Sun – Page 2 – Praying Pint

8.u. The Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Revelation 22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Can you even begin to imagine what heaven is going to be like? No sickness, being in the presence of God and Jesus Christ, no more curse , no more darkness, no more lies, etc……worshiping them forever and ever in perfect peace and rest. It is hard to think what life, culture, and society would be like without sin. Our thoughts are clouded in a dense fog of understanding. Even the thought of a sinless world is beyond our comprehension. And yet we are given glimpses of what it is going to be like. Could you imagine what your life would be like if there was no pride, greed, lust, hate, self-worth, self-reliance, self-justified, and many other self-centered acts we commit each day. Many times we are not even aware of how self-centered we are unless we are seeking God to expose it to us. Remember how David put it; “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” Our hearts are very deceiving and in them we hide away from what it means to give our whole heart, mind, and soul to humbly serving, following, obeying, and trusting Jesus Christ. We keep scripture at arms length so that we can’t hear the guiding whispers of the Holy Spirit. We apply that which is pleasing to the way we choose to live but do not seek that which is pleasing to Jesus Christ. If we did more time would be spent in His Word than we do on everything else that easily occupies our time. Given the verses today we should want to be practicing total service and worship of Jesus Christ right now. Just try to spend 10 minutes per day in His Word for the next 30 days and see what Jesus Christ opens your understanding too.

8.t. But only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelation 21:22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

If there is a sad conclusion to John’s description of the city, it is to note that it will be denied to some. Chapter 21 lists the kinds of people who will not enter the city, and verse 27 summarizes by saying “only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” will enter the city of God. It will be too late to try to enter for the first invitation to enter into the family of God was rejected. The first invitation for redemption, salvation, forgiveness, and eternity with God was rejected in place for self-satisfying and passions for what the world has to offer. The fact that God was able to soften our heart to hear this invitation should humble our hearts and awaken our soul to deny self and serve Him with our eyes focused on Jesus Christ all the days we have this side of eternity.

8.l. Signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast

Revelation 19:17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Now, as the birds hover en masse over the battlefield at the angel’s beckoning, John sees the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and against His army (v. 19). Their resistance to Christ belies their delusional belief that they have an opportunity to win – and worse, their apparent conviction that they are in the right. What compels sinful men and women to entertain the notion that they can defeat the Almighty or change the course of human history? Joseph A. Seiss comments: We may wonder how rational men could be carried with one impulse into an attempt so daring and so absurd; but when people put the truth from them, and submit themselves to the Devil’s lead, what is there of delusion and absurdity into which they are not liable to be carried? How many among us comfort and assure themselves in their selfishness and sins with the belief that either there is no God, or that he is too good and merciful to fulfill his threatenings upon transgressors? To this there needs to be added only one step more, to defy his judgments, and with that goes pledge of battle and declaration of war with his Omnipotence.

The Psalmist writes, “Why do the nations rebel and the people plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers conspire together against the Lord and His Anointed One.” What is the Lord’s response to this human madness? “The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord ridicules them. Then He speaks to them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath” (Ps. 2:1-2, 4-5). Seiss once again remarks, “What failure of love, what exhaustion of grace, what emptying of the sea of his infinite mercies, what decay and withdrawal of all kindly interest and affection must have occurred that there should be this laugh!”. And yet for the beast and his armies, this is no laughing matter. In self-delusional futility; in the most vile hatred of a creature toward his Creator; in utter abandonment of all decency, the beast charges straight into the blade of the Jesus Christ’s sword.

J.F. Walvoord and R.B. Zuck comment: “The same inspired Word of God which so wonderfully describes the grace of God and the salvation which is available to all who believe is equally plain about the judgment of all who reject the grace of God. The tendency of liberal interpreters of the Bible to emphasize passages dealing with the love of God and to ignore passages dealing with His righteous judgment is completely unjustified. The passages on judgment are just as inspired and accurate as those which develop the doctrines of grace and salvation. The Bible is clear that judgment awaits the wicked, and the second coming of Christ is the occasion for a worldwide judgment unparalleled in Scripture since the time of Noah’s flood”

Phillips, Rob. The Searcher’s Guide to the Apocalypse: A Verse-by-Verse Quest to Understand the Book of Revelation . Unknown. Kindle Edition.

