How Incomprehensible His Glory !

I’m often mystified about my “Gloryteller” situation:
Why me?
Do I deserve the name?
Am I smart enough, or more to the point, wise enough?
Who am I to write of God’s glory?

Moses asked “Who am I that I should go . . .?” when being sent to the Pharaoh,
and God told him He would be with him.

Jeremiah said “I don’t know how . . .
and God told him He would be with him as well.

King David also asked “Who am I, that You would . . .?”

I am extremely less than those pillars of men . . .

Sure, sometimes I feel unworthy,

under-qualified,
ineligible,
over-extended,
in-over-my-head,
like I bit-off-more-than-I-can-chew,
like a fish out of water,
unfit for the task.

Nevertheless,
Here I am.
He gave me the name Gloryteller and no one else I know of.
He gave me a commission, a purpose, a message, a personal story to tell, and a way to tell it.
I do feel all of it was imparted to me so that I could give my own testimony,
my perception of His glory
in my rebirth, transformation, and salvation.

“What ‘other’ god can even come close to unfastening His sandals?” I ask.
So I will continue for Him; with Him.
I will do my best.

What about His glory? :

It has always existed, as has He, the Godhead,
the Trinity,
HE,
I AM,
has always existed.

It is said that His glory is fundamentally intrinsic and not external.
Yet, to me, it does seem external in a sense  –  in Jesus!

Heb 1:3 – “the Son is the radiance of God’s glory”!

In John 17, Jesus refers to the glory He shared with The Father before Creation.
The word “glory”, (or derivations thereof) appears more than 500 times in The Bible.


How can God’s glory be described but by our inadequate words?

Also, does he impart a finite, minor amount of His glory to us?
I think so, in a sense.

He gave us words to explore the above two questions:
There is a certain majesty and magnificence to mankind.
There is certainly an elegant splendor entwined in our souls,
although, in some, it is hidden, latent, or unfulfilled.
Humanity is capable of honor.
We are designed for distinction – raised to eminence at the very peak of creation.
We glimpse glorious greatness and grandeur in our own creations, our activities, our accomplishments.
We, as a people, respect those who earn renown, recognition, and good repute.
We are capable of love, in fact, I believe we are designed to love and be loved.

Regarding the “Human Condition”, all the above attributes are but analogies,
mere metaphors, and meager reminders of the true, absolute, and unfathomable glory of God.
Yet, we fall so far and fail so hard as a people and as individuals to live up to the demands of the concept of His glory.

As a people, we too often forget our citizenship in Heaven. As a group we love our world-born selves more than higher things unseen. We often make an eyesore of our gifts of whatever majesty, magnificence, elegance, and splendor that we have. Mankind, too often, makes a mockery of whatever eminence, greatness, and grandeur we have been given. We are prone to give our respect to people who hardly earn their renown, recognition, and reputation.

In God, there is only brightness and light. In us – humanity – there may be some light, but there is also darkness.
We are capable of being beautiful in the highest sense of the word, but, more often than not, we end up enacting the most terrible and ugly destruction. As humans, we are poor models of His glory, it seems to me, except for the one human who was also God.

And love.
Love!
In my mind, love is the easiest of all the attributes of His glory to understand even though we may not fully understand His perfect love. We want love – desire it – to a person.
But do we love?
Not always.
Not often.

Too often, not well.

We glimpse His glory, but fail to strive toward the God kind of glory.
(Not you and me, of course, but the majority of humanity.
Insert uncomfortable chuckle here . . .)

Can we see His glory?
I think each individual who is curious about God’s glory gets ‘close to it’ in a slightly different way. 
Again only in glimpses. Most people probably connect to it in nature. For me, a high mountain scene takes me there – or a flower, any plant, or animal, or bug, showcases His genius creative nature – seeing a baby, a child, a birth, the sky, the stars, life in its diversity, people in theirs.  

To be high-up in the mountains reminds me of His high holiness.
His transcendence.
His set-apart-ness.
His mystery.

The lightness of the air takes me close to the heaviness of His glory.

How mysterious
, His ability to know what is in our hearts;

to transform our hearts into new ones at the perfect time.

He is the pinnacle.
The Highest Being imaginable.
The Most High Lord.
His glory is elusive, yet we sense it because we are His. If the Holy Spirit is in us, it follows that at least some of His glory is too!
Unimaginable, but isn’t it true?

We may have a smattering, or more, of His glory in us.
We may have glimpses of His glory when observing His creation and when reading His Word.
We may even have personal revelation that points to His glory.

