GOD'S SPLENDOR AND GLORY

Photo provided by Steve & Donna Rogers

O sing unto the LORD a new song: 

sing unto the LORD, all the earth.

Sing unto the LORD, bless his 

name; shew forth his salvation from 

day to day.  Declare his glory among the 

heathen, his wonders among all people.

For the LORD is great, and greatly to 

be praised: he is to be feared above all 

gods.  For all the gods of the nations 

are idols: but the LORD made the 

heavens.  Honour and majesty are 

before him: strength and beauty are 

in his sanctuary.  Give unto the LORD, 

O ye kindreds of the people, give 

unto the LORD glory and strength.

Give unto the LORD the glory due 

unto his name: bring an offering, and 

come into his courts.  O worship the 

LORD in the beauty of holiness: 

fear before him, all the earth.  Say 

among the heathen that the LORD 

reigneth:  the world also shall be 

established that it shall not be moved: 

he shall judge the people righteously.

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the 

earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the 

fulness thereof.  Let the field be joyful, 

and all that is therein: then shall all the 

trees of the wood rejoice  Before the 

LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to 

judge the earth: he shall judge the world 

with righteousness, and the people with 

his truth.

Psalm 96

FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING, THOU ART GOD

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He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most 

High shall abide under the shadow of the 

Almighty.  I will say of the LORD, He is 

my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him 

will I trust.  Surely he shall deliver thee 

from the snare of the fowler, and from 

the noisome pestilence.  He shall cover thee 

with his feathers, and under his wings shalt 

thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield 

and buckler.  Thou shalt not be afraid for 

the terror by night; nor for the arrow that 

flieth by day;  Nor for the pestilence that 

walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction 

that wasteth at noonday.  A thousand shall 

fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right 

hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only

with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the

 reward of the wicked.  Because thou hast

made the LORD, which is my refuge, 

even the most High, thy habitation;

There shall no evil befall thee, neither 

shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

 For he shall give his angels charge

 over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

They shall bear thee up in their hands,

lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: 

the young lion and the dragon shalt thou

trample under feet. Because he hath set his 

love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: 

I will set him on high, because he hath 

known my name. He shall call upon me, 

and I will answer him: I will be with him 

in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour 

him.  With long life will I satisfy him, and 

shew him my salvation.

Psalm 91

BEAR YE ONE ANOTHER'S BURDENS

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Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a 

fault, ye which are spiritual, restore 

such an one in the spirit of meekness; 

considering thyself, lest thou also be 

tempted.  Bear ye one another’s burdens, 

and so fulfil the law of Christ.

GALATIANS 6:1-2

THOU WILT NOT LEAVE MY SOUL IN HELL

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I have set the LORD always before me: 

because he is at my right hand, I shall 

not be moved.  Therefore my heart is glad, 

and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall 

rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my 

soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer 

thine Holy One to see corruption.

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: 

in thy presence is fulness of joy; at 

thy right hand there are pleasures 

for evermore.

Psalm 16:8-11

TURN UNTO THE LORD YOUR GOD

Photo provided by Pennie Beth Saum 

Therefore also now, saith the LORD, 

turn ye even to me with all your heart, 

and with fasting, and with weeping, 

and with mourning:  And rend your heart, 

and not your garments, and turn unto the 

LORD your God: for he is gracious and 

merciful, slow to anger, and of great 

kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

Joel 2:12-13

BRIGHTNESS OF HIS GLORY

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God, who at sundry times and in divers manners 

spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, 

whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by 

whom also he made the worlds;  Who being the 

brightness of his glory, and the express image 

of his person, and upholding all things by the 

word of his power, when he had by himself 

purged our sins, sat down on the right hand 

of the Majesty on high;

Hebrews 1:1-3

OUR IDENTIFY

A Devotion by Steve Long 

First of all, Jesus Identified With Us.

He entered humanity through a miraculous conception (Matthew 1.20), but was born in lowly conditions. His mother laid him in a feed trough in a stable. He didn’t come to identify with Kings, though the King he was; he came to identify with all of lost humanity, the rich and poor the great and the small the powerful and the humble, the religious and the pagan, male and female; people of every heritage, skin color and background.

The bible says that though he was God, he humbled himself far beyond what anyone could imagine.
Christ Jesus… made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2.5, 7 and 8)

He lowered himself below his own creatures (the angels) for a time, identifying with our suffering, even our dying. He is unashamed to call the redeemed his brothers and sisters.

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren. (Hebrews 2.9-10).

He became flesh because he wanted to come to us and be one of us.

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (Hebrews 2.14-15).

This sinless man even identified with our sinful condition so that he might save us from our sins.

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5.21).

Secondly, Our Identity is Now in Him.

We do not belong to ourselves but to him.

Know ye not that … ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. (1 Corinthians 6.19-20).

We now identify with him in every aspect of our lives. “In him we live, and move, and have our being.” (Acts 17.28)

· His righteousness is now our righteousness.
· His Father is now our Father.
· We have no worth of our own but are worthy in him.
· His name is now our name – we are called Christians.
· His will is now to be our will.
· His purpose has become our purpose.
· His desire is now our desire.
· We now love what he loves.
· We now hate what he hates.
· We identify with his suffering.
· His death is our death.
· His resurrection life is now our life.
· Apart from him, we can do nothing.
· We have a new family – his.
· His glory is now our glory.
· His story is now our story.
· His home is now our home - heaven.