7.y. They did not repent and give him glory.

Revelation 16:8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.

The fourth and fifth bowl shows the power of God over His creation. It is hard to say what will take place that allows the sun to scorch people with fierce heat. It is not just part of the world, it is all people in the world who have taken the mark of the beast, who have denied God, and would not repent. This scorching heat is followed by a darkness so dark that people are in anguish over it. We can speculate on what will take place but in the end that is all it will be, men trying to speculate about what God can and will do to cause these events on those who have rejected Him. It is important to note that the wrath and anger of God do not draw people to Him. It seems as though they harden their hearts more rather than having them soften. Paul put it like this as a warning: Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? It is God’s kindness that leads to repentance, not His wrath and anger. God’s kindness is not to be taken lightly, His offer of mercy and grace are not to be taken lightly, His redeeming love, and salvation found in and through the suffering and death of Jesus Christ is not to be taken lightly. Paul said; “What manner of person ought you to be in light of the great price paid for your salvation?” There should be no room in our heart and mind for what we allow to be in there. There should be no room for neglect and complacency. There should be no room for things of this world to replace the fullness of Christ in our life. Our lives have been bought with a very high cost and we should be living in light of the price that was paid. Do not forget for a single moment the grace, mercy, and love God has poured out on us. Keep this thought close to your heart and mind when you wake and when you go to sleep and live to honor and glorify Him by growing more mature in your faith and love for Him.

7.m. Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger

Isaiah 13:9 Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless. I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of his fierce anger. And like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with none to gather them, each will turn to his own people, and each will flee to his own land. Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.

Isaiah gives a clear prophecy about what we have read so far in Revelation as recorded by John. “the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,” It may be hard for us to understand and see Jesus cruel, with wrath and fierce anger. Living in and during the time of His great mercy, grace, and love, and where God’s wrath has been held back against sinners in hope that they will come to the knowledge, understanding, and wisdom of Jesus Christ. This knowledge and understanding begins to find root in their heart when they receive the wisdom of their sin and God’s Holiness, their need for redemption and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and their need for forgiveness and the mercy, grace, and love revealed to their heart, mind, and soul by the Holy Spirit through belief and trust in Jesus Christ. This knowledge and understanding of forgiveness flood their heart, mind, and soul with a “Knowing” peace, rest, hope, and joy. The fact that God has withheld His wrath and anger and judgment on them seems to get lost in this understanding for when we are in receipt of His grace, mercy, and love we become new creatures, born again, and the old sinful self is changed and continues to change as we grow more and more in knowledge of Him who was, who is, and who is to come. Yes, we get lost in His grace, mercy, and love. How could we not? We were lost and without hope and now we are found and have eternal life promised to us. We forget the wrath, anger, and judgment coming on those who reject His grace, mercy, and love because the love we have personally experienced overwhelms our heart, mind, and soul. Be assured, He is coming again, not as a lamb but as a judge of sinners. A judge of those who have rejected His sacrifice. A judge of those who sealed their heart against the need for forgiveness. A judge of those who deny the need of Jesus Christ. A judge of those who practices evil. A judge of those who despises God. A judge of those who harden their heart against His offer of redemption. A judge of those who have intentionally chose to live in darkness and apart from honoring, serving, following, trusting, and obeying Him. A judge of Sinners. We must always keep this in mind, for this is exactly what we deserved prior to God’s Word of salvation through Christ breaking through into our hearts.