 But, I don’t pretend to understand the fullness of His glory.
If we were suddenly exposed to the reality of it, I think our minds would short circuit and shut down, but I do have faith that when He gives us our resurrected bodies and minds in Heaven, they will be able to contain the entirety of the knowledge of all His glory. We will be able to bear the ponderous weight of it and we will be in perfect, resplendent, glorious relationship with Him!
~  ~  ~

To conclude:

I am but a lowly one of a multitude of writers and authors (scribes) for Him –
just a scribe in His service – 
a scribe to the Lord

Psalm 96:8 : “ASCRIBE to the Lord the glory due unto His name.”

Is that not a Godincidental twist of wordplay?
Is that not a remarkable confirmation?!

So, despite my questioning and self doubt, it turns out that I’m intensely thankful for my Gloryteller situation.
It means:
I am loved, and revered, and thought of, by my FatherSonSpirit in Heaven.
I have a special purpose in life.
I have faith in His plan.
I have a story to tell and a way to tell it.
I have (and I am) a mind, body, soul, and heart on loan from Him.
He trusts me to use the above for His benefit and glory,
and for the benefit of others.

After all, when I first said,
“Who am I to write for You, I don’t even know how?!”
He did say “It is alright, I will be with you.”
And He has been, is now, and always will be.
(What did I expect, anyhow?)

I may feel unworthy, sometimes, but I am honored all the time!

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Image

How Incomprehensible His Glory !

I’m often mystified about my “Gloryteller” situation:
Why me?
Do I deserve the name?
Am I smart enough, or more to the point, wise enough?
Who am I to write of God’s glory?

Moses asked “Who am I that I should go . . .?” when being sent to the Pharaoh,
and God told him He would be with him.

Jeremiah said “I don’t know how . . .
and God told him He would be with him as well.

King David also asked “Who am I, that You would . . .?”

I am extremely less than those pillars of men . . .

Sure, sometimes I feel unworthy,

under-qualified,
ineligible,
over-extended,
in-over-my-head,
like I bit-off-more-than-I-can-chew,
like a fish out of water,
unfit for the task.

Nevertheless,
Here I am.
He gave me the name Gloryteller and no one else I know of.
He gave me a commission, a purpose, a message, a personal story to tell, and a way to tell it.
I do feel all of it was imparted to me so that I could give my own testimony,
my perception of His glory
in my rebirth, transformation, and salvation.

“What ‘other’ god can even come close to unfastening His sandals?” I ask.
So I will continue for Him; with Him.
I will do my best.

What about His glory? :

It has always existed, as has He, the Godhead,
the Trinity,
HE,
I AM,
has always existed.

It is said that His glory is fundamentally intrinsic and not external.
Yet, to me, it does seem external in a sense  –  in Jesus!

Heb 1:3 – “the Son is the radiance of God’s glory”!

In John 17, Jesus refers to the glory He shared with The Father before Creation.
The word “glory”, (or derivations thereof) appears more than 500 times in The Bible.


How can God’s glory be described but by our inadequate words?

Also, does he impart a finite, minor amount of His glory to us?
I think so, in a sense.

He gave us words to explore the above two questions:
There is a certain majesty and magnificence to mankind.
There is certainly an elegant splendor entwined in our souls,
although, in some, it is hidden, latent, or unfulfilled.
Humanity is capable of honor.
We are designed for distinction – raised to eminence at the very peak of creation.
We glimpse glorious greatness and grandeur in our own creations, our activities, our accomplishments.
We, as a people, respect those who earn renown, recognition, and good repute.
We are capable of love, in fact, I believe we are designed to love and be loved.

Regarding the “Human Condition”, all the above attributes are but analogies,
mere metaphors, and meager reminders of the true, absolute, and unfathomable glory of God.
Yet, we fall so far and fail so hard as a people and as individuals to live up to the demands of the concept of His glory.

As a people, we too often forget our citizenship in Heaven. As a group we love our world-born selves more than higher things unseen. We often make an eyesore of our gifts of whatever majesty, magnificence, elegance, and splendor that we have. Mankind, too often, makes a mockery of whatever eminence, greatness, and grandeur we have been given. We are prone to give our respect to people who hardly earn their renown, recognition, and reputation.

In God, there is only brightness and light. In us – humanity – there may be some light, but there is also darkness.
We are capable of being beautiful in the highest sense of the word, but, more often than not, we end up enacting the most terrible and ugly destruction. As humans, we are poor models of His glory, it seems to me, except for the one human who was also God.

