THOUGHT:  You see, glory is:
                         --respect;  --honor;  --Majesty;  --dignity; --praise; --worship
Think about it. How and to whom or what have you given glory?

I was talking to someone a while ago and they said to me, "You can't even  have a normal conversation, but it is okay. It's just you."

Now, I hope you are thinking, right now, what did they mean by that. If that is not what you are thinking, I'd like to know. Maybe they were right?

I don't remember what we were talking about, but... (side bar)

Here are two things about me, that I know about myself. There may be many other things about me that you know, but I am blind to, but here is what I know.

The first thing is, I love a good story. Wait, a good God story. I love to tell them and I love just as much to hear one.

The second thing is I am always straining, what I see and hear through the Bible. Where are there similarities in the Bible? What scripture makes that true?

Okay, back to my story...

I don't remember what we were talking about, but I was adding scripture to their story and making it a God story. It was then they said, "You can't even have a normal conversation, but it's okay. It's just you."

In that little statement, I got a little uneasy. "Were they right?"

I actually pondered the statement for several days. I found myself, when in conversations over those few days, very quiet. Trying to monitor all my words. Afraid to say some things.

I went to bed thinking about it and I wake up thinking about it. Then somewhere around day three I laid it all to rest.

I found that I was uneasy because I didn't want to be one of those people who only talked about Jesus. I was afraid that doing so would mean the audience to whom I could speak would be limited because there would be people who didn't want to talk to me because that was all I talked about.

SCRIPTURE:  ​Revelation 4:11, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their beings."

So, I will not be ashamed. I do pray for discernment and wisdom in all my conversations. I want to know what to say and when to say it, but also courage to say what God would have me say.

So, maybe I can't have normal conversations. I have tried to have a conversation without seeing God in it, but it rarely happens. When I am talking or someone is talking to me, in my head, it is like a movie. I am seeing their words and I am constantly searching for Scripture that makes their words come to life in Christ.

Even when my efforts to have a normal conversation are intentional, I usually have to breakdown and tell them I was trying not to relate it to scripture, but I just can't.  I have also decided I will no longer try.

If you find yourself in a conversation with me, wait for it... wait for it.... It is bound to happen.

I also want to challenge you. How often are you gathering information and trying to discern it on your own?

Use God's Word as your gauge. It won't let you down.

PRAYER:  LORD, I admit, I don't want to put anyone off with my conversations of you. I want my stories to reflect you and cause them to want to know you for themselves. So, please never take away from me the willingness and desire to see you in all things, but also, never allow me to let that be the cause of people not wanting to get to know you.

Help me to remember: ​"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their beings."

THOUGHT:  Now, as humans we give honor and glory; to others, to things and even to ourselves. Why not give the honor and glory to whom it belongs?

When I was married, clearly by that statement you know something went wrong, there was some issues of misplaced honor and glory. My husband thought highly of me. His words were "he put me on a pedestal."

He was not the only one with misplaced honor and glory.  I also thought the world of him.

Okay, so you may be thinking, "what went wrong?"

​Well, there were many things, on both our parts, that went wrong, but let's talk about the misplaced honor and glory. 

When I placed my honor and glory in him and he in me, we set the stage for disaster. Neither I nor he could live up to those expectations so when one of us failed, it was a failure for both of us.

We are flawed. We are going to disappoint. We are going to hurt. We are going to get it wrong. And when our glory and honor is placed in us, in each other, we are going fall apart and because we both fall apart, neither can keep the other up.​

SCRIPTURE:  1 Timothy 1:17, Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

God doesn't fail or disappoint. Now we can expect God to do things our way and feel disappointed that God did it the better way; His way, but that is not God disappointing.

You see part of the reason is we can only see right here and right now. We don't know what the next minute holds. But when the honor and glory is on the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God then we live our purpose.  We were created for God's glory.

Can you think of a time when  you were the giver of displaced honor and glory?

Can you see how giving God the honor and glory is not just what we should be doing, but it is the best thing to do?

PRAYER:  Lord, you are immortal, invisible, the only God. Let me always give you honor and glory, forever and ever. Amen.

THOUGHT:  You see, I was created for His glory.

I often try to get to the root of things and focus on that and realize the rest of what is experienced as a result of dealing with the root is just lagniappe (a little something extra).

Here is what I mean. I often say, I live for an audience of One - that is, what I do, I do with God in mind. Now, as a result of that, those around me will reap certain benefits; I will treat you with respect, I will treat you with dignity, I will value who you are, I will share truth with you, you get it..  Not that I don't want to serve you, but you are not the reason I do.

I strive to live that way because I was created for God's glory.  I don't take that lightly. 

SCRIPTURE:  Isaiah 43:7, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.

God formed me and made me for His glory.  I am called by His name.  I was formed and made by God.  Just thinking about that... God created me to display His glory. If that is the case, should that not always me the goal of all my actions, and all other things are just lagniappe?

So, if the reason for my existence is to display the glory of God, then there is nothing I should do that does not display is glory.

1 Corinthians 10:31, So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Now, I have a long way to go, but I want God to be at the forefront of all I do, always.

Is that your desire?

PRAYER: Lord, I know I could never increase your glory. You are God alone; no help needed from me. But, yet you created me to display your glory to others, so that they too can come to know you and live for your glory. Lord, give me the strength to live my life to glorify you.