7.l. And a great sign appeared in heaven:

Revelation 12:1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

Who is this woman identified in verse 1? The woman is the nation of Israel. Genesis 37: 9 “Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” Joseph had this dream. Clearly there is a reference here that has to be taken seriously. There are a few other thoughts out there claiming the “Woman” represents the “Church or the Virgin Mary. The Great Red Dragon is none other than Satan Wanting to devour the child that was to come out of Israel. God has granted to Satan great power of activity on earth. Jesus said that Satan was a murderer from the beginning. John 8:44 – “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” The Dragon description emphasizes his intense cruelty. There is much to come in future chapters that give a more clear understanding of 7 heads and 10 horns. Just know that these give us understanding to the antichrist, the nations that become his tool against Christ, and the indwelling and rule of Satan over the antichrist.

I read a comment on this chapter by Theodore Epp which seems to be worth sharing. “Only a small portion of chapter 12 fits into the sequence of events during the Tribulation. The chapter is really an inset providing necessary information about the past, present and future events concerning Christ, Israel, and Satan. One cannot understand the entire Book of the Revelation unless he understands the 12th chapter. The truth revealed in Revelation 12 reaches backward to Abraham and forward to the end of the Tribulation. The chapter needs to be where it is in the book so the reader might understand the future unfolding events of the Tribulation.”

Know this: Satan is the father of all lies, is a roaring lion seeking those whom he can destroy, and is the great deceiver. If we think about how he is able to lead many down paths of self-centered, speed-satisfying, and self-reliant lives how much more so when the church (people who have chosen to give all their heart, mind, soul, and strength – and believed in, trusted, followed, and obeyed Jesus Christ) is raptured out of earth and is no longer present with the Holy Spirit) The time is coming and is now here when people will no longer give thought to the need of salvation, repentance, and forgiveness. They will see no need because they have been deceived into thinking God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are nothing more than a fairy tale and only the weak need something like this in their life. There awaits a shocking reality to these people upon their death when they enter eternity (forever) in a place of torment awaiting the final judgment of God where they are cast into the Lake of Fire where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth forever and ever. Now is the Day of Salvation.

7.f. No more delay

Revelation 10:1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.

We see an interlude in here. It is not as though there is a gap in time between the judgments of God, but rather an explaining of something, kind of like how we would use parenthesis. When we read in verse 6 that there should be no more delay, we have to wonder if what is about to transpire has to do with what the martyred had said, “How long, O Lord….until You judge and avenge our blood….? At that time, the Lord’s answer was that they should wait a little while longer. But now He is saying that the wait is over. Judgment is about to be completed. There will be no more delay in the fulfillment of the seventh trumpet. John was not allowed to write down what he saw but what ever it was the mystery of God would be fulfilled. No more delay. Those in heaven and on earth will see the mystery of God will be fulfilled. I am not sure what this mystery will reveal. Will it be a fuller understanding of His grace, mercy, and love, or will it be more understanding of the righteousness of His judgment, wrath, and anger on those who have rejected His grace, mercy and love? Do you ever think about those who resist His grace, mercy and love? They resist with harden hearts of stone, deaf ears, and turned backs. I wonder what I may be resisting in my life. Am I resisting giving all my soul, heart, and mind and strength? Am I resisting by not actively listening to what the Holy Spirit is whispering into my mind through the Word of God? Am I resisting an act of kindness, a kind word, or a word of encouragement to someone God has place in my life? Am I resisting seeking His guidance? Am I resisting time in His word? Am I resisting being a humble servant? Am I resisting trusting in and cling to Him. Am I resisting obedience? We all do well to search our heart and mind for the resistance toward living fully and totally for God that is there and actively pursue eliminating it from our life.

7.c. “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth”

Revelation 8:8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter. The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night. Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”

One-third of the grass and trees, sea creatures, ships, water, sun, and moon are affected in ways that only can point to the God of creation. All of this follows wars, famine, disease, earthquakes and other life taking actions within God’s purpose and plans. You would think this is the end of these terrible events, but no. John heard an eagle crying, woe, woe, woe. Much worse is to come. All of this comes upon those who have rejected God, despise God, hate God, and are suffering consequences of their disbelieve and of God’s wrath and anger. This wrath and anger have been stored up by God. For sure it will come upon mankind at a time they do not see coming. Those that are alive will suffer greatly at the hands of God for their rejection. There is much to be said about living now in the time of grace, mercy, and love of Jesus Christ, where there is the time right now to repent and turn away from sin and rely on, cling to, and trust in Jesus Christ.

