Devotion - Monday, April 28, 2008

East Heights Daily Devotional
Monday, April 28, 2008

Colossians. 1:27  “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
1 John 4:4  “…the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
Psalm 72:19  “May the whole earth be filled with his glory.”  Amen and Amen.

Where does the Lord dwell?
On a recent weekend retreat I was awakened early one morning by a chorus of voices singing by candlelight, “I love you with the love of the Lord, I see in you, the glory of my King and I love you with the love of the Lord.”  It truly sounded like a heavenly host. Even so, because I’m not a morning person, my initial fleeting, sarcastic, thought was “I bet you do. First of all if you loved me you’d let me sleep and secondly, it’s hard to imagine anything less likely than someone seeing the glory of God on my face at this un-Godly hour!”  I quickly came to my senses and recognized the sweetness of the moment, though I was no less sleepy – coffee to the rescue! Do you ever hear people comment on seeing God in someone else and marvel at the thought?

My husband and I have spent each Sunday evening since January in an intense Bible study focused on world evangelism and missions. It has been a blessing and a challenge on many levels. For all these weeks, we have explored mission movements, theories, history, and the task that lies before us as Christians who take seriously the Great Commission and the task of seeing that there is the presence of Christ in every place in the form of a gathered body of believers.

Through this class, I began to get the connection between the multiplication of churches and the Old Testament vision and prophecy repeated in numerous books of the Bible, such as Numbers 14:21 which says “All the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.”  So what about that line in the song: “I see in you the glory of my King?”

Peter Wagner in Spreading the Fire, writes that “multitudes of churches in many parts of the world, although imperfectly, do accurately reflect the glory of God through Jesus Christ.” As I reflected on that statement, I recognized that this is the mission of the church. We must be, intentionally and consistently, the place where people can literally see the Body of Christ. The place where God’s glory is revealed in practical ways – hands on, rubber meets the road – Christ living every day among us. As people participated in worship, study, service, and outreach ministries of East Heights this weekend, we all reflected God’s glory to the world around us and saw the face of the living Christ in the faces of others. Thanks be to God!

Efforts to revitalize the old and plant new churches so that the church can be more effective and reveal Christ in Kansas and around the world are obedient responses to fulfill both the Old Testament prophecies and the Great Commission. Every Christ centered attitude, word, and deed has the tremendous potential to reveal the face of Christ and draw others to the Lord through Christ while spreading and displaying God’s glory in this broken world. Even more than planting churches, more than saving souls, we long for the day when it can be said that the earth is indeed full of the glory of the Lord.

And where is His glory? “My glory is made visible in them.” John 17:10

Will others see Christ in you today? How is God calling you to spread the Gospel message and share his love with those in your path this day? How will God use your gifts to build up the body of Christ?

Prayer:  Christ be in me and all about me this day.  Show me your glory Lord and show your glory through me I pray.

Devotions this week are written by:

Beth Strickler
Director of Prayer  Ministries, East Heights United Methodist Church
Beth@ehumc.org / 682-6518
www.ehumc.org