And love.
Love!
In my mind, love is the easiest of all the attributes of His glory to understand even though we may not fully understand His perfect love. We want love – desire it – to a person.
But do we love?
Not always.
Not often.

Too often, not well.

We glimpse His glory, but fail to strive toward the God kind of glory.
(Not you and me, of course, but the majority of humanity.
Insert uncomfortable chuckle here . . .)

Can we see His glory?
I think each individual who is curious about God’s glory gets ‘close to it’ in a slightly different way. 
Again only in glimpses. Most people probably connect to it in nature. For me, a high mountain scene takes me there – or a flower, any plant, or animal, or bug, showcases His genius creative nature – seeing a baby, a child, a birth, the sky, the stars, life in its diversity, people in theirs.  

To be high-up in the mountains reminds me of His high holiness.
His transcendence.
His set-apart-ness.
His mystery.

The lightness of the air takes me close to the heaviness of His glory.

How mysterious
, His ability to know what is in our hearts;

to transform our hearts into new ones at the perfect time.

He is the pinnacle.
The Highest Being imaginable.
The Most High Lord.
His glory is elusive, yet we sense it because we are His. If the Holy Spirit is in us, it follows that at least some of His glory is too!
Unimaginable, but isn’t it true?

We may have a smattering, or more, of His glory in us.
We may have glimpses of His glory when observing His creation and when reading His Word.
We may even have personal revelation that points to His glory.

 But, I don’t pretend to understand the fullness of His glory.
If we were suddenly exposed to the reality of it, I think our minds would short circuit and shut down, but I do have faith that when He gives us our resurrected bodies and minds in Heaven, they will be able to contain the entirety of the knowledge of all His glory. We will be able to bear the ponderous weight of it and we will be in perfect, resplendent, glorious relationship with Him!
~  ~  ~

To conclude:

I am but a lowly one of a multitude of writers and authors (scribes) for Him –
just a scribe in His service – 
a scribe to the Lord

Psalm 96:8 : “ASCRIBE to the Lord the glory due unto His name.”

Is that not a Godincidental twist of wordplay?
Is that not a remarkable confirmation?!

So, despite my questioning and self doubt, it turns out that I’m intensely thankful for my Gloryteller situation.
It means:
I am loved, and revered, and thought of, by my FatherSonSpirit in Heaven.
I have a special purpose in life.
I have faith in His plan.
I have a story to tell and a way to tell it.
I have (and I am) a mind, body, soul, and heart on loan from Him.
He trusts me to use the above for His benefit and glory,
and for the benefit of others.

After all, when I first said,
“Who am I to write for You, I don’t even know how?!”
He did say “It is alright, I will be with you.”
And He has been, is now, and always will be.
(What did I expect, anyhow?)

I may feel unworthy, sometimes, but I am honored all the time!

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Image

The Psalm That Is Music To My Soul

*  *  *  *
*  *  *
*  *
!

Hallelujah!!!
   Have I found my defining verses?
 My life statement?
My heart’s fondest song? 
There are so many to choose from, but I think this one was chosen for me.
May I quote it for you?  
OK, I will.

Psalm 57:7-11  :

“My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make music.
Awake, my soul !
Awake, harp and lyre !
I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of You among the people.
For great is Your love reaching to the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
Let Your glory be over all the earth.”

Ohhh, 
I pause,
breathless in absolute wonder of it . . .

Do you have a Bible verse, or set of verses that define your life,
or are your heart’s fondest song? 
Please share them with all of us. 
  We will be blessed to hear them!
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

 

Image

Evil Translated To Glory

Great Evil Translated To Greater Glory

The greater the amount of evil defeated in saving one’s eternal life, the greater the glory attributed to God.
(LS 11-29-12)

I don’t mean that one sin is “worse” than another.  I don’t mean that a certain grace imparted is greater than another, nor that it is harder for God to defeat a “greater amount” of evil in any given person’s life.  There is no sin that can’t be forgiven, and no evil that He can’t defeat.
What I mean is that, from the perspective of a person who was granted the miracle of saving grace later in life, the odds of my seeing and accepting that grace seemed slim, at best.  The awe and wonder I have in light of that are immense!

