Jesus Culture - Holy

Just one look on Your face
Just one glance of Your eyes
My whole world is changed
My whole world is changed
Oh I seek only to see Your face
I don't wanna go anywhere without You God
Without Your presence
Oh let me see Your face
The beauty of Your holiness
Take me into the holy place

And only one word comes to mind
There's only one word to describe
And only one word comes to mind
There's only one word to describe

Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty
Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty

And only one word comes to mind
There's only one word to describe
Only one word comes to mind
There's only one word to describe
And only one word comes to mind
There's only one word to describe
Only one word comes to mind
There's only one word to describe

Holy, holy Lord God Almighty
Holy, holy Lord God Almighty

There is no one like You, You are holy, holy
There is no one like You, You are holy, holy

Holy, holy Lord God Almighty
Holy, holy Lord God Almighty

As Christians we are called to be holy (1Peter 1:15-16). Funny how little you hear about that these days. It used to be preached about a lot more, but often times those preaching it were laying down some self imposed rules to live by; things that God never equated to holiness. Perhaps this is why people have steered from talking about it. The word holy has been sullied by the misrepresentation of its meaning by legalistic ministers and now there’s this fear of running people off at the mere mention of it. Many have defined holy as perfection. In their efforts to get people to live perfectly they have veered from the course and fallen into the trap of legalism. And based on what we read throughout the Bible, legalism is never going to cut it. It is based on the works of man. I think about all of those religious rituals that were required in Old Testament times. Don’t get me wrong, they had a purpose. Because Christ had not come onto the scene, there was a need to be cleansed from our unholiness. But once Christ came, the need to practice all of these rituals was eliminated. Christ was the perfect sacrifice. The one time sacrifice. All we needed was him.

So once we’ve been saved, how are we to be these holy people that God has called us to be? Can this be achieved in our own strength? Let me pause here for a minute and say that if perfection in the truest sense of the word were the requirement to be considered holy, then in our own strength we could never attain holiness.  And that would be a cause for frustration and discouragement if we thought we could never be pleasing in the eyes of God. That being said, I doubt very seriously that the Bible would tell us to be holy if it were an impossibility. So, let’s look at 1 Peter 1:13-16 for a moment.

13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

These verses cause me to believe that part of being considered holy revolves around us being obedient children who no longer conform to the evil desires we once had prior to the revelation of Jesus Christ. If you think about it, all sin comes as a result of disobedience to God’s word. Some may claim ignorance (they didn’t know it was sin), but let’s be real here…if you didn’t know a crime was a crime, do you think you’d be able to tell the judge you didn’t know it was wrong and get off scott free? Oh, you could tell him, and he might show you a little mercy, but ignorance isn’t an excuse to commit a crime. And grace isn’t a license to sin. Yes, we will sin. And when we sin we have a mediator, Jesus Christ. But I believe that true repentance is required if we are striving to live holy lives. We cannot think that a ritual of confession is all that is required. Our hearts must be grieved by sin. We must want to turn from sin.

When we accept Christ into our hearts, he comes to live in us. Our sins are forgiven. So, even though we in our own strength can never be perfect, we now have the perfect one living within us. And he has made provision for those times when we do mess up and sin. In 1 John 1:9 it tells us “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” I like that. It’s an awesome feeling to know that when I sin I can come to Jesus for forgiveness. The slate is wiped clean. And you know, it’s like I am perfect. Not because of anything I’ve done, but because of the blood of Jesus.

I was thinking about David and Bathsheba. Now, if you know the story you know that David committed some pretty awful sins. But David was still considered a man after God’s heart. Why? Because he had true repentance for his actions once he was confronted by Nathan the prophet. You can read about that repentance in Psalms 51. The part I like most in that passage is found in verse 4. It says: “Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.” Even though David had committed these sins against other people, ultimately the sin was against God due to His disobedience.  David realized that God was not seeking some ritualistic sacrifice, but rather a heart that was truly sorry for the sin. God’s desire was a broken and contrite heart. So what does this mean? To me it means that you are crushed by the fact that you’ve sinned against God and you want his forgiveness. Your desire is to turn from the sin and not repeat it. Have you ever had this revelation of the sin you’ve committed and it kind of hit you like a ton of bricks? That’s exactly what happened with David. Maybe you have committed a particular sin and you would say you were sorry, but later you’d do it again. And then the guilt and condemnation would come. And maybe these accusations by the accuser only hindered you from repenting because you felt like God was mad at you or something. You felt like God couldn’t possibly forgive you. Years ago I was really struggling with a particular sin. One day I was praying about it and God showed me a visual image of what he saw when I did this…it was like a light bulb came on. I was totally crushed by it. My heart was grieved. This wasn’t condemnation; it was conviction. And let me assure you, there is a difference. Condemnation offers no hope, but conviction is filled with hope. So when you hear those voices in your head telling you that you are this horrible person that God cannot forgive, you can be sure that it’s condemnation at work. But when you have a revelation of your sin, and there is heartbreak, it is conviction.

All this being said, let me say that even though I know I can never be perfect, I know that I will continually strive to live a life pleasing to God...a holy life. And where I fall short, the blood of Jesus is there to cover me. His grace is sufficient. May I never take that grace for granted...

