Created for Holiness! (Part 6 of 7)

Hello Friends!

Welcome Back! Let’s continue our exploration of the eternally important topic for the Christian Church today… HOLINESS!

Created for Holiness! (Part 6 of 7)

Weaponized Worship!

Worship can be the most powerful form of spiritual warfare! However, there must be true humility, heartfelt prayer, utterly seeking His face and absolutely repenting from all forms of wicked, lawless behavior. No gyrations. No showmanship. Just utter sacrifice to and humility before HIM. There is an epidemic of lawlessness in the church that has allowed the world to turn IT upside down instead of the Biblical model of the church turning the world upside down:

 

But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too – Acts 17:6

True worship involves the sacrifice – in deep, earnest faith – of that which is most dear to us: our sin nature. The world calls this EGO! We need to do whatever we can to remind ourselves that HE is Sovereign and we are His bondservants. Our natural man needs to submit itself utterly to the Will of Jesus Christ!

 

Sometimes, it also means the sacrifice of a frequent expression of our ego – our words. We need to spend time in worshipful awe before the Lord and let Him minister to us as He wills. Remember it is about HIM!

Please understand, we need to so passionately worship Jesus Christ that we are driven to our knees by His love and beauty. Humility is needed to destroy our sin nature. We must cling to His Word with all our strength and such fierce intensity and devotion that the character of our lives will be transformed and become as His Character!

 

Thus, when we go out into the world, He will be ever more united to our being as the source and foundation of all that we think and do. We cultivate His Spirit in our heart and soul to the degree that ultimately, we might think and desire nothing other than what the Holy Spirit would have us think and desire. When we make this kind of devotion and worship part of our daily practice we take spiritual warfare to new, unimagined levels! True, pure worship is the ultimate weapon in our spiritual arsenal. Of course, this purity does NOT come from ourselves – imperfect vessels. It comes from the Lord! When we finally surrender and permit the Most High to come and shatter our egos, true worship can come forth in earnest faith and true humility!

 

Archaeologists tell us the alabaster jar that held the ointment used to anoint Jesus’ head had to be BROKEN in order for the sacred oil to be released. If we intend to bless our Savior with the deepest “oil” of our worship, we need to be broken open by the Holy Spirit. We need to surrender and be poured out! In fact, Jesus told us to be the salt of the earth – making others thirsty for the Kingdom:

 

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men – Matthew 5:13

The only way for our "salt" to keep its "flavor" is by being in complete submission to Jesus Christ through true worship.

 

Moses spent so much time with God, when he came back down the mountain his face glowed! We pray that all Believers would grow hungry for that kind of Divine intimacy – and spend so much time in the Word of God that their visage gleams with His glory!

 

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s final 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 <><

Hiding the True Source

5 Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.”  Exodus 5

Pharaoh didn't let the Israelites go, not without a fight at least.  Was he really that vindictive?  Did he hold a grudge against the Israelites?  The reason why he didn't want to let them go was simple - Pharaoh was greedy.  The Israelites gave him a huge work force to generate money, and also an army should the need arise.  Letting the people go, even for a few days as initially asked, was going to cut into his resources significantly.

We all sin, and have certain sins that we can fall prey to easier, however people around you may not know it.  They may see something else as your vice, and not the underlying root.  There's no hiding them from God, as I've brought up previously.

If you have something that you hide, or something that you shift the focus of your sin to something else so it doesn't seem so bad, don't.  Don't suffer alone and in silence.   If you need a person to talk to, find an accountability partner, someone who can help you to grow in your relationship with God as you go through this.  And don't forget that you should also turn to God, be open with him and trust that he will show you the way to fight that sin. 

Taking Ownership

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.  The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. John 10:11-13

My family decided to take a short trip to Chick-fil-a the other day.  I admired how dedicated their staff was to making the experience a memorable one.  All of them were cheery, and they treated us like . . . well . . . family.  Yet, they are paid no different from other fast food employees, and while they are a Christian owned business, there are other faith based businesses that do not go the extra mile like they do.  So what’s the difference?  Maybe, they believe in something bigger than themselves.  They choose to take ownership for their customer’s experience.  That is far more memorable than the spicy chicken sandwich or the free drink refills.

We as Christians have to own our faith.  Today’s verses are not just about how much Jesus loves us.  It is also a challenge to us as followers of Christ.  We are to be people of deep faith that willfully depend on what God teaches when we are under attack.  We are not to be painted into corners by those who either focus exclusively on God’s law or disregard God altogether. Instead, we are to live with an understanding of the greatest commandment; to love God with all of our heart and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves (see Matthew 22:36-40).  Owning our faith means there are times we will not be popular and take stances others will not believe, but if we show God’s love through it all, we will be victorious for God's truth always wins in the end.

Believing in God is something bigger than us.  Jesus paid for our salvation in blood.  For that, we can choose to act like a hired hand and expect that He owes us something more, or we can go all out living for Him to make the world aware of His love, mercy, and wisdom.  Which would you choose?  How can you and I be more of an owner of our faith?  My prayer is that we truly take ownership of being faithful servants of God.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Make the choice

2 Corinthians 9:6-9 “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;” (NASB)

Hello,

I have this great tendency, to overthink just about everything! A decision comes in front of me and I will often find myself looking past the decision to the next 3-10 things that might occur, and then approach my decision with those hypothetical outcomes in mind. The problem here is of course that I don’t actually know the future (with the exception of the Lions will not be playing in the Super Bowl again this year). I am also aware of this – so I go through multiple sets of possible outcomes in my head – not just one. This often leaves me unsure of what decision to make, and unable to weight the decision based on the correct factors. When that happens I lose confidence in my choice and sometimes wait too long to make that choice.

When it comes to choices involving obedience to God we only hurt ourselves and doubt His ability to handle the outcomes if we go into this trap. The verses above are a great illustration of this. When we are faced with a choice of helping a little or a lot, God wants us to cheerfully respond as God prompts….then trust that His grace will take care of the outcome.

So, when you are faced with a choice of obedience to God do you fall into the over-analytical trap or do you just obey and trust God to handle the outcome?

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill