LET CHRIST BE THE GLORY OF YOUR STRENGTH

Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.

John 8:54 NIV

The journey of the Israelites with God, from Egypt through the desert, reveals the need for self denial and to rely strictly on Christ as our hope of glory. Pause to think about this; The Israelites rejoiced at the signs in Egypt, but lost it when they encountered the Red sea. At the desert, they murmured when they were thirsty, for they forgot the mighty miracle of the dividing of the red sea.

When they got hungry , they complained against God who quenched their thirst with water from the rock. In Psalms 78:20 CEV, they said, “It's true God struck the rock and water gushed out like a river, but can he give his people bread and meat?” Even when God fed them with manna and meat daily, they got used to manna and called it wretched food. (Numbers 21:5) They even doubted that God who delivered them from the great Pharaoh of Egypt could give them the land of Canaan.

This could be why God gave them the sign of the bronze snake in the desert. They were not told to look at the poisonous snakes or try to fight them, rather to simply look at the bronze serpent and live. This is where our self denial comes in. The human mind is insatiable, always looking for something to worry about, even when everything seems good. Therefore, no matter how good or bad our circumstances are, we should deny ourselves and rely on the finished work of the cross.

Do not glorify yourself, instead let Christ glorify us!

WE PRAY FOR THE GRACE TO LIVE IN SELF DENIAL FOR CHRIST TO BE OUR SOURCE OF GLORY IN JESUS NAME AMEN!

THANK YOU JESUS!