with the centre of attraction being the flagpole in the middle of the lawn, bedecked with flowers and streamers for the festive occasion, while costumed dancers did their thing around it. Those were the days people, when life was simple, but much more satisfying. There wasn’t as much haste, hassle or busyness as there is today. You could stop and smell the roses for a moment, or admire a sparkling sunrise, a fiery sunset, or a multihued rainbow without feeling like you were wasting time or missing something. Our God created created these things for us to admire, to wonder at their beauty, and consequently praise and glorify Him for putting such remarkable moments in our lives. Bruh Paul wrote very true words when he penned this advice; ‘Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.’ Why? Because to glorify the Most High is our main purpose here on earth. Jesus said: ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Mat.5:16) The Lord God Jehovah Himself announced from olden times that come what may, He will be glorified. When Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, unasked, offered incense and strange fire to God, they were instead devoured by God’s fire. ‘Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.’ (Lev. 10:3) Poor Aaron could only meekly accept it, cause it was the Lord’s doing. Ezekiel was also instructed to inform the Zidonians: ‘Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have executed judgements in her, and shall be sanctified in her.’ (Eze.28:22) Yes my Friends, our God is a jealous God, as He, Himself declared, and He created us to walk and talk with Him; to praise and thank Him for the wonderful things He does for us, and overall, just to exalt His Holy Name. It’s logical then, that whatever we do should be appraised and judged by how it reflects on God’s name. Before doing any thing we must first consider the question: Does it bring glory to His Name? And only if the answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’ should we do it. I know that trying to make our every action, thought and word glorify God isn’t an easy task, cause sometimes we don’t have time to think, just to react. But like most things in life, that too takes time, experience and effort. Only when we become fairly mature believers will that action become semi-automatic. The mind, body and soul would have been programmed along the way to immediately embrace or deny certain things because they don’t jive with God’s Word and don’t glorify Him. So we shouldn’t feel badly if we make mistakes, or occasionally forget to stop and ponder the wisdom of our behaviour. Once we’re aware of the requirement, and sincerely try to practice it, our God will understand. Even Bruh Paul admitted he didn’t always do what he should, although he knew better, and couldn’t understand it. Because our flesh naturally lusteth toward sin. My brethren, we live in a rough, crazy world, and life can oftimes be like a roller coaster; up and down, round and round. But I can assure us of one thing; if we concentrate our efforts on serving and glorifying the Most High God, Jehovah, our lives won’t be as topsy-turvy. It won’t stop rolling along, but at a more sedate pace, one that we can more easily deal with. Let’s close with some passages of excellent advice on the topic. Bruh Paul put it this way to the Ephesians. ‘Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5: 20-21) Meanwhile, to the Colossians he said: ‘And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.’ (Col.3:17) And Peter said it thus: ‘If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.’ (1 Pet.4:11) Oh my Friends, please, let’s heed those wise and wonderful words of advice from those men of faith, so that we can achieve some semblance of peace and security in our lives, in this rather tumultuous world. Much LOVE!…to acknowledge God in all we do…is to glorify Him…
SCRIP-BITS 