2.r. I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things.

2 Chronicles 21:16 And the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the anger of the Philistines and of the Arabians who are near the Ethiopians. And they came up against Judah and invaded it and carried away all the possessions they found that belonged to the king’s house, and also his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, his youngest son.

And after all this the Lord struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease. In the course of time, at the end of two years, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great agony. His people made no fire in his honor, like the fires made for his fathers. He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he departed with no one’s regret. They buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

1 Kings 11:11    Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant.

1 Kings 11:14    And the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon,

1 Kings 11:23     God also raised up as an adversary to him,

Ezra 1:5    Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem.

Isaiah 10:5-6     Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury!  Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the street

Amos 3:6     Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?

Isaiah 45:5-7     I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me,  that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.  I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things.

Do you ever wonder what God is not in control of? Is He in control of everything? We see “the Lord stirred up against Jehoram,” “I will tear the kingdom from you”, “the Lord raised up an adversary”, “everyone whose spirit God had stirred”, “the staff in their hands is My fury”, “Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?”, and “I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord who does all these things.”

God uses both the godly and ungodly too manifest is plans and purposes. He is the creator of all there is so it is well understood that He can control it. Do we live our lives like God is in control? Do we pray like God is in Control? Do we trust God like He is in control? People reject God’s calling in their life. They choose to ignore Him. However, even in their rejection and the problems and troubles, they cause on others God can and does use it for good. We may not see it but we can trust it is true. One example is with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Evil and lost people did this but it was ordained by God for the salvation of all who believe.

We know how David cried out to God and stating what appeared to be an oversight by God, in that, there were evil people who seemed to prosper, denounce God, treat others with harm, and God was seemingly blind to it. He wasn’t and isn’t blind to actions, but more than that, He knows the thoughts and intents of each person’s actions.

The problem we have is that we don’t have the wisdom, understanding, and knowledge of God. We chase after answers with our limited understanding and knowledge. We convince ourselves that we no best and if we were God we would do it differently. He is God, not us. His ways are not our ways.

So why is it that we say God is in control and then do not believe or trust Him when seemingly bad things happen? He does not change. He has been the same forever and there is no changing in Him.

I think the closer we are to Him the more we learn and grow in our trusting of Him. The closer we are we have fewer questions and we have more praise. The closer we are doesn’t mean we have fewer questions but it does mean we have one answer “God is in control” and in this, we can find a peace that passes all understanding.

You have to imagine the Israelites were full of questions and afraid when they were at the banks of the Red Sea with the Pharaoh and his warriors approaching. When we face the impossible, tragic, and terrible, trials in our life, know that there is a God who is in control and will work out all things for the good of them who are called by His name.

1.r. What is the Glory of God?

2 Chronicles 5:13 and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord, “For he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever,” the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

Exodus 40:35  And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

Isaiah 6:1-4    In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.  Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.  And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

Ezekiel 10:4  And the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD.

Revelation 15:8    and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power,

Psalms 19:1   The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

How do you define “The Glory of God”?

Thesaurus – praise, worship, adoration, veneration, honor, reverence, exaltation, homage, thanksgiving, thanks.

Dictionary – high renown or honor won by notable achievements, magnificence or great beauty, wonder, beauty, delight, marvel, phenomenon; sight, spectacle

John Piper – Defining the glory of God is impossible, I say because it is more like the word beauty than the word basketball. So if somebody says they have never heard of a basketball, they don’t know what a basketball is and they say: Define a basketball. That would not be hard for you to do.