~jan~

The Desire for Our True Comfort Zone

The other day I was visiting my dad at the nursing home. I mentioned that he had a doctor appointment the next day and he made the comment that doctors were a waste of time, that they never did anything for you. When I started telling him all the stuff they did for him he said, "yeah, but they don't know how I'm feeling inside." Well, this comment made me probe a little deeper.  I asked, "What do you feel inside, Daddy?" He looked at me with the saddest eyes and said, "neglect." Now, in years past I may have wanted to say, "Now you know how I felt all my life." But you know, that's not what I thought. I actually felt bad for him. When I think of the word neglect I immediately think of someone who is not cared for. So it upset me that he would feel he wasn't cared for. He's probably had more visits from family in the nursing home than he ever had at home. But visits don't always make a person feel cared for. Honestly, he probably doesn't even remember the visits five minutes after we leave. So perhaps this accounts for his feeling neglected. The only reason I can think he would feel this way would be that he's not at home. Being that he has Alzheimer's he probably misses having something or someone familiar around him at all times. He feels discomfort at an unfamiliar place, surrounded by unfamiliar people.

As I was thinking about this, I got to thinking about how, as Christians, we too can feel a discomfort. This world is not our home. It's just a temporary home. So even though we can function and carry on, our hearts are longing for our true home, our true comfort zone. Think about if you go to a foreign country. While you may have access to the basics of life (food, water, etc), you will still feel awkward, especially if you don't speak the language. And if you are there for a long period of time you will eventually have a strong desire to return to your own home, and to your own family. You will desire to be in that place of comfort.

We are creatures who like to feel comfortable. There are days when I would love to just pray, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus." But when I think about all the lost people that would go to hell if he came today, I am less inclined to pray that even though I may be feeling a weariness in the struggle to live in this world. I don't want to see my loved ones go to hell. I don't want to see your loved ones go there either. God's desire is that all men come to repentance. He is patient. And as believers, that should be our desire too.

Brandon Heath - The Leaving Eden Sessions: Leaving Eden

Sometimes we may have this notion that our lives are supposed to be perfect. We look around and see those who seem to have it all. But do they really? Our own hopes get dashed when we see the effects of the fall of man. ..sickness, disease, poverty, hatred, child molesters, murderers, and the list goes on and on. It can be quite depressing at times. And to some, it can seem hopeless. But you know, there is hope. And that hope is found in Jesus Christ. When we come to accept Him as Lord, we can have a peace even in the midst of turmoil. And we can rest knowing that our eternal future will be spent in the most perfect place...the very presence of God. So, we may have left the idea that life is perfect, but we can trust that it's all going to get better one day. Don't know about you, but I am looking forward to that day.

~jan~

Your Love Never Fails

Nothing can separate even if I ran away

Your love never fails

I know I still make mistakes

But you have new mercies for me every day

Your love never fails

You stay the same through the ages

Your love never changes

There may be pain in the night but joy comes in the morning

And when the oceans rage I don't have to be afraid

Cause I know that You love me

Your love never fails

The wind is strong and the water's deep

But I'm not alone here in these open seas

Your love never fails

The chasm is far too wide

I never thought I'd reach the other side

But your love never fails

You stay the same through the ages

Your love never changes

There may be pain in the night but joy comes in the morning

And when the oceans rage I don't have to be afraid

Cause I know that You love me

Your love never fails

You make all things work together for my God (repeat)

You stay the same through the ages

Your love never changes

There may be pain in the night but joy comes in the morning

And when the oceans rage I don't have to be afraid

Cause I know that You love me

You make all things work together for my God (repeat)

You stay the same through the ages

Your love never changes

There may be pain in the night but joy comes in the morning

And when the oceans rage I don't have to be afraid

Cause I know that You love me

What It's All About

Wow! It’s hard to believe that Christmas is only a couple of weeks away. All around me, people are shopping for gifts, going to parties, etc. Me…well, I’ve been tied up with other things. And I haven’t even begun to shop. It’s not like I have a lot to buy for though. Financially, I can’t do what I’ve done in years past. And even though I struggle with the idea of not giving gifts to certain people, I will not allow myself to add another debt by using credit cards. I don’t think it’s wise. But you know, many people do just that. And then they struggle all year to pay off that debt. Sometimes they can’t pay it off in a year and they just add more debt each year. And this is really what the credit card companies would like us to do. We do all this for that one moment of feeling good. But what happens the next day? Do we suffer the big let down? The eye opener of knowing that somebody has to pay for all of this stuff. And the knowing that the somebody is going to be us.

Christmas is supposed to be about the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But somehow that focus has gotten lost in all of the hustle and bustle of shopping for the greatest gifts for our friends and family. I often wish we could go back to simpler times when it wasn’t all about the gifts. As a child I grew up poor. Our Christmas gifts usually consisted of some homemade outfit my mother made and maybe one or two other things from a few family members. Mama always had us sing Happy Birthday to Jesus before we could open our gifts. And I remember one year when we didn’t put up a tree. Instead we laid out an open Bible. When we would have the family party at my Grandma’s house she always made us read the story of Jesus’ birth and some other readings that always pointed to the true meaning of Christmas.  Gifts were pretty low on the totem pole back then. I think that  many people who grew up like me always wanted more for their kids so they went above and beyond what they should have. And like I said, they probably ended up in debt. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’ve done my fair share of overspending to make my kids happy. I wanted them to have things I never had. I wanted them to fit in, to not be made fun of. I suppose I thought getting something spectacular would somehow make them popular. That was something I always longed for, but never had as a child. Popularity. But here I am all these years later and I see how fleeting those things are. Who cares if you were the popular kid in school when you get to be my age? What you’ve done for the cause of Christ is what will stand the test of time. I often think about what people might say about me when I die. I would hope it revolved around what I did for others. An expensive gift will eventually be forgotten. It may wear out or become outdated within a year’s time. But the memory of an act of kindness can last a lifetime in some cases. And isn’t that what life is all about? Showing the love of God through our actions, not our words.

In closing let me remind you to remember the reason for the season...Jesus!

~jan~