I also mean that the large amount and the “seriousness” (as judged by Earthly standards) of the selfish evil accumulated in my own life that was defeated by Grace, is a metaphor for the “increasing amount” of wickedness, and evil, and selfishness I see accumulating in the world today.  The longer He lets it build up – the worse it gets – the more awe and wonder there will be when He comes in all His Glory!  That metaphor concludes with all the evil of the world being defeated in due time, and on that day, great will be the glory of God!  On that day, all people will “bow their knee” to Christ.  (Sadly to say, for a great many souls who don’t know Him, and consequently whom He doesn’t know, that will be their last desperate act before their everlasting death.)  For Eternal Life, and for the Great Glory of God, I continue to present my case – His case for evil to be translated to glory, and I continue to pray toward that end.

Image

Boiled Down

 

I have taken a hiatus, of sorts, from writing during this demanding season, but the heat has at least served to boil something down for me.  Today, while doing the most mundane work, wrapped in sweat and dirt, I was given renewed purpose and also a new way to express my purpose:

To come to know my Father-God’s GLORY in new, deeper, more exciting, more relevant terms, whether the individual revelations be particulate or magnificent;  and then, in my own way, with His guidance, to constantly make known that GLORY to all the people who have eyes to see, and for all nations who have the ears to hear.

I have faith in His faithfulness to bring this to be in me.

Solid stone heart made tender and pliable.

Unworthiness made righteous.

Dreary unforgiveness fading as the grey flees sunrise.

His Selfless Love replacing selfish “love”.

To come to know and, in the knowing, to make it known…..

Yes, this will be do-able.

He boiled it down.

 

Image

To Believe

God extends His grace to the large and to the small, to the “advanced in years” and to those few in years.  He extends it to everyone who will take it.  Grace is free.  It costs nothing but belief in Him, which is also free.  Sometimes there are those who accept His gifts thankfully and use them humbly to illustrate His majestic glory.  One such individual with a powerful message is the delightful Miss Jackie Evancho:

An Epic Post

Here’s a fun little facebook post I did about the word which is used by almost all the kids using the internet.  Like so many words, it has become slang to them, as in “that was an epic fail”, or “his fight with Valdemort was sooo epic“.

If the ‘youngers’ can create slang, so can I !

Epic is a BIG word!

In internet slang, “epic” means “extremely awesome”.

In everyday English usage, epic means “beyond the ordinary in size, extent, and scope”.

Epic can also mean “heroic; majestic; and impressively great.

An epic poem (or story?) pertains to a long composition, usually centered upon a hero,in which a series of achievements or events is narrated in an elevated style; the Iliad, for example.

To me, epic also implies a depth and a richness of truth surpassing even the most extremely awesome of events and objects observed in the natural universe.  I, then, am led to coin the phrase Ultra-Super-Epic, descriptive of the One Being, the Supreme Entity, the Only One Worthy of That Title.

He is the great I Am.  He is the Lord God Almighty!

Only He and His actions are Ultra-Super-Epic !

He is extremely awesome, and so much more!  He is way beyond the ordinary in size and scope!  He, is beyond heroic in His deeds!  He is far beyond “majestic and impressively great”!

The depth and richness of His love and compassion defy description.  The good news is that His Story can be read by anyone, and should be; for, His Word alone is THE Epic Love Story;  THE Super-Epic Historical Romance;  and THE Ultra-Super-Epic Poem of all time.

Epic! Yes He is, and far, far, beyond.

Hallelujah! I Have Returned! Miles Behind Me – Milestones Ahead!

Grandeur

I have taken nearly one month off – a rest, a break, a hiatus, a vacation, from briteing (blogging).  July has been great.  I had a birthday. I gardened and remodeled.  I had time together with family and friends.  I played lots of disc golf – even in the Utah desert.  Drove nearly 4,000 miles.  Learned more about fractals, self-similarity, and Quantum Mechanics.  Wow!   I’ve experienced Creator-God on a much deeper personal level in that I am discovering more of who He is by what He has made and what He has said about that (and me).

I have missed reading and writing here in the britesphere so I came back a little earlier than I had planned to comment on some dear friends’ sites.

NOW JOIN ME IN A SMALL CELEBRATION!

I arbitrarily determined that if I could get 2,ooo visits in six months I would consider myself a successful briter (blogger).  PRAISE GOD!  This morning the two-thousandth visitor checked in, beating my deadline by about two weeks.  CLINK GLASSES!  I realize that some of those visits were by the dreaded referrer spammers, but I refuse to let that dampen my spirits.  Thank you, dear reader, for contributing your readership. Thank you, my new and old friends for commenting here!  These things are a gift to me – and they spell encouragement to a new writer – and they are greatly appreciated.  You all remind me that it is not the quantity of readers but their quality that really matters.  You are THE BEST!

