Magnify The Lord!

When we read the scripture, “O magnify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together.” (Psalms 34:3), we usually think of expressing honor to God in praise and worship.

However, in Philippians 1:20:21, Paul gives us a different slant on magnifying the Lord. “Christ will be magnified and get glory and praise in this body of mine and be boldly exalted in my person, whether through life or through death. For to me to live is Christ – His life in me: and to die in gain – the gain of the glory of eternity.” (Amplified) Let us consider what it means to magnify Jesus in our bodies.

The definition of magnify is to give honor, to make great, to enlarge. If words are too small for us to read, we might use a magnifying glass to enlarge them, so we could see them better. In actual fact, we would either put the magnifying glass directly on the words or position it towards them. The glass would be focused upon the words we wish to see, and we would have to look through the glass to see them.

What do we magnify or put the magnifying glass on in our lives? What are we focusing on? Is it Jesus? Or is it self? If we focus on ourselves, we are in essence magnifying ourselves. So what we see is still ‘self’ and all that we ‘are’, including our failures and wrong habits, and/or our successes and all we do that is right and good. When we look at or focus on ourselves, we also will naturally draw other people’s attention to us.

Consider this familiar scenario. We see someone standing outside looking up at the clouds and pointing towards the sky. As we watch, someone else comes and does the same. Soon we have to go see for ourselves what everyone is looking at. If we look at ourselves, the magnifying glass is directed at our hearts or ‘self’. To personalize this, I look at me. How to I measure up? Am I a success or a failure? Am I happy or sad? Is life hard or easy for me? Am I a good Christian or a bad Christian? If I stay focused on me, eventually other people’s attention will be drawn to me. And I might get criticized or exalted depending upon how I am evaluated by myself and others. Unfortunately, we all tend to look at ourselves and each other, judging what is good and/or bad in all our lives. It is still we who are being focused upon or ‘magnified’, not Jesus. People see us, not Jesus.

John the Baptist said in John 3:30, “I must decrease, and He must increase.” As we take the magnifying glass and focus it on Jesus in ourselves and each other, He is increased. This magnifies and gives honor and glory to the God who created the universe, who lives in those who believe in Jesus Christ. Let’s look through the glass and see Jesus. We look at who Jesus is, even if it’s ‘only us’ He lives in. We see His love, His goodness, His mercy, and His power, and He lives in us! And as we keep our eyes on Him and point to Him, pretty soon someone else will come along and be curious about what we’re looking at with such rapt attention and awe. And Jesus will be magnified in our lives, not us. What we all will see in Jesus. Is that not what we all long to do, to “magnify the Lord” in our lives?

Jesus prays to the Father in John 17:22-23, The glory which you have given Me, I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that you have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” We can cooperate with God’s plan for us to be drawn together in one by putting our magnifying glass upon Jesus, not just in our own lives, but in one another’s lives as well. Let us help each other to focus on Jesus, rather than self, within each of us. Let us magnify and exalt the lord together!

BUT - For Us or Against Us?

How many of us have heard or said these words?
“I believe God loves me, BUT...”.
“I know God forgives me, BUT…”.
“The Scripture says…, BUT …”.
These are all words using the big “BUT” against us.

The following is a reversal. Why not use “BUT” for us?
1. God loves me totally, completely, unequivocally, irrevocably, forever - past, present, future. NO BUTS. (Romans 8:35-39). I was cut off from God (through Adam and Eve), BUT God sent Jesus (because He loves me – see #1) to shed His blood for the remission of my sins, bringing me into salvation and relationship with God. (John 3:16)
3. In my flesh there is no good thing, BUT my flesh has been crucified with Christ. My flesh can’t keep God’s standard, BUT Jesus is keeping it for me. (Romans 7:18-Romans 8:4; Philippians 2:13)
4. I am experiencing hard times and tribulation, BUT Jesus Christ lives in me and He has overcome the world; I am more than a conqueror in Him. (John 16:33: Romans 8:37)
5. My life doesn’t seem victorious, BUT God is completing the work He began in me. (Philippians 1:6)

CHALLENGE:
Next time you use the little word “BUT”, use it for you (positive), rather than against you (negative). Make your own list! Besides giving you a whole new outlook, it also works wonders in searching the Scriptures to see if a thing is true, rather than searching to see if a thing isn’t true. “The Bereans received the Word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” ( Acts 17:11)

Final Thoughts...
“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, BUT WE KNOW that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2)

“The wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life.” (Romans 6:23)

Seidel Archives Introduction

Several years ago, I put Harlas' and my writings into church publications such as monthly newsletters, bulletins, and magazines. A couple of the magzines were Branch News and Heartbeat (Listen for the Heartbeat of the Spirit) from The Vine Christian Fellowship in Eugene, OR. I'm labeling these articles as Seidel Archives, rather than Heartbeat archives, since I realized a lot of our writings were so spread out.

I'm having to retype these as I go (from existing hard copies). May you be encouraged and blessed from reading or "rereading" them with me.