Tag Archives: Christ

The Alarm (Don’t push snooze)

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The Zygmunt (Sigismund) Bell in Kraków, Poland.

The Zygmunt (Sigismund) Bell in Kraków, Poland. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I look around at the people I see.  What does my mind perceive?  I see the majority ignorant of the things of the Lord.

I look again at those who have a clue about Jesus.  What does my mind perceive?  I see the majority ignorant of the things of the Lord.

I look again at the remaining few.  What does my mind perceive?  I see the majority ignorant of the extreme calling to holiness from the Lord.

I look one more time and what does my mind perceive?  I see a tiny few who have entered into the full scale war against the flesh by the power of the Spirit of God within them.

How can I say this?

Let’s take a look at what I have just said by considering a number.  Let’s give it the value of 100.  I’ll be generous because I don’t know the state of people like the Lord does.  I’m only making these statements by what my mind can perceive.  The Lord sees the heart of every man.  I can only look on the outward appearance.

Out of the 100 I see 75 who don’t care at all about the things of the Lord.  Out of the remaining 25, I see people who recognize that God is greater than any man.  They attend a service or two.  But there is very little difference between their lives and that of the first 75.  Ask them about the Bible and they can’t answer.  But they will tell you they believe in Jesus.

Out of that 25 I see, perhaps, 1 or 2 who are awestruck by the things of God in Christ Jesus.  Their lives are turned upside down by the Gospel of Christ.  You won’t see their prayer life very often.  But it is obvious that they are intense in their prayer life.  They are so distinctly different than all the others in everything they do.  These are the ones everyone else hates.  Not because they are Bible thumpers harassing everyone else, but because they make the others look bad just by being alive.

What makes the difference?  And how do we encourage any of the other 98 or 99 percent to join this tiny band of people?  I confess that I don’t know how to incite others to become absolutely sold out to the things of Jesus.  All I know is that it is impossible for any man to attain the full measure of dedication to the Lord.

I take a look at this from my own perspective (I’m not allowed to judge others in their faith.  So I am forced to look inward to explain this).  What do I see within myself that provokes me to a deeper commitment to the things of Heaven?  I see the warnings of Christ Jesus ringing from every “house” within my mind.  The warnings are not words to me.  They are a screaming call all day long and into the night.  I wake and I hear the warnings.  I work and hear them.  I sit still and they provoke me to think of Him.  Everything I encounter has that sound ringing loudly from it.

Who makes this sound I keep hearing?  Did I wake up one morning and decide to make a mental bell to sound in my mind?  That’s foolish to consider.  This state of alarm is from the Lord.  I asked for it.  And He gave it.  I will tell you that I know He can silence those bells if I prove that I’m not willing to obey His next command to me.  It is the Lord who does this to me.  And I conclude that He has done it to that 2 percent I mentioned above.

Now what of the rest?  I don’t know.  What is the threshold of entrance into the things of God through Jesus?  I don’t know.  Some point to the simple confession of lips, which mouth the name of “Jesus”.  Ok.   I can’t accept that.  The bells don’t mellow their sound when I consider going that direction.  So I conclude that perhaps it is a good beginning.  But it is obviously not the end of the road.  In short, I can’t testify that speaking the name of Jesus is good enough.  There’s more.

Is it going to church or even reading the Bible when we feel the urge?  Nope.  Still got that alarm going off.

How about if we go to church and listen to the sermon really hard?  Nope.  Bells still ringing.

Ok.  Then I’ll try be a good man.  Nope.  ALARM!

You see what I mean?  No matter how deep I go into Jesus, there is still an alarm sounding which calls me farther.  How then is it a good thing to be like any of the others?  And woe to me if I teach myself to ignore the sound of alarm.

I post this, not to brag about my Christianity.  But to open a discussion in the heart about the urgency of Jesus’ call to all men.   I care, and I can’t afford to care, where you are on that list of people.  What does it matter if I say one man is such or another?  Each of us gives complete account of ourselves alone.  I’m just trying to open a can of worms here.  Let’s see where they slither.

