Saturday, August 8, 2015

Soli Deo Gloria

As I was contemplating a name for this blog, the biggest question was, what did I hope to accomplish with it? The answer was simple. My goal is to bring glory to God, hence the name. SOLI DEO GLORIA is Latin, it means For the Glory of God Alone. Scripture teaches that the Sovereignty of God is over every aspect of our lives as believers. We are here for His glory and every facet of our life should reflect that fact. We should live our lives as believers under the Lordship o Christ. "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31) "Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." (1 Peter 4:11) Far to often, as we go about the daily grind that is our lives, we forget this very basic responsibly. We compartmentalize our faith. I was talking to a gentleman a few weeks ago about some decisions that he had made in the running of his business. When I enquired as to why he made his decision he said "it is just business" I asked him how his actions brought glory to God. Basically he said that faith has no place in business. Business is business and faith is for church. THIS CANNOT BE! While I freely admit that I have been guilty of that in the past, I would say it isn't personal, it is just business. The harsh reality is however, that it is personal. Everything we do, we think, see, listen to; or say is personal. It is personal because it directly reflect who we claim to be in Christ. Does it bring him Glory? The sole purpose for our existence is to worship God for His glory. Soli Deo Gloria! I don't consider myself a great theologian or even an outstanding scholar. As a matter of fact, I tell the people that God gives me the honor of teaching that I am just a hillbilly try to serve his master. You see my spelling is awful and grammar is a joke, but none of that matters as much as saying what He would have me say and doing what He would have me do. It is for His Glory! This brings me to the point of this blog. It is my aim to take a practical look at the doctrine of the church, to see how it plays out in our everyday lives as Christians. Iron sharpens Iron. In Him Paul Throop VDM