How Great I Art?

" But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called Great." And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic." (Acts 8:9-11, ESV)

Simon was a man after my own heart. It is so easy to get caught up in this world trying to impress people, trying to show the world how great I am. The world is about personal success. The American Dream is about achieving fame and fortune on your own.

I want people to like me. I want people to see how gifted I am. But the reality is my real purpose is to show people how great God is, and how he has gifted all of us to glorify Him. It is easy to get in the way of that purpose.

Lord, Help me to move out of the way. Let your Glory fall on you alone. May my days and nights be spent on giving you the glory and thanking you for your blessings. Lord, I deserve only death, but through your gracious gift I receive life eternal. Let any Glory that comes my way be deflected to you. Let any greatness that comes my way be only a gift from you. May all see you in my life no matter the circumstances.

How Great Thou Art

O Lord my God,When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars,I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout The universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

The Apostle Peter and the Masters

"And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: "Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all." (Acts 3:12-16, ESV)

Yesterday, as we had family and friends over for Easter dinner, we watch the Masters golf tournament. The room, like most rooms in America, was rooting for Tiger, or perhaps just expecting Tiger to win. But the opposite happened. Zach Johnson, a guy that nobody knew, and had won only 1 tournament before, outplayed the field and even the mighty Tiger Woods.

We were all stunned by his performance, expecting him to fade like everyone else had. We expected him to crumble under the pressure. Then we watch him interviewed after completing the last 18 holes and as he watched Tiger come after his score. Teary eyed, he kept mentioning how Jesus helped him through this day. He kept thanking and praising Jesus. We hadn't won the tournament yet, but he still was emotionally overwhelmed with praise and thanks for Jesus.

The room turned from rooting for Tiger to rooting for this humble Zach Johnson. Then it remember me of Peter, who had just healed the cripple beggar, didn't take any of the glory or credit, but gave the rightfuly glory to his Lord.

Lord, help me to remember to give you the glory. Help me to be a witness and to be bold in the works that you do through me.