Bling Bling or God’s Perfection?

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Bling bling armband

Bling bling armband (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the flesh, all men and women analyze their value.  Do I make enough money?  Am I popular enough?  Am I as attractive as I can be?  What do people think of what I do?  The focus of the flesh is always placed on what others think about us.

Now I ask myself, “What value has all that been to me?”  If I were to present myself as beautifully as possible to man, there would still be many who would find plenty to criticize.  And I would be forced to either hate them or go back to make a better try.  In the end, I will get old and of no value to those who set the trends of society.  So I quit trying to please man in that manner.

As is our nature, when we can’t find acceptance in one place we look for it in another.  So I turned to God.  I read that He is willing to accept us through the work of His Son.  And I embraced it well enough.  As I became clean, however, I found myself thinking I would again present myself to man.  “Surely they will accept me now that I don’t do the things that are ugly.”

A rather large surprise greeted me at the door to humanity.  I realized that they hated God and all His ways.  And if I now embraced God and His ways, they were more than willing to hate me too.  So, with perplexity in hand, I left man and all his ways.  Now I serve the Living God with vigor.  He is far more comfort than anything man has to offer.

I make this post to testify that God is better than the world in every way.  A tiny few will believe what I have written.  But the Living God has told of this from ages past.  What’s the summation?  Look to man and you will die a very slow death of competition, greed, pride, and every form of wickedness.  Look to God and He will show you every good thing.  Satisfaction belongs to those who place themselves completely in the hands of the Lord Jesus.

A Song of Truth to Martin Bashir

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MSNBC NJ HQ

MSNBC NJ HQ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I saw a quote from a “news guy” (Martin Bashir) regarding the Catholic leader’s denial of a law which forces them to aid their workers in gaining birth control.  The statement he made was something like this, “That’s not being very Christian.”  There are no more stupid words a man might string together.  And this article is presented to show why his words are abject stupidity.

The man showed his complete lack of understanding regarding Christianity.  And he opened his heart to show us how rebellious he is toward the Holy God of Israel in Jesus the Christ.  And he displayed his choice to obey man rather than God.  What makes his statement stupid are the things he knows nothing about.  Maybe someone will make sure a copy of this reaches him so that he might give account of himself.

To this man, being Christian means we must give regardless of God’s commands to respect what He has given us.  To this man, Christians are hypocrites because they won’t help a woman to regulate the outcomes of sexual intercourse.  In short, this man thinks Christians should allow all women to play God when it comes to the function of their bodies.  And he is mystified that we should stand against the sins of this wicked day in the world’s history.  He might as well have said this:  “How dare you tell us we can’t use you to complete our desires!”  Well, we DARE!

There has been enough compromise from Christianity!  The Gospel has been watered down enough!  It is time to either, take a stand and begin to speak out loudly against this wicked age, or it is time to get up from your seat before Jesus, close the doors of your worship centers, and walk away from the truth He calls us all to embody.  I choose to remain with our Lord and God Jesus.  I will gladly take a strong stand and say the following.

Such women tell God that they are the ones in charge.  They say to Him that they will have sex any time they please.  And it is none of His business what happens as a result.  careers are to be made, sex is to be had, drinking is to be indulged, drugs, prostitution, gambling, greed, pride, and every wickedness abounds.  And I will take a stand against them all.

This man thinks we should aid them in this rebellion?  Was this the way of women from ages past?  Before birth control was available, did the women stab themselves in the stomach to abort their children?  When they were born did they throw them into the fire or water?  No, they had much more respect for what their bodies were capable of doing.  And if one did such things she was not glorified in society.   And unlike this man, the men of all other ages had more respect for their women.  Restraint was used instead of drugs.  Self discipline, an all but forgotten tool, was used with respect for the obvious outcome.

It is this age of abject rebellion which men and women take their stand against the Most High God.  They continue to contrive every possible means to gain what they want without regard to what God has commanded.  They consider that they live to please themselves, even at the expense of souls given to them in their womb.  They have thrown away self-control for the sake of pleasure. And they have come to expect that this seeking of pleasure will be allowed them regardless who is bold enough to stand in their way.  They do not consider that God gives life (a soul) at the union of sperm and egg.  The conception of life within them is simply a bother.  And they will not have it.

Even now there will be people read this and think I am being too harsh.  It is you who are being too harsh!  You are the ones killing the will of God among you so that you can do as you please!  You are the ones who are misusing the gifts of your bodies for the sake of your own gain.  I cannot be harsh enough about this topic.  God Himself will testify strongly about this on the day we all stand before Him.  And my words can never match the authority of the Most High God.

If that man who said, “That’s not being very Christian” would lower himself to read this message he would see that we have no intention of being the kind of Christians he thinks we should be.  To be as he suggests is to be no Christian at all!  We are saved by the ultimate authority in the ways of men and Angels.  Our obedience and allegiance is to God in Jesus, the creator of all that is, alone.  But then this man does not respect the authority of God, does he?  To him, Christianity is simply a religion which tells its followers to “be nice”.   What he doesn’t realize, and neither do those who rally with him, is that this message I’ve just presented is being nice.  I was nice enough to tell the truth.  I am being bold enough to incur the wrath of every rebellious man and woman.

I too walked as these people are doing.  I chased after every pleasure without thought to the consequences.  At some point the Gospel was presented to me, and I believed what it said.  With trembling heart I approached the Lord to confess what I was doing.  He has responded with a great mercy to lift me from those things.  He is quite willing and able to do the same for all who call out to him with a truthful heart.  I do not condemn you for what you are doing.  You are condemning yourself.  The judgment is already passed on all who chase after rebellion.  A second death awaits you after you die in this body.  And the judgment has already been rendered carte blanc.

This letter is a warning of two things:  The first warning is that all rebellion will bring swift destruction on anyone who embraces it.  And the second warning is that Christianity is not a “be nice” religion.  Regardless how you perceive the authority of Christians to tell you what is true, God remains King of all Truth and Righteousness.  He will judge us all according to our willingness to obey His commands.

You think because He is silent for now that He does not see what you do.  You purposely dismiss the fact that you will give account of yourself to Him.  And you believe all the lies of your brothers and sisters of sin to chase after every pleasure.  For now you take your side against the Living God.  But that need not remain the case for you.

The Apostle Paul said that “In Him we live and move and have our being.”  Consider this truth:  Allow someone to put an ant on your skin as your eyes are closed.  You will certainly feel what is foreign to your body.  It is the same with sin to God.  Every act of disobedience is felt and observed.  Nothing is hidden before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Turn to Him with earnest and fearful heart.  Confess what you have allowed yourself to become.  I assure you, He will lift you from all this rebellion in due time.  When He sees how we push away from sin to seek His ways, He responds with the gift He has promised.  This is the Gospel, my friend who thinks we should give in to every whim of sin you can imagine.  It is a message of hope to those who are already counted as dead before the Holy Throne of God.  It is not a license to continue in rebellion and every possible sin.  He will teach you to refrain from chasing after the things you now do which will cause your destruction.  And Jesus is able to teach you how to become clean, without fault, and holy.  He is able to turn you from an enemy of God to that which pleases His Father.

Eternal life is given to those who overcome.  What is it that we overcome which pleases God the Father through Jesus?  It is a life lived sinless that pleases God.  And Jesus is quite able to guide you into that very life.  I have spoken to the truth to all men and women.  This is the truth He has given to man in the Gospel of Christianity.  Make no mistake, It is “being very nice” to warn others of what is certainly going to come about by rebellious behavior.  It is to be eternally violent toward you to keep this message to ourselves!  So by asking us to help you remain in rebellion, you are actually asking us to be violent to you.  This is why that man’s statement is so incredibly stupid.

If you heard of a plot to murder a friend of yours wouldn’t you try to warn him?  If you knew that men were waiting to kill him as he went to his favorite bar, wouldn’t you try to keep him from going?  This is what I am doing for you.  I consider you my friends.  Because we are in the same position in this place of testing (the place God has made to create men and test their hearts to see if they will obey Him even without proof of His existence; do we love what is true or allow ourselves to misuse what He has provided).

