Created for Holiness! (Part 4 of 7)

Hello Friends!

Welcome Back! Let’s continue to explore the eternally important topic for the Christian Church today… HOLINESS!

Created for Holiness! (Part 4 of 7)

King and Lord!

Jesus Christ is our Sovereign KING – He is the KING of kings and LORD of lords!

 

And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS – Revelation 19:16

Throughout the Bible saints fall flat on their faces in the presence of the Angel of Jesus Christ or in His perfect presence (see Deuteronomy 9:18, Ezekiel 11:13, Matthew 2:11, Luke 5:8, 8:41; John 11:32, Revelation 5:8, 14; 19:4, etc.)!

Let me emphasize that the more I have personally entered into worship of the Almighty in my private time of devotions – the more I really understand true worship of Him! This is both incredibly humbling and is a natural consequence of being a mere creature in the Presence of an All-Holy Father God – Woe is me! 

 

Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts – Isaiah 6:5

Remember the famous verse formulated for the nation of Israel:

 

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land – 2 Chronicles 7:14

Note the first condition – humility! Of course, this Scripture was written to the Jew’s of Old Testament Israel. However, we should take heed of this promise today. We must pray and seek His face. What does that mean exactly? It means if we really, truly seek His face, the power of the Holy Spirit will be so strong that we WILL be flat on our face before Him...

 

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s continued investigation of God’s HOLINESS!…

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

Blessings!

Shane <><

Give God Your All

4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”  Exodus 3

Moses jumped ahead of himself just a little bit.  I find this interesting because the first time he speaks to God, he's volunteering himself.  "Here I am."  In the next chapter Moses explains he's slow of speech.  Now, I've heard this interpreted as a speech impediment and as someone being a slow thinker.  Either way, he doesn't seem slow (in either respect) the first time he speaks.

What happens in the middle?  Backpedaling.  Lots of backpedaling.

Do you ever volunteer for something before knowing everything that will be asked of you?  Sure, you might do it here and there, but with God, it's something different.  We're called on to trust him.  He asks a lot of us, but it's all for a reason.  Sometimes he doesn't give us the entire reason when he calls on us.  Once we agree to follow God, there's no amount of reasons or excuses that will get release us from our promise.  So when you jump in with both feet, be prepared to swim.

Remorse versus Repentance

Are you and I like Judas or Peter? Last week we saw how Peter wept bitterly over his sin. Judas was also sorry about his sin, or at least the consequences of his sin, but his remorse didn’t lead to repentance.

Matthew 27:3-5          ³ When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. ⁴ “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” ⁵ So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

Judas was remorseful and did acknowledge his sin. He acknowledged it to himself and also to those with whom he joined in sin. He didn’t repent and turn to God, though. He tried to undo his sin and make restitution himself.
Do you and I recognize, acknowledge, and apologize for our sin?
If so, that’s a great start, but what do we do next?
How often do you and I then try to undo our sin and make our own restitution?
Instead, what sin do you and I need to take to God in full repentance, allowing Him to take over?

God promises comfort (Matthew 5:4) and refreshment (Acts 3:19) to the truly repentant, as we saw last week. He also promises to forgive, purify, redeem and provide direction for next steps.
I John 1:8-9      ⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Psalm 103:2-4 Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— ³ who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, ⁴ who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.

I pray God will help us be truly repentant and not just remorseful, allowing Him to heal and redeem us.

Alice

All Experience is Relevant

The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.  Psalm 121:7-8

I remember my first big interview for a major organization.  As such, I went to my mother to help me prepare for this opportunity.  She could sense my inner doubts, and she asked me where it came from.  My response was that I had never had experience in working with people at that level.  She simply replied, “Kent, all experience is relevant.”  Needless to say, I got the job.  Looking back on my life, there are many experiences that I questioned their importance in my spiritual development.  But even when something bad happened, I have remembered that God has been watching over me even before I was born.  Thus, there was always something relevant to God’s plan that I had to learn from those experiences.

Our life long experiences prepare us for God’s plan of the future.  The verses of Psalm 121 are a reminder of something we know but often may lose sight of.  God is always with us whether good times and bad.  We are humbled by His favor, and find joy even through our struggles.  In all situations, we learn lessons, and are revealed God’s purpose for our lives.  Thus, we are given a wonderful opportunity to grow spiritually through those experiences, and it is only through recognizing that God is both in control and watching that those experiences have relevancy.

Experience is truly the greatest teacher, and the experiences of Jesus Christ reveal our greatest lessons.  Through His life, we have victory over death, but it is worthy to note that even He had to experience death on the cross to teach us that one’s darkest hour can lead to ultimate triumph.  Remember that no matter where you are in your spiritual journey, God is with you now and forevermore.  How does God’s omnipresence reassure you?  What experience can you see differently through a God-centered lens?  My prayer is that in connecting with God we remember as my mother said, “All experience is relevant.”  Amen.

Tues Devo: How to get what you want

Good Morning,

I believe I found the secret! I have discovered in Scripture how to get what we want! Now, it will take some effort; getting what you want doesn’t just happen overnight as you casually wish you had it. It takes drive and commitment to get what you want. But, if you have that drive and keep after it – it can be obtained. What happens when it is obtained? Satisfaction! The Bible promises that when we drive for it and keep going we will find it and be satisfied….and we are talking about more than just a temporary satisfaction you might get after a nice meal, or your favorite team wins the game or after you excel at work – true, deep and long lasting satisfaction. All it takes is that drive – hunger if you will – to pursue it with full commitment.

Have a blessed day,

Oh wait, I failed to actually tell you how to get what you want….sorry. All you have to do is set your sights higher than you have been setting them – change what you want to be righteousness. You see, when you want righteousness and you seek It with all your heart you will be satisfied.

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (NASB)

So – let’s all stop trying to get what we thought we wanted, and seek full force after what can be gotten – and will lead to true satisfaction.

Will Hill