Help Wanted vs Help Needed

Some Thoughts for Consideration

Larry R Evans

"Fear God and give him glory . . . " -- Revelation 14:7

How do we give glory to God? Do we do it by being obedient? By helping others? By giving our tithes and offerings? Perhaps but not by doing these things directly. Consider the following:

"'The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him' (2 Chronicles 16:9). God is not looking for people to work for Him, so much as He is looking for people who will let Him work for them. The gospel is not a help-wanted ad. Neither is the call to Christian service. On the contrary, the gospel commands us to give up and hang out a help-wanted sign (this is the basic meaning of prayer.). Then the gospel promises that God will work for us if we do. He will not surrender the glory of being the Giver.
But is there not anything we can give Him that won't belittle Him to the status of beneficiary? Yes--our anxieties. It's a command: '[Cast] all your anxieties on him' (1 Peter 5:7). God will gladly receive anything from us that shows our dependence and His all-sufficiency." (John Piper, Desiring God, p. 171)

So how do we glorify God? Do we do it by being obedient? By eating the right things? By helping others and returning our tithes? Is that what brings glory to God? Perhaps, but only indirectly. God is glorified by living His life through us, by filling our emptiness with His fullness, by healing our brokenheartedness with His righteousness. God is glorified, then, when we allow Him to serve and minister to us and when that happens what we do comes from a response of love and gratitude. We are blessed and God is glorified! At that moment our peace with God, with ourselves and with one another is beyond human understanding.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lessons From Would-be Disciples . . . OR . . . How to Flunk While Getting "A's"

Sabbath School Class—A Life of Discovery January 26, 2008 Larry R Evans Quiz for Reflection 1. Commitment was so important to Jesus that He taught His disciples that they must put His mission over that of attending a funeral for a loved one. [Mt 8:21,22] True or False? 2. If we keep the commandments as Jesus instructed the rich young ruler, we will meet the criteria Jesus was stressing with this would-be disciple. [Mk 10:17-23] True or False? 3. True seekers of truth will, unlike Nicodemus, come to Jesus whether it be day or “night.” [Jn 3:2, 19-21] True or False? 4. Truth is truth. Disciples of Christ need to remember that how it is packaged is less important than making sure it is “truth” we share. [See Counsels to Writers and Editors , p.72; The Desire of Ages , p.353] True or False? Introductory Reflections Is it possible to get “A’s” and still flunk the class? Today’s study suggests that it is. We are introduced to some “would be disciples”
Read more

Preparing a People

[ There will be no additional study notes this week.] October 10, 2009 Larry R Evans Reflective Introduction It has been said that “A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves.” (Marcus Aurelius Antonius). Think about that a moment in the context of our lesson for this week. God in His infinite wisdom knew precisely what unbridled human nature is capable of doing. With this large desert-wandering congregation now freed from slavery, He sought to establish a sense of community among His people—a kind of community that would stick together in the coming promised land. Wolves would arise among the sheep. He knew that. He anticipated this happening so rules were created to protect the sheep though even then His rules were open to abuse. The family unit was the foundation for this new community yet it was the very object of attack. Infidelity and distrust within the family happened and still happens today. Is there any hope? The lesson today is f
Read more

Aug 11 -- Class Notes-- Samson & His Women

Samson & His Women: The Folly of Passion or How Self-Centeredness Leads to Self-Destruction Sabbath School Lesson August 11, 2007 Teacher: Larry R Evans Quiz for Reflection [Based on Judges 13-16 ] When a minister makes a serious/moral mistake it is an indication that he/she was not called in the first place. True or False God’s special endowments upon a person end once he or she intentionally parts from God’s counsel. True or False The example of Samson suggests we should avoid people and circumstances which have a strong influence upon us. True or False Samson’s core problem was his lust for women. True of False Scripture portrays Samson as a man of faith. True or False Introduction C.S. Lewis wrote, "A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is.... A man wh
Read more