And I am telling you that God has plotted against all wickedness, rebellion, selfishness, and sin.  God has sworn by Himself that nothing unclean will ever enter His presence.  He will catch you as you leave this body you now inhabit.  And you will be utterly destroyed!   The Holy Spirit of God, which helps me write this to you, will not contend with the wickedness of man forever.  There is a place where separation will be made.

Now what if your friend is so dead set on going to the bar that he pushes you away and rails on you for keeping him from his pleasure? With hatred for you in his heart he slams the door as he leaves.  What will you do next?  Do you still think I hate you because I try to keep you from death?  Do you really think I am being too harsh?  Think about it.

To the Woodshed We Go.

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English: Sheep and woodshed These animals were...

English: Sheep and woodshed These animals were determined to be in the shot! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is no light matter to expose our own faults.  But it is our duty to display the entirety of the Gospel within us.  It is one thing to say that the Lord can save us from sin and present us to His Father clean and without blemish.  It is an entirely different matter to display what that cleansing looks like as we walk with the Lord every day.

His people encounter the same ugly world as the non-believer.  And we stumble around sometimes just like they do.  The difference is that He holds us to account of our ways.  The things we do which displease His Father will be dealt with appropriately.  This is the side of Christianity the world knows little to nothing about.  Perhaps, just perhaps, if we displayed our travails more often the world would be set on ear as they criticize us.

Hypocrisy and Blasphemy

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The Grand Stand

The Grand Stand (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I had two dreams I that kind of rattled my cage.  I had been caught in some troubles with another.  And the relationship ended up shattered.  It doesn’t matter who’s at fault.  The result is the object of both dreams.  Though these dreams reveal a rather bad experience, I hope they might be helpful to others.

hypocrisy:

I dreamt I was attending a function with a lot of people, perhaps thousands.  I and a friend sat in the upper row of the stands.  I heard some people singing as they drove along the freeway to my right.  It was a song I have been looking for with great anticipation of finding.  I jumped up and said, “I’ve been looking for that.”  My friend looked at me quite puzzled.

I ran to find the driver of the van.  And when I did find him I asked him where he got that song.  Instead of helping me understand he began to berate me for only wanting a portion of Christianity.  (The song was something to do with the Christian life.)

I looked at him with anger and disgust.  Then I walked away.  That was the end of the dream.

Blasphemy:

I saw in another dream that a leader of a Church was teaching all the truth of the Gospel.  One man was there learning with a vibrant heart.  After that student had learned enough to understand fully, he said to the leader that he was going to open his own class room.  The man didn’t wait for a response, but walked down the hall to another room and encouraged everyone to join him.

The leader watched.  Then he walked outside and called to everyone there:  “Come help me tear this building down!  If we push with unison we can topple every timber.”  As they began to push in unison, I woke.

The understanding the hypocrisy:

Sometimes we are so desirous of other’s understanding of Christianity that we push too hard against their perceptions.  We tend to forget that we too were once flailing about trying to grasp the fullness of Christ.  We often demand too much from those who can only eat the basics.  And this is the meaning of the first dream.  The driver of the van was me.  The man in the stands was the other.  The fault of the destruction of our relationship belongs to me.

As for Blasphemy:

The teacher is Jesus.  And not one student will be allowed to “muscle in” on the Lord’s role in the Church.  It would be wise of all of us to remember to sit quietly and learn.  There is a place of sending.  But it is not wise to bring division to the Lord’s Holy Temple.  The Lord will simply tear down such a building with a rather quick judgment.

I present both these dreams and their understandings for everyone to consider.  I am not any different than my brothers and sisters.  We are all redeemed sinners.  But it is my hope that there might be some value found among us at the revealing of these dreams.

Judging, Peace, and Holiness

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Three Empty Boxes #1

Three Empty Boxes #1 (Photo credit: z287marc)

I’m going to take a stab at defining and explaining three important aspects of Christianity.  If I hit the mark, then well and good.  If I miss the mark then I ask for clarification by my brothers and sisters.  I even invite comment from those who are not yet believers in what is called “The Way” (If you don’t understand what “The Way” is, then it’s you I’m talking about).  These three topics are very hot in the world today.  They are misunderstood and abused far too often to leave alone.

