The Glory of Christ
Who is this child that we celebrate during Christmas?
Today’s Christmas Worship Scripture
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men…And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”–
Worship Tip: Look and Linger
Countless things clamor for our attention these days. To stop and linger with thoughtful curiosity for the depth of God’s Word allows the Holy Spirit the opportunity to give us insights we would otherwise miss. The words are here for all of us to read, but only those who seek and treasure what they find will catch greater glimpses of God’s glory.
What do the words of Scripture say? So simple, but lingering over the meanings of the text provides a great opportunity to worship. Look and linger over the following words. To praise, ask, loo, wonder, relate, ponder, thank and seek give us a variety of ways to worship.
Four Ways Christ is Glory Demonstrated
1. In the beginning… this powerful statement that echoes right back to Genesis… Jesus is the visible representation of God—the exact likeness of God’s nature, God’s heart, and God’s plan.
From the beginning the relationship between Father and Son is shown. God is a relational God—he exists in the communion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Glory.
The creator became man and walked among us, and the world did not know Him, recognize, or receive Him.
Heartbreaking.
And yet God sent his son knowing the outcome.
Glory.
2. All Things—Jesus is the creator of all things.
“Apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” Glory demonstrated: nothing exists apart from Christ. We experience this Christ-glory with every breath that we take, yet we take it for granted. Christ is the creative and sustaining power in all that exists.
Glory.
I tend to look at these verses in terms of creation; but there is an ongoing creation and sustaining that makes up the days and seasons of my life. Nothing of holy value will come into being apart from Him. In Him, everyday, is my light that cuts through the darkness of my human limitations, sinful tendencies, and desire to honor him.
3. Both man and God, Jesus is full of grace and truth.
The fullness of grace and truth is complete and a perfect supply. It is the grace and truth demonstrated in and taught by Jesus that explains to us who God is, what His heart for us is, and how much he loves us.
Glory.
4. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”–Colossians 1:15-17
Today’s worship challenge.
Choose one truth and tuck it into the pocket of your heart. Look and linger, and then take it with you and appreciate this one thing about Jesus as you go about your day. If things get crazy in your world today, take a moment to catch your breath and remember the glory of Christ. Have a great day and come back tomorrow for another Worship Challenge.
The Christmas Worship Challenge Daily Roadmap
- Worship Like a Wise Man
- The Glory of Christ
- Both Child and Mighty God
- Four Ways to Love God
- God With Us
- Two Ways to Exalt Christ This Christmas
- A God who Speaks
- Let Beauty Spark Your Worship Today
- Make it Beautiful
- Give God Glory: Put on You’re Dancing Shoes
- A Lesson From the Christmas Shepherds
- Make it Known: Another Lesson from the Shepherds
- Treasuring and Pondering: Meditation of the Heart
- Fullness of Grace: The Divine Multiplier
- How to Find Joy
- Worship by Giving the Gift of Prayer
- Believing God: The Rest of Peace
- Break Out of Your Worship Rut
- Christmas Through the Eyes of a Child
- The Worship of Gratitude
- Celebrate Christmas: Give God the Gift of Yourself
- Why You Should Sing in the New Year with a New Song
- We Don’t Worship Alone
- 10 Practical Tips to Deepen Your Worship Now (Summary of Worship Tips from the Challenge)
- 10 More Tips to Deepen Your Worship Now
- Worship You Don’t Want to Miss
Join the Christmas Worship Challenge
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The Discipline of an Abiding Life: Part 2
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. “–John 15:7
My soul wants to go the way of the weed.
My soul is often lazy and does not want to change.
My soul often gets things backwards and chases after the wrong thing…
Hence the importance of learning to abide in Christ rather than just talk about it.
Abiding in Christ doesn’t just happen. We have a direct role to play, even if we are branches.
The discipline of an abiding life is to hang on to Christ–to stay connected to the vine and to continue to receive the power of the Spirit who enables me to bear fruit in what I have received. Taking hold of and not letting go of truth enables me to grow in it.
