#glorifying god

John 15:1-14

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are my friends if you do whatever I command you." (See remaining chapter verses)

- A Walk In The Garden Devotions

The Psalm of the Cross

1 My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Why art Thou so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? 2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but Thou hearest not; and in the night season I am not silent. 3 But Thou art holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. 4 Our fathers trusted in Thee; they trusted, and Thou didst deliver them. 5 They cried unto Thee and were delivered; they trusted in Thee and were not confounded. 6 But I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men and despised by the people. 7 All they that see Me laugh Me to scorn; they shoot out their lip, they shake their head, saying, 8 “He trusted in the LORD that He would deliver him; let Him deliver him, seeing He delighted in him!” 9 But Thou art He that took Me out of the womb; Thou didst make Me hope when I was upon My mother’s breasts. 10 I was cast upon Thee from the womb; Thou art My God from My mother’s belly.

11 Be not far from Me, for trouble is near; for there is none to help. 12 Many bulls have compassed Me about; strong bulls of Bashan have beset Me round. 13 They gaped at Me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of My body. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue cleaveth to My jaws; and Thou hast brought Me into the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded Me; the assembly of the wicked have enclosed Me; they pierced My hands and My feet. 17 I can count all My bones; they look and stare upon Me. 18 They part My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture. 19 But be Thou not far from Me, O LORD; O My Strength, hasten Thee to help Me! 20 Deliver My soul from the sword, My only one from the power of the dog.

21 Save Me from the lion’s mouth; for Thou hast heard Me from the horns of the unicorns. 22 I will declare Thy name unto My brethren; in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee. 23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise Him! All ye the seed of Jacob, glorify Him; and fear Him, all ye the seed of Israel. 24 For He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath He hid His face from Him, but when He cried unto Him, He heard. 25 My praise shall be of Thee in the great congregation; I will pay My vows before them that fear Him. 26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied; they shall praise the LORD that seek Him. Your heart shall live for ever. 27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee. 28 For the kingdom is the LORD’S, and He is the governor among the nations. 29 All they that are fat upon the earth shall eat and worship; all they that go down to the dust shall bow before Him, for none can keep alive his own soul. 30 A seed shall serve Him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

31 They shall come and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that He hath done this. — Psalm 22 | Third Millennium Bible (TMB) Third Millennium Bible, New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. Cross References: Numbers 10:32; Deuteronomy 10:21; Joshua 2:11; 2 Kings 14:26; 1 Chronicles 5:20; Job 16:10; Job 25:6; Psalm 17:10; Psalm 24:4; Psalm 35:18; Psalm 38:21; Psalm 40:9; Psalm 40:16; Psalm 42:3; Psalm 71:5-6; Psalm 99:6; Isaiah 46:3; Matthew 6:13; Matthew 27:35; Matthew 27:39; Matthew 27:43; Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:24; Luke 21:20; Luke 23:27; John 19:28; Philippians 3:2; 2 Timothy 4:17; Hebrews 2:12; Hebrews 5:7; Revelation 19:5

For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. ❤

Hi there, dear. First things first, I promise you, God does not hate you for being trans. God is love -- They do not hate anyone. Here is a post on God’s love, how They love everyone unconditionally and eternally.

Here is a post on what it means to glorify God and why we do it. In that post, you’ll see that we best glorify God by living out what Jesus taught us -- to love God and love our neighbor; to love the Creator and to love all Creation.

I also see a unique way for trans people to glorify God -- we do so by letting go of the ideologies of the world that tell us we have to fit into a rigid gender structure and by instead embracing what and who God made us to be. This post includes some links to videos by Austen Hartke that talk about how we live as Christians who are trans -- he affirms that God calls us to full, abundant life! 

Feeling like you’re reaching out to nothing, getting nothing out of prayer, is totally normal; you aren’t doing anything wrong, but it also doesn’t mean that God isn’t there. A good number of posts under the “Faith and Prayer” section of our FAQ deal with this. One of them offers some insight into why we pray and “how” to pray that might help you move towards more meaningful prayer. This one talks about feeling disconnected from God while praying. 

This one talks about how doubt is not the opposite of faith -- that doubts are perfectly healthy and don’t make you a “bad Christian,” if you choose to become Christian. And here’s one about doubting God’s existence. 

This post is about feeling closer to God, and also offers some suggestions for selecting a Bible. If you don’t “get” what’s going on in the Bible, that is also totally normal -- it is, after all, an ancient text, way different from the writing produced today and written about cultures alien to ours. One suggestion I make in that post is to start with a children’s Bible; I recommend an illustrated family Bible that uses the actual text of the Bible (rather than paraphrasing it) but only select passages and with plenty of commentary. It’s okay if you aren’t ready to really dig in to the Bible yet, though!

The Psalm of the Cross

1 My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Why art Thou so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? 2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but Thou hearest not; and in the night season I am not silent. 3 But Thou art holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. 4 Our fathers trusted in Thee; they trusted, and Thou didst deliver them. 5 They cried unto Thee and were delivered; they trusted in Thee and were not confounded. 6 But I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men and despised by the people. 7 All they that see Me laugh Me to scorn; they shoot out their lip, they shake their head, saying, 8 "He trusted in the LORD that He would deliver him; let Him deliver him, seeing He delighted in him!" 9 But Thou art He that took Me out of the womb; Thou didst make Me hope when I was upon My mother's breasts. 10 I was cast upon Thee from the womb; Thou art My God from My mother's belly.

11 Be not far from Me, for trouble is near; for there is none to help. 12 Many bulls have compassed Me about; strong bulls of Bashan have beset Me round. 13 They gaped at Me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of My body. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue cleaveth to My jaws; and Thou hast brought Me into the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded Me; the assembly of the wicked have enclosed Me; they pierced My hands and My feet. 17 I can count all My bones; they look and stare upon Me. 18 They part My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture. 19 But be Thou not far from Me, O LORD; O My Strength, hasten Thee to help Me! 20 Deliver My soul from the sword, My only one from the power of the dog.

21 Save Me from the lion's mouth; for Thou hast heard Me from the horns of the unicorns. 22 I will declare Thy name unto My brethren; in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee. 23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise Him! All ye the seed of Jacob, glorify Him; and fear Him, all ye the seed of Israel. 24 For He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath He hid His face from Him, but when He cried unto Him, He heard. 25 My praise shall be of Thee in the great congregation; I will pay My vows before them that fear Him. 26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied; they shall praise the LORD that seek Him. Your heart shall live for ever. 27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee. 28 For the kingdom is the LORD'S, and He is the governor among the nations. 29 All they that are fat upon the earth shall eat and worship; all they that go down to the dust shall bow before Him, for none can keep alive his own soul. 30 A seed shall serve Him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

And there were shepherds residing in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night. Just then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord! And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying:

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the Baby, who was lying in the manger. After they had seen the Child, they spread the message they had received about Him. And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.