This post is created to see if I contain what is true.  I make them public so that I might expose what I believe personally.  These are the things of Christ as I have come to understand them.  And this understanding has become central to my every thought, attitude, and deed.  So what you will read is the sum of who I am in Christ Jesus.  (A bit verbose huh?)

I do not mention that to boast.  I mention that to ask for help to clarify what I believe and do.  Who among us would be willing to divulge our heart in these matters?  I ask for mercy from you as you examine what has become my very soul’s desire.  These are central doctrines (teachings) in the Christian faith.  And it is good, for all God’s people, to hold His ways so tightly that they can be delivered through our own words.  Far too often I see Christians simply quote scripture to deliver their understanding of God’s ways.  Though I too could do that, I have determined to render them in a far more vulnerable manner.  We will see what the response from my Christian family will be.  I know what the response from the world will be.  And I laugh within myself to remember that we will also see what I am made of as I encounter the responses…..

In this, this post becomes a game of sorts, a game of pride against humility.  A potentially deadly game, but a game none the less.  Approach it light heartedly, as if in a class room filled with willing students (of which, I am also a student).  It is my desire that all my family in Christ try their hand at these things.  With love this exercise can be exceedingly fruitful.  “Ya otta try it yersef.”

I know this post is a lot of words.  So what?  So is “War and Peace”.  And there are a couple people in history that have read the entire book.

Judge:

Do not judge by appearance but render a right judgment.  Do not guess about what you see in others.  Assess by what you witness.  In the first statement we are commanded to judge.  All that is necessary is the knowledge of the Lord which He is willing to extend to all His people freely.  Have you cleaned your own house by His gracious knowledge?  Then you are able to rightly understand what is proper before the Most High God.  And if your house is clean then you are allowed to figure out the needs of others (that is to say, “judge rightly”).  We all lack in various ways.  But as we enter into The Lord’s commands (That is, as we learn to live His commands consistently.) we are compelled, by what we have learned to obey, to assess that same obedience as we witness it in others.  We learn to live by His standard.  And as we live by those standards of Holiness, we are compelled to voice what is true.

Do not listen to those who say you have no right to judge.  You are compelled to make right judgments as you learn to live according to the Lord’s ways.  Let one idiot say to another idiot, “I did that and I can tell you clearly, ‘That’s gonna leave a mark!’  So don’t do that!  I used to do that till I couldn’t stand the pain anymore.  Now I don’t do that.  Look.  See the scars?”  Only a proud fool is going to hate you for giving the warning.  Only folly will respond, “You don’t know anything!  And you have no right to judge me like that.  I’m going to do what I want. And you have no right to speak to me like that!”  Ok.  Go ahead and do it.  You’ll be joining me to tell others about it in your very own words, just like I told you.  This is appropriate judging.  And that is the expected response today.  The indignant one will soon enough chime in with you to say something about the “marks”.

Consider others equally important to yourself.  You have cleaned your own house so that you will be presentable to the Lord of Life through Jesus’ sacrifice.  Help others clean their own house by gently pointing out what they are not able to see alone.  You too once had blind spots which required a brother or sister to come along side and point them out.  They did approach you to give you counsel.  And in humility to the truth spoken to you, you accepted their counsel and made the appropriate changes to your behavior.  Perhaps that counsel was delivered to you harshly.  But, in retrospect, wasn’t the harsher counsel delivered after various attempts to reach you through kindness, love, gentleness, and peace?

What people hate about this process is the final warnings that come from continual rebellion against God’s teachings, which were first delivered more kindly.  But these people fail to recognize the softer teachings which came before the harshness of warnings about the Holy Judgment of God.  All men know they are impure.  It is pride alone which restrains the Lord’s words from entering.  And if we are to help them we are compelled to find a way around the pride of man.  Isn’t this the reason for a display of physical authority against the rebellion of our children?  (I’m talking about what used to be called “spanking”.  But I thought it an inappropriate word……… It just aint PC anymore.)