You can’t do that with the word beauty. There are some words in our vocabulary which we can communicate with not because we can say them, but because we see them. We can point. If we point at enough things and see enough things together and say, “That’s it, that’s it, that’s it,” we might be able to have a common sense of beauty. But you try to put the word beauty into words, it would be very, very difficult

The same thing with the word glory. So how shall I do it? You have got to try because we can’t just leave it for people to fill up on their own. So here is the way I am going to try to do it. I am going to take it and contrast it biblically with the word holy and ask, “What is the difference between the holiness of God and the glory of God.” In doing that, I think we get a little handle on the nature of this term, the glory of God. So that is the way I am going to try to do it.

The holiness of God is, I think, his being in a class by himself in his perfection and greatness and worth. His perfection and his greatness and his worth are of such a distinct and separate category—we have been taught that holy means separate—that he is in a class by himself. He has infinite perfections, infinite greatness, and infinite worth.

His holiness is what he is as God that nobody else is. It is his quality of perfection that can’t be improved upon, that can’t be imitated, that is incomparable, that determines all that he is and is determined by nothing from outside him. It signifies his infinite worth, his intrinsic, infinite worth, his intrinsic, infinite value.

Now when Isaiah 6:3 says that angels are crying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty” — the next thing they say is this — “The whole earth is full of his” — and you might have expected him to say holiness. And he doesn’t say holiness. He says glory.

Intrinsically holy, intrinsically holy, and the whole earth is full of his glory from which I stab at a definition by saying the glory of God is the manifest beauty of His holiness. It is the going public of his holiness. It is the way he puts his holiness on display for people to apprehend. So the glory of God is the holiness of God made manifest.

Paul Trip – For any human being to think that they could capture the glory of God in a single artistic statement is delusional at best and vain at worst. To squeeze what is infinite into what is finite is vastly more impossible than trying to cram the entire body of the fully-developed elephant into a thimble. No matter how gifted you are or how hard you try, it just won’t happen!

No single drawing, painting, photograph, or verbal description could ever capture glory. Glory isn’t so much a thing as it is a description of a thing. Glory isn’t a part of God; it’s all that God is. Every aspect of who God is and every part of what God does is glorious. But even that’s not enough of a description.

People are glory-oriented creatures. Animals are not. People are attracted to glorious things, whether it’s an exciting drama or sports game, an enthralling piece of music or the best meal ever. Animals live by instinct and exist to survive. We live with a glory hardwiring and chase bigger and better things.

God built this glory orientation into us; it’s not sinful or against God’s will to be attracted to glorious things. Because of this glory orientation, our lives will always be shaped by the pursuit of some kind of glory. You and I will always be chasing something to satisfy the glory hunger that God designed for us to live with.

God intentionally placed us in a world jam-packed with glory. From trees to flowers to mountains; from mashed potatoes to steak to lemonade; from thunderstorms to sunsets to snowfalls – all of these things were designed by God to tingle our glory sensors. But, it’s important to understand that every created glory is meant by God to function as a spiritual GPS that points us to the only glory that will ever satisfy our hearts, the glory of God.

Imagine taking a family vacation to Disney World, and 30 miles out, you spot a sign on the side of the road with the logo and name of the resort. It would be silly to stop at the sign and have your family vacation on the side of the road! So it is with the glory of God in creation – it’s only a sign, directing you to the source. Don’t stop at the sign.

If there exists within each of us a hunger for glory, then one could argue that everything we think, desire, say and do is done out of a quest for glory. We all want what is glorious in our lives – whether that’s the fleeting glorious pleasure of a meal, the glory of recognition by peers or supervisors, or participating in the glorious work of the Kingdom of God here on earth.

Where we chase after glory can vary, but one thing is for certain: this hunger for glory will never ever be satisfied by created things. Even if you could experience the most glorious situations, locations, relationships, experiences, achievements or possessions in this life, your heart still would not be satisfied. Creation has no capacity whatsoever to bring contentment to your heart. Only God can satiate our hunger, and in satiating our hunger, give peace and rest to our hearts.