All tagged Holy
Are we sanctified, Holy, and doing the work of the Lord, or just working hard at religious things? Are we serving the church we attend, and other institutions around us, because they do holy things, and yet we ourselves have not been sanctified? To be considered Holy in the eyes of God as we do God’s will we must first sanctify ourselves, otherwise the works we do are just good deeds in the eyes of men. So, who are we serving, and in what capacity?
We have accepted Jesus as our savior, and we have separated ourselves from the sinful life we once led, but are we righteous? More than that, are we Holy? When asked, many Christians will define holy as being dedicated, or separated, to God, but this is only part of the equation... it also means that we are meant to be for His use, righteous, and divine. These are not qualities that are part of separation, but are the things that fill us once we have been set apart, emptied, and purified in preparation for His use.
Is the Holy Spirit worth waiting for, and can we receive Him today just as the disciples did? These are questions that many claim to be answered “Yes”, and that even asking them this question seems spiritually childish to them, while others denounce today’s coming of the Holy Spirit as irrelevant and a thing of the past. So, which is it? How can we talk about receiving the gifts of the Spirit, and the workings of the Holy Spirit in us... while never having received Him?
Once we have received the Holy Spirit into ourselves what can we expect to occur? What is it that we find within us from that point forward? It is of course accompanied by the obvious gifts that were promised like wisdom and comfort, but it is much more... we are going to know the fullness of God. We are going to receive an amazing spark of faith.
Whether we believe it will be true or not, rest assured that this world will come to an end, and whether we are believers or not... we will all meet God face to face. So how do we prepare ourselves for this meeting? Should we be perfect in our recitation of scripture, or study diligently the nuances of faith? No, any scholar can do such things; we call them theologians. We should be doing those things we read in scripture, and are told to do by God... we should live holy lives, and conduct ourselves in a godly manner, just as Jesus did.
As Christians, are we surprised to be looked down upon, slighted, and rejected by the world? Does it upset us that, because of our faith, we are not liked, or revered by those around us, even our families, and those who we once called our friends? Yet we knew this would happen when we were called by Him to come. We knew this would be our burden, and also knew it would make us acceptable in the eyes of God. We are living stones meant to construct a spiritual house... not for worldly habitation, but in service to God our Father.
What do good fathers give their children of themselves that lasts for a lifetime, and what does our Heavenly Father give us that is more valuable than His love, and grace, which lasts an eternity? Discipline is a way of training someone, or one’s self, to adhere to certain rules, or manner of behavior. It also includes punishment as a form of correction. Fathers owe their children more than just food and a place to sleep, they must teach them how to live well in their life, and world... how to be honorable, and who God is.
As Christians we are a people set aside, and endowed with a special and remarkable view of each other, authority, and the world. We live apart from the natural order of the world around us, and yet we are able to coexist with it, and function within it, until our savior Jesus Christ returns. We do this by taking on the Spirit, and character, of God, and Jesus Christ. Are you succeeding in remaining Christ-like in the midst of the world’s chaos?
How do we kiss One another, and how will we kiss Jesus? Are our kisses sincere, or are they something altogether different? We can tell a great deal about how we will kiss Jesus by how we kiss each other today.
Are you in the midst of trouble and don’t know what to do? Perhaps you cry out to God in prayer for your provision or rescue, but when the answer doesn’t come in your own time you begin to doubt Him. Prayer... it is more than a revelation of our thoughts to God, it is a plea to be within His will. God answers prayer that isn’t at odds to His character, and that is conformed to who He is.
There are two types of Christians in the world... those that call themselves faithful, and those who were called and made so by Christ himself; we must carefully ask ourselves which of these we are. In our quest of faith there are those who travel alone, and those who walk humbly behind their master... those of earthly substance, and those of heavenly power and treasure.
Holy and blameless before God... does this describe you? Is this who you are, or is it something that you aspire too? Scripture tells us that we should be this way, but do we even know what it means to be holy? Is it simply being consecrated to God? Is it to set apart or dedicate ourselves to serving Him? Or, perhaps in some way to be like God? If you search out man’s definition of Holy you will find all of these thoughts, and definitions. So when God says you are to be holy what is he wanting us to be, and are we in obedience to Him?
Do we think of our faith in God, and Jesus Christ to be entirely spiritual? Do we continue on in the sins of the flesh even after we have presented ourselves as believers to the Lord? Resisting those things is difficult, and this is why Satan attacks us there so often by finding this weakness in our armor.. Here he finds advantage against our physical body, and breaches the walls of our spirituality.