This process is much like my little dog.  She is busy sniffing about and wandering around at her own pace and pleasure.  But when the time is near to leave, I call her.  Sometimes she will not hear repeated and escalating calls to return to me.  So she requires that word of rebuke.  Then she hears me clearly and returns.  I do not begin with that word to her.  I give her time to come because she is willing to obey.  But she will return to me regardless, whatever it takes.  There is reward in my hand when she obeys.  Though for now she endures a rebuke.   Maybe I ought to just skip all the “TADA” and move to yelling at her.  Nah.  I love the lil creature.  Isn’t that why we subdue frustration long enough to talk softly to others?

People balk at righteous teaching because of pride.  But come the day of judgment they will appreciate that you had the boldness to warn them, provided they had responded with humility and obedience.  There will be respect for those who have cleaned their own house so that they can render right judgments of their brother’s actions, having delivered the appropriate level of teaching at the proper time.

We are  commanded to love our brother as we love ourselves.  Have you rendered this process within yourself until obedience became second nature?  Then there is no shame to do the same for others out of a pure love and concern for their safety.  Do not listen to those who hate what is good and rebuke you for applying what is true from a true heart.  Love them toward obedience for their own good, even as you have endured the same for the sake of God’s Holy Son’s Name.  Such people will remind you of the mote in your own eye.  You know, the one you have removed so you can see clearly to help your brother.  While they remind you of your sins they are pushing you away without remembering the second part of that message.  In this they blame you for judging them, all the while they are judging you.  Curious isn’t it?

Peace:

This talk about judging others leads me to the next important conversation.  I have heard many today speaking about peace among men.  What they refer to is not the peace of God.  They are intent on making man into his own peace without God’s command toward holiness (in case you didn’t read the title, it’s the next conversation).  They would circumvent the Lord’s command to obey His laws for the sake of peace, tranquility, neighborly kindness, and a social fearlessness (a society in which no one locks their doors anymore).  They would remove the coming Judgment of God so that men are not afraid of them.  And by this they enter into a great folly.

This teaching does not love God’s ways.  This teaching respects man as more important than the Holy God of Life.  And it will find no favor from the Lord.  It has been refered to as “man pleasing”.  Such a vile teaching, if followed to its fullness, will surely end in the Lord saying to them, “Away from Me.  I never knew you.”  These men and women will find themselves loved by man but vulnerable to accusation by the Living God.

The peace that God is intent on distributing among men is not a peace built between men.  God’s peace is a peace between God and man.  “Peace on earth, goodwill among men”, does not mean peace between man alone.  Peace between men is only a treaty built to retain social prosperity.  The peace of God brings war between His people and those who are not.  We obey what is true from His Holy hand.  They only obey what is expedient between men.  They will surely hate those who are obeying the higher commands because the obedience of God’s people is an “in your face” condemnation of their own actions.

God calls His people to obedience beyond what is socially marginal.  His people will obey Him even when society demands otherwise.  For me this is never more apparent than on the freeway.  Drive your car at the posted speed limit and watch what happens.  While you are obeying the law of man you will be hated for it.  You stand in their way as they break their own laws.  But you obey from a deeper conviction which comes from the Lord.  This will become obvious to the one who begins to enter into obedience.  Though we will remain enigma to all who do not humble themselves toward God.  (I’m sorry for the use of the word enigma.  It is not used much anymore.  It means that something that is an unsolvable mystery.  And, from their perspective, obedience to a higher law than that of man is a mystery.  It is not expedient to their greedy ways.  Their grubby little greedy hands are too busy to stop and fold in prayer.  “Gotta have” is the motto of today.)

The summation of this talk regarding peace is that there is no peace among men.  It is only a social contract of sinful men to live together for the sake of greed; making sure that everyone gets their fair share of the pie.  The peace of God is immeasurably more.  His peace removes greed, thus we live as free men.  We become free from the temporary restraints of the world’s social contract.  In God’s peace we rise above their expectations.  Rest assured, they will hate us for it.