- As I am connected with Christ and I take hold of His words, I begin to ask for the kinds of things that God plants in my heart.
- My desires begin to line up with the truth. Requests in prayer grow from a heart connected to truth. Organic. Fusion.
- The desires of my heart and the prayers of my soul begin to reflect that which pleases God. My wishes are transformed, changed by the grace of Christ.
Inspecting the Fruit
Another discipline of an abiding life is to resist the temptation to be a fruit inspector, to pass judgment on what I am learning and how well I am keeping what has been learned. Have you ever wished that your fruit looked different? That you had a different gift? Have you ever struggled with the blight of inspecting your fruit and seeing what is lacking rather than what is blossoming? This is our need to rest in the vine and let God bring forth what pleases Him.
When I am abiding, my focus is on what Christ is doing, what He is saying. This is key to avoiding the fruit inspector’s dilemma.
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#abidinginchrist”]An abiding life trusts that the fruit God desires will grow.[/tweetthis]
Some days this hits hard on my heart that longs to see the completion of fruit now growing. Confidence that God will finish every good thing that He starts is a discipline that I sometimes struggle with.
It’s so easy to look at what is growing today and compare myself with a branch more mature. I see the gap and pass judgement…
I will never be this…
I could never do that so well…
All the while losing the perspective of Paul when he writes,
“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”–Philippians 1:6
What God is growing in and through my life is unique to me. Just as no two snowflakes or two fingerprints are the same, each work that God is doing in each of us is unique.
[tweetthis]Comparison is a useless tool when it comes to bearing God’s fruit.[/tweetthis]
Indeed it takes discipline of faith to let go of the temptation to be a fruit inspector.
An abiding life continues in the Word and grows little by little into the vision God has for the vine—this is the unforced rhythm of Grace.
It is the discipline of an abiding life that enables me to…
” walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…”
Colossians 1:10
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Remembering I am the Branch: Life on the Vine, Part 2
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine dresser.
John 15:1
My son is helping me put together some new furniture for our porch. We hauled the heavy box out of the car, opened it up, and began taking out the pieces. Lots of pieces. Too many pieces!
Nothing comes assembled anymore, does it?
My son starts putting pieces together, looking for the parts that fit. Before I know it, we are looking at the instructions, deciding which ones we can skip in order to get it done faster. Surely we don’t need all of those steps?
Wrong.
Instructions Matter
Basically, John 15 contains an important set of instructions for abiding in Christ, living life on the vine. Covering both the hows and the whys, there is a lot to chew on in these verses. As I read John 15:1, I am reminded of my tendency to want to skip the obvious. Truth is, the most basic part of life on the vine is understanding who does what. Before my grape-groove can flourish, I have to get one thing straight in my head.
I am not the vine dresser, and I am not the vine.
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#abidinginchrist”]God is God, and I am not. Simple.[/tweetthis]
Why is it so easy to forget this obvious truth?
Some days I live like I am the one in charge, the one that can make things grow. I confuse my decision making and my effort with the ability to create life, forge character, and guide destinies. I only see what I can see, the view from the vine. I look at the fruit growing off my branches, puff up with the pleasure of my fruit, and begin to think that I am the one who made it grow.
Silly me.
Abiding is the position from which fruit grows. If I am not connected, nothing God-good is going to bloom in my life.
Perspective is Needed
I know this sounds so basic, but sometimes we need the reminder that we are branches–the ones created by God to live in relationship through Christ, the Vine. The whole point of living the branch-life is to stay connected, to remain in a living relationship with Christ–the true vine and the One who saves from the trash-heaps of life. I love this passage from Hebrews that helps me keep my vine-life-perspective straight:
“May God, who puts all things together,
makes all things whole…
Now put you together, provide you
with everything you need to please him,
Make us into what gives him most pleasure,
by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah.”—Hebrews 13:20-21 MSG, portions
How has God shown Himself as the vine dresser in your life today?