The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“Thou shall guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory” (Psalm 73:24).

We have been talking about the glory of the Lord Jesus. When He came to this earth, He voluntarily restricted the free use of His attributes, and He veiled His magnificent splendor and glory. Today He has taken this glory back and is seated on the Father’s right hand. The day is coming when we will behold this glory. I just cannot imagine all that this will entail. But this I do know. My rejoicing in future glory must be reflected in my present obedience. This is exactly the message that Asaph wanted to communicate. What a wonderful statement He made about the Lord’s present guidance and His later reception into glory! We believers, who are living in this day and age of grace, with the completed canon of Scripture, and the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit, have many privileges that Asaph did not enjoy. We truly can be guided with His counsel. We look forward to the day that we will be received to glory.

For today: What a great thought—guided now for glory later!

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as He is pure” (1 John 3: 2-3)

The Apostle John speaks of the glorious day that lies ahead for every believer. What joy beyond description of the glory in which we shall take part! We will have the privilege of actually seeing the Lord. We will be overwhelmed with His glory. We will be His and will share eternity together with Him. That’s the glorious presentation John made. Then John makes a very practical and powerful application. He reminds us that if we are really looking forward to this glory in the future, it will have a profound effect upon the way we behave today. It may sound dreadfully old-fashioned, but so be it! A believer who is genuinely looking forward with great anticipation to the glorious day of meeting the Lord will genuinely seek to live for the Lord right now. John says that we are to make ourselves pure and pattern our lives after what the Lord would want us to do. We really need the Lord’s help to do this. But I can assure you that this is the precious actions of those who love the Lord. More about this tomorrow.

For today: Purity actually is not old-fashioned. It is the standard of believers in every age.

“Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me” (John 17:24).

Yesterday we thought a little bit about the glory of our great Savior, the Lord Jesus. It is impossible to describe the brilliance and shining majesty He possesses. We saw the three disciples on the mountain of transfiguration and that the glory of the Lord Jesus was overwhelming to them. Today’s verse has blessed my life for many years. The night before the Lord Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He cried to His Father a most magnificent prayer. One of the things the Lord Jesus prays is in anticipation of the wonderful day that we believers will stand before Him and see His glory. In fact the Lord Jesus tells us that we will “behold” His glory. That word has the idea of gazing upon, of seeing in full view. Just imagine it, dear Christian! The day is coming when we will gaze upon His glory, and we will worship at His feet. This should have a profound effect upon our lives. More about this tomorrow.

For today: We believers are bound for glory. What a great day that will be!

“And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved son: hear Him” (Mark 9:7).

This passage details the account of the miraculous transfiguration of the Lord Jesus Christ before His three disciples. In a tremendous way the Lord Jesus pulled back the veil that covered the glory he possessed before His incarnation. The Bible tells us that His clothes became shining and His face became as bright as the sun that shines in its fullness. Obviously the disciples were quite overwhelmed. What a vivid reminder for us of the amazing grace of our Lord demonstrated by His voluntary veiling of this glory that He possessed from eternity past! He humbled Himself and became a man. Voluntarily He restricted the free use of His eternal attributes as well as He veiled His glory. On only rare occasions do we see the powerful manifestation of the awesomeness of His eternal glory. However! The day is coming when the Lord Jesus is going to reveal His glory to us. More about this tomorrow. Why not invite a friend to check out Dr. Mike’s Daily Prescriptions to read about this wonderful grace?

For today: The Father loves His Son. So do we!

“I will be glad and rejoice in Thee: I will sing praise to Thy name, O Thou Most High” (Psalm 9:2).

Today is Monday. I trust that yesterday you had a great family reunion at your local church as believers gathered to sing praise to our great God. I wonder how many believers really do look forward to the worship services? I wonder how many believers pray for their pastor and Sunday school teachers as they prepare for their ministry? I wonder how many believers pray for the choir directors, the musicians, and those who serve in various offices and ministries? Do we ever pray for those who work in the nursery or those who greet? Do we pray for our ushers and those who serve in various offices? It just seems to me that if we are really rejoicing in and praising our great God, we will also be mindful of those who are serving. Don’t forget to pray for those who those who attended and were seated near you. Let’s ask the Lord to give us great joy as we praise Him today as well as when we worship Him with our fellow believers next Sunday. If you are anything like me, you have plenty for which to praise the Lord. He has blessed us in tremendous ways.

For today: Let’s praise the Lord for opportunities to worship. Let’s ask Him to bless those who serve as well.