Holiness:

Now the final aspect of Christianity presents itself.  This is an “all but forgotten” aspect today.  Someone talks about it and we either say, “Oh yea.”  Or we give that frantic nod, hoping the speaker will over look our ignorance.  If we remember it as a group of people, it is often simply applied to God.  There is little talk among God’s people as it applies to each of us.  But what we say to each other has no effect against the truth God continues to deliver to us.  Holiness among His people is a command.  And it will not be taken out-of-the-way, EVER.   The mass (no pun intended) of what is called the Church has turned to living out their “religion” by attending a gathering once a week.  But this is not the holiness God commands us to attain.

The holiness God commands upon us is a separation from sin and a uniting to what is pure, true, and eternally powerful.  I hate to burst your bubble while I attend your party of self-importance, but I will inform you of something:  you are a slave.  You are either a slave to sin, or a slave to righteousness. We are either entering into service to what is Holy, or we remain as slaves to what is wicked.  We all serve as slaves!  You are not a free individual; free to chase after anything you desire.  There are only two powers present, in all heaven and earth which we obey.  (simple math for a very simple understanding.  One, or the other ONE = enslavement.  Cool huh?  Not even a question from a math teacher: “What is one plus one?”  [don’t try to answer that] It is simply a statement that you are either one or the other.)  We either naturally obey the one who accuses even God Himself, or we obey the Holy Lord of Life by the Spirit He gives His people.  Regardless what you do in your life you are a slave who is being ordered around by a higher authority.  Those who think they are free men are a slave to wickedness.  Those who humble themselves before the Most High God will recognize that they have become slaves to God’s Righteousness.  Hey!  Get over your pride!  You’re nothing more than a slave.  Does this offend you?  Then examine yourself to see why.

Frustration consumes me as I listen to my brothers complain that they just can’t get past a certain sin or two.  I listen with compassion but leave in frustration.  I will say this here but would never say this as my brother vents his heart to me:  “If the conquering of sins is not available to God’s people in Christ Jesus, then the Lord is a liar, and asks far too much from us.  But if the Lord never lies (and this is absolutely the case) then it is the man of Christ who is lying to himself and others.”  How else can it be said?  On the other hand, since I said it here I can only hope my brother understands what I meant.  We are a pompous people.  Without God’s Spirit within us we cannot hope to please Him.  But oh how we continue to try.  And how we continue to fail!

Holiness is commanded by God to all His people!  Please forgive me for saying these things but they are essential.  We are not saved so that we can carry around a warm fuzzy all our days.  We are saved to war against the sinful natural tendencies which the slaves of wickedness embrace.  We are saved by Jesus’ work so that we can serve the purity of God’s will forever.

I will sum this up in this manner:  There seems to be a great lie going about.  It has something to do with what people refer to as “up there”.  They consider that God will do some kind of magic when they die.  They think they will be transformed into something beautiful after they are through doing as they please here.  Um, I have to say this, “That’s really stupid.”  It shows a complete lack of understanding about what the Gospel reveals.  The initial transformation happens here!  I know we won’t attain to perfection here.  But why would you let that stop you from gaining everything you know you are able to attain here?  This lie is like saying “I want to go to Portland Oregon tomorrow.  But I’ll wait to leave until I get there.”  How stupid is that?  Isn’t that what the lie says?  (Please don’t joke about what if obvious.  I know there are a lot of people who actually live in Portland Oregon.  Ok.  So for those people, consider that you want to go to New York City, though I can’t imagine why.  I’ve been there.  It isn’t better than Portland Oregon.)

I could go on about the importance of holiness.  But for what purpose?  I think the point was made.  And if the point wasn’t made, wasn’t that the reason why I opened this entire conversation by inviting comment and correction?

I will end this conversation about the three essential points of Christianity with my favorite signature.  Three words present themselves to cover over my folly.  They are, themselves, essential to all teaching about what belongs to God.  May God grant understanding as He sees fit to grant.

“By His Grace.”