NOW,  FORWARD, TO THE NEXT THOUSANDS!

Upstream Run

This brite post is a tribute to a good man, Les Wenger.  As husband, father, uncle, and friend, Les will be sorely missed.  The story “Upstream Run” was conceived to honor his memory.  Thanks to his family: Mary G., Diane, Andrea, Gerald, and Peter for their indispensable parts in the creation of this post.  Please go here to view Andrea and Peter’s  beautiful tribute.  Then click here to read my story, “Upstream Run” written to honor Les, and to glorify God.  Most of all, thank You my awesome Lord God for giving me so much.

Les Wenger

Things Beyond My Understanding

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.    Proverbs 3:5

Way beyond my understanding.

All i know is

It was a miracle

And the miracle was a gift.

Delivered to crumbling doorstep

Outside my sagging door locked tight

Nailed shut.

Yet breached,

It sat inside on rotting floor

Shining to be opened.

To be believed past unbelief

By miracle, not my work.

Gift

It is salvation wrapped in grace undeserved.

The gift of faith to see hope once unseen.

A new heart unchained

Full with compassion

And repentance like a switching wind.

Heart to feel abundant love long unfelt

And eyes to see as i am seen

Then others too, the same.

And mercy, charity, a call to pray

A heart to sing, a heart to worship,

Hands to raise.

All unwrapped and taken out,

When gift, upon gift, inside gift, given

Then took away all fears and doubts

Healed my aching soul complete

And full and whole and more and more

A heart to tell of  gifts and Glory

Of  His Great Love,

And gratitude, a heart of thanks,

I thank you JESUS, thank you LORD!

That You should care for me,

To give me gifts,

Rebuild my house,

To give Yourself.

Miracles beyond my full understanding.

But nothing is beyond Yours!

Image

The Psalm That Is Music To My Soul

*  *  *  *
*  *  *
*  *
!

Hallelujah!!!
   Have I found some of my defining verses?
 My life statement?
My heart’s fondest song? 
There are so many to choose from,
but I think this one was chosen for me.

May I quote it for you?  
OK, I will.

Psalm 57:7-11  :

“My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make music.
Awake, my soul !
Awake, harp and lyre !
I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of You among the people.
For great is Your love reaching to the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
Let Your glory be over all the earth.”

Ohhh, 
I pause,
breathless in absolute wonder of it . . .

Do you have a Bible verse, or set of verses that help to define your life,
or are your heart’s fondest song? 
Please share them with all of us. 
  We will be blessed to hear them!
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

 

Image

Sing Glory! Glory to God in the Highest!

There aren’t many who can write and sing of God’s glory with more heart than Keith and Kristyn Getty.  Many thanks to you both, and thank you to Bob Marshall, for uploading this beautiful video.   Hallelujah!

*

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Image

About The Music Links Below

I don't own, and have no claim on, these music videos. The following are simply links inside my website pointing back to the original locations of the videos. The names of the creators of these videos are cited wherever possible, and only "embedding-enabled" selections are used.

The Basic Christian Library

"Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. This is fundamentally what Christianity is all about.

"The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel. Another converted atheist presents His compelling case for believing in Jesus.

"Left To Tell" by Imaculee Ilibagiza. This profound work is her own extraordinary story of endurance, discovery of the Holy Spirit, grace, healing, and an astonishingly compelling account of the necessity for forgiveness.

Compelling Christian Fiction Reads

"The Circle" 4-book series by Ted Dekker.
A man is the bridge between two very different worlds. Sound familiar? Can he save both? This T.D. work is brilliant in my book.

"This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness" by Frank E. Peretti. Tales of spiritual warfare from a unique perspective. Stirred a small controversy, but sold millions. What are we Christians afraid of? Hey, it's fiction!

Copyright Licensing

Creative Commons License
gloryteller.wordpress.com, and all proprietary work found here, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Write Me Here:

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 481 other subscribers

My Signature Story

"I AM NOT MY OWN" is the piece that inspired the building of this site. It is the story that this site, as well as my life, is centered around. This letter to you is the one i would most like for you to read out of all the ones you will find here, because it describes how profoundly the works of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit can change one human life.

For Your Reading Enjoyment, This Is Like A Park, Use It, Enjoy It, and Leave Everything Where You Found It.

The content here's not to be used,

But to only be read and perused.

If you copy it off,

My lawyer's not soft,

And your fortune is mine - you got sued!

Gloryteller :-)

%d bloggers like this: