Let's look at one more instance where God's glory shines.

In Acts 3:1-22 we read about a man who has been physically challenged since birth -- born with abnormalities of the body that kept him from ever learning to walk. Where do we find him? Sitting at a gate of the Temple. The place where people go to seek God, we would think. But he's sitting there just hoping for the mercy of a few coins from those passing by going to do their duty at the temple. Along come Peter and John. They were observing him closely as they approached. When they had his attention, don't you know, he was just expecting them to toss some change. What happens? They command him to walk in the name of Jesus Christ! They grab his hand, pull him up, and he's walking and even leapping! Yes, as we would say, a few minds were blown at that moment. The result: The people were running toward Peter and John in total amazement. Peter's flesh might have entertained the idea of grabbing some of that gory for itself, but instead Peter preached to the people of the power of God that brought about this man's healing. The people began glorifying God. The priests, temple guard and Saducees applecart was toppled. And because of the people glorifying God, the officials couldn't make their arrest charges stick. This happened early after the Pentecost (God's gift of the Holy Spirit) event. Although, the disciples were seeing some wondrous results of the power of God through the Holy Spirit they had now received, I bet they were still being amazed themselves every time God worked through them.

According to the verses a couple of posts back (check Isaiah 66:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20), God's word to us here is that He can't be contained, but He is looking for those who are "Humble and contrite of spirit, and who tremble at My word." He's looking for lives changed when they encounter the glory of God. We've seen that happen in every one of these instances (over the last 3 posts), and there are many other examples in Scripture. In the first we saw the angelic beings bringing God's glory into focus. Then we saw Jesus' own ministry giving glory to His Father. And finally, after Jesus has been glorified in the resurrection, and returned in glory to the Father, we saw the very power of Heaven in the form of the Holy Spirit of God taking up residence within the lives of believers. Their enthusiasm spills out to a world thirsty for the Living Water, the Bread of Life, who when He is encountered brings humility, contrition and Holy fear.

God-Color Moment
Think and pray about the ways you have seen God work in your life and the life of those around you. Record an example of how God has showed up in the midst of a situation, and His glory was apparent to all who witnessed it. Were the reactions those of awe and trembling?

Copyright, Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011
Photo glimpse of God's glory above from www.multimedia-stock.com

Walking Talking Temples of the Holy Spirit

"Thus says the LORD, "Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool, Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? For my hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being declares the LORD, But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word." Isaiah 66:1-2 (NASB)

Obviously, as we've already discovered our God is so incredibly large He could neer be contained in a "house" built by man. Yet we've already discovered that the apostle, Paul, admonishes in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NASB): "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." No, He cannot be contained in a building of wood and bricks, but our hearts and our actions can certainly embody and proclaim His glory!

As I searched through the New Testament for specific instances of that which brought glory to the Father these are some of the examples I found, demonstrating that when He is present in our lives glorious things happen that we could never dream up. 

Luke 2:15-20 recounts the shepherds' visit to the Baby Jesus. Going about their routine lives in the fields by night, they had been visited by a host of angels. Did they expect to witness that spectacular display of God's creation? Highly unlikely. But their response was to leave their place of comfort, and go check this out at the risk of being mocked for believing some crazy vision was real -- or perhaps thought to have been smoking some funny weed.  The result: They returned glorifying God! Scripture doesn't tell us for sure, but I'm believing they returned to their work, their family, their friends, their same routine, but reflecting the glory of God and His heavenly light and colors to all of those around them! They were walking, talking temples of the Holy Spirit right in the middle of the ordinary stuff of life.

We will look at other examples in the next posts. Allow yourself to be awed by the glory of God.

Photo from canstockphoto.com
All other content Copyright Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011 

Three Millenium of Earthquakes...

...and this temple's foundation still stands.

1 Kings 5:13-18 (NIV)

King Solomon conscripted laborers from all Israel -- thirty thousand men. He sent them off to Lebanon in shift of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor. Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills, as well as thirty-three hundred foremen who supervised the project and directed the workmen. At the king's command they removed from the quarry large blocks of quality stone to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple. The craftsmen of Solomon and Hiram and the men of Gebal cut and prepared the timber and stone for the building of the temple.

Tyre and Sidon were cities in an area known in the ancient world as Phoenicia. King Hiram of Tyre in Lebanon was a friend to Solomon's father David. Solomon sent to him for help with the temple construction. One thing the Phoenicians knew well was how to work with stone and timber. They worked alongside the men Solomon had brought together to build the temple for the Lord.

As I looked for information on Phoenician architecture and building practices I found it interesting to note that they used enormous foundation stones. The findings of the Palestine Exploration Fund in their excavations have found that

"the temple foundation consists of blocks measuring from fifteen to twenty-five feet in length, and from ten to twelve feet in height. The width of the blocks at the angles of the wall, where alone it can be measured, is from twelve to eighteen feet. At the south-west angle no fewer than thirty-one courses of this massive character have been counted by the recent explorers, who estimate the weight of the largest block at something above a hundred tons." *

One of the advantages of such enormous blocks is

". . . massiveness in the material conduces greatly to stability, and that, in lands where earthquakes are frequent, as they are along all the Mediterranean shores, not many monuments would have survived the lapse of three thousand years had the material employed been of a less substantial and solid character." *

Remember that in Isaiah's vision the foundation of this temple shook when the angels raised their voices in praise to the Almighty! WHEW! I'm being blown away again by the whole host of heaven and the SIZE of my God!!!



*Khalaf, Salim-George, "A Bequest Unearthed, Phoenicia" http://phoenicia.org, Solomons Temple page, 2004. Quotes & Photo used by permission.

Copyright Lynn U. Watson 2004, 2011 

What Colors Do You Show the World?

The Message tells us in Matthew 5:14, "You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world." This image I have here is that our appearance is to be that of a colorful rainbow. It's pretty hard to hide a rainbow. Rainbows are way up there in the sky for the whole world to see. We can expose the world to the Light of the World. When His Light is shining in us it definitely attracts attention! Everyone is drawn to this wonder. God as Light and Jesus, the Light of the World and dispenser of living water provide the necessary elements for our rainbow. In the next post we'll discover more about Jesus in those roles.

God-Color Moment
We are to be a delight to the senses. Colors evoke so many emotions and remind us of so many things. How do your feel when you're sitting in a gray room? What do its colors d to your senses when you view a spectacular sunset? Roses of all colors send different messages to their recipients. Red ones are said to mean love, yellow friendship, and so on. Colors are such an important part of our lives. Think about them. Pray about them. Decide at this moment in time what colors you personally display to the world. Are they God colors? Do you lack color? What do you think those colors are saying to those you meet every day as you go about your business? What color does the checker at the grocery store see in you? What color are you when provoked by your unbelieving coworker? Do you show your God colors all day and save the yucky colors for your family? Spend some time deciding exactly what colors you are and what each of your colors represents to you.

This assignment is rather abstract. That is intentional! Each one will have his/her own unique interpretation. (Please don't let this be based on your fashion "season" or the colors you like to wear.) I hope each of you has a very different take on this, because it will be so interesting to share how you see yourselves and learn what different colors mean to others. Some may see you differently than you see yourself. That's okay. You may discover that you are displaying more God colors than you know.


Just look at the colors these parrots have on display! :o) Wondering what they might have to say to the world? They certainly are creations of God and incredible displays of the colors of the Light of the World!

I'm praying that there will be lots of comments on this post as you each consider your colors. It may also be helpful to have a friend or two or more sharing this whole adventure with you. Will you invite them? I'm counting on it!

You'll want to look back at this later in the study to see where your colors have intensified, what new colors you've added to your palette, and what new revelation you've received from the precious Spirit of God in this area of your life. 

This was mentioned in the previous post. I would like to take the time now to ask that any of you who have been reading this blog and would like to become a Christ follower, that you will take the time right now to pray. Acknowledge your sinfulness and need for a Savior. Ask God, because of the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus, to cleanse your heart. Know that for the asking, you are forgiven. Then prayerfully purpose to live your life acknowledging Jesus as the Son of the Living God & the Lord & Savior of your life. Become connected with a local body of Bible believing Christ followers. Know that your life will still have many challenges, you will still stumble, and that Christ is there for you to walk with you, pick you up, and carry you through the journey. If you need encouragement and assistance in finding a church home please contact me. Also, please let me know of your decision that I may be praying for you as you begin this new life in Christ.

Photo from www.Mulitmedia-stock.com
All other content Copyright Lynn U. Watson 2004, 2011

Rainbows!

In the verses in the last post from Ezekiel we read: "As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance;" and from Revelation: "there was a rainbow around the throne like an emerald in appearance." A rainbow surround the throne in both of these accounts. Rainbows evoke much intrigue in our culture. Little leprechauns are said to be able to find the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Those of a certain lifestyle persuasion in our culture have chosen the rainbow as their symbol. The popular Rainbow Brite and friends of the 1980's made a come back. Popular musical artists looking for something better out there use the rainbow metaphor in their lyrics. In all of these instances and many more, we see the world duplicating what God created and using it as its own.

A quick review from your elementary school science class: the basic elements that are needed for a rainbow to form are a source of light and water, a prism or similar item, which will both reflect and refract the rays of the light. Light itself is pure white and represents all colors combined. When the light hits the "liquid" medium it is refracted and reflected and breaks into all or some of the colors of the rainbow. The exact result is dependent on the angle at which the light strikes. It can be done in a laboratory, of course. Rainbows can be created by holding prisms, holograms and similar items up to a light source. Those are duplications of the real thing -- the "bow" in the sky.

Satan, himself, masquerades at an Angel of Light (2 Corinthians 11:14). The creative dynamic of this masterpiece of nature, however, belongs to God alone. Rainbows are such a vibrant display of His glory. It seems that if the world would place so much emphasis on light and rainbows, then God must have some intense purpose for them in the life of the believer.

The first mention of a rainbow in Scripture is in Genesis 9:12-13. According to this passage, what importance does the rainbow have for Noah and his family?
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As Christ followers, when we observe the rainbow in the sky, it is not only a delight for our senses, but also a beautiful reminder that God does indeed keep His promises. Find one of His promises to His children in 1 John 1:5-7. What is the promise we have according to these verses?
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God is Light! He is all the colors of the rainbow! Therefore, even the unbelievers unknowingly desire their share in the true God. The promise is that if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, AND THE BLOOD OF JESUS CLEANSES US FROM ALL SIN. Our Ultimate Pardon purchased with the blood of God's Son, Jesus Christ, is the only source of true peace. How sad for the unbeliever chasing after any other rainbow than the One that lives within the heart of every believer. Jesus lives within each believer's heart, and by His own Words in John 8:12 (NASB) we hear, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." The world will chase it forever and never attain the pot of gold at the end of their rainbows unless they walk in the true Light. To choose to walk in that true Light they must, of course, be exposed to that Light.

I'm praying right now that as we proceed with this study, those who are not following Christ will see more and more of the true Light of the World and choose to follow Him. I'm also praying that for those who have already made the decision to follow the Light will allow It to shine with more and more God-Color glory.


Photo from www.Multimedia-Stock.com
All other content, Copyright Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011 

Rainbow, Radiance, Glory of the LORD

As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. . .   Ezekiel 1:28 (NASB)

Today we observe descriptions of the throne found in God's Word. In the next post we will look specifically at our reflection of Christ to those around us. What do they see when they look at our lives?
     Please begin by reading the following Scriptures:
     Ezekiel 1:26-38 and Revelation 4:1-3
Record all the facts about the throne that you discover in these two passages.
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What stood out most to you?
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Copyright Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011

A Picture of God-Color Glory

One of the more beautiful things about sharing this Bible study as a blog is the opportunity to add little tidbits as we go along. Today is VALENTINES DAY. Found this gorgeous heart that I believe just radiates God-Color Glory! Hope it brightens your day today, and enhances your experience with the study. :o)




Photo from www.multimedia-stock.com

Isaiah "Saw" with Absolute Clarity

My morning devotion this morning happened to focus on the Radiance of God's Glory. Unintentional from my perspective, but oh so awesome when God chooses to bless in this way! :o) I feel compelled to share this quote.

The full meaning of the Hebrew word ra-ah, translated "saw" in this verse (Isaiah 6:1), is significant. It means to see something with absolute clarity. To worship God effectively we must have a proper view of Him, not allowing anything to obstruct our vision. That divinely focused view only comes to those who study God's nature and character as revealed in His Word. Anyone who plunges deeply into God's Word rises highest in their praises of His glory.

From "31 Days Meditating on the Majesty of Jesus"

by Jack Hayford & Dick Eastman