Holiness (Hebrews 12:10)

Being holy isn't something we are required to do: it is something that we get to partake in or experience.

For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. (Hebrews 12:10)

We do not strive to get it, we are holy and God wants us to abide in that holiness.  We are not chastened because we commit an act of sin, we are chastened when we depart from experiencing holiness and resist returning.  Sin is a divergence that leads us away from the holiness that God wants us to experience.  It robs both the believer and God from the goodness that he wants us to experience with him.  When we see this truth, we drop the burden of holiness and embrace the experience that awaits us.

Live What You Believe (Galatians 2:11-13)

When a person comes to Chist, they begin a journey of learning and living by faith.  It may sound like an easy task, but it is anything but that.

Remember, the scriptures are your sole source of truth. God may use people that he gives to the church and their gifts to guide and influence you, but in reality, it is still just you and God.  God brings to you truth and he expects you to trust him and live by faith in that truth.

There may be times when you struggle with this.  Your struggle may come from a mis-understanding of truth or from fear that may keep you from believing and living by faith.  It can happen to the best of Christians.  The scriptures record the Apostle Peter as being one of those who struggled.

When certain disciples came to Antioch from James, Peter, who had previously eaten with the Gentile believers, withdrew and separated himself from them.  It was a terrible decision that brought upon him rebuke from the Apostle Paul.  Furthermore because of his vacillating, he probably confused and offended the Gentile believers, negatively affected his testimony, and hindered his ability to lead and influence others.  The worst was that he grieved the Holy Spirit and disappointed his father in Heaven.  All of this happened because he feared what others would think.

I wonder how many times in my life, I have failed to live as I believed, but instead altered my actions to satisfy others.  Believers need to know what they believe and then live according to that belief without being confused or ashamed. To keep from falling into that trap, I suggest that you consider the following.

1. Expose yourself to the scriptures daily.
2. Learn truth from the scriptures.
3. Believe what the scriptures say and not what others tell you what they say.
4. Ask God for grace to live the truth that you learned and believed: especially when you may be afraid.
5. Praise God each step of the way.

In Christ (Romans 8:39)

For the believer, one of the most important phrases in scripture is the phrase "in Christ". All the blessings that we have as believers come from our position in Christ. We are joint heirs in Christ. We are blessed with all spiritual blessings by that same position. In fact, every benefit that we have as a believer comes from our position in Christ.

Years ago when I worked in the steel mill, I was required to fulfill a 90 day probationary period. During that time I was obligated to fulfill every aspect of my employment and could not display any type of violation. If I did, the result would have been discharged from employment. But then, the 91st day came. It was at that point that I became a member of the union and with it entitled to all of its benefits. I inherited health benefits, vacation time, strict guidelines for types of work put upon me and protection from wrongful treatment. I was in!

Likewise when I trusted Christ, I was in! All that Christ has, I became a joint heir. His righteousness – mine! His Sonship – mine! His power – mine! The list can go on, but what I believe the be the greatest inheritance that I get from being in Christ is God's love.

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:39)


The love that I get from God is not based on me – and am I ever glad of that – but is based on his love for his son and what he has done for us. The reason that nothing can separate me from the love of God is because there is nothing in Christ Jesus that God does not love and there will never be anything in him that could be unlovable. God, who is love, cannot stop loving and Jesus, who is the perfect object of love, can never be less than that. Because I am in Christ, I will never be less than completely and perfectly lovable.  Yes! I am in!

Grace and Peace (Galatians 1:3)

Grace and peace: these are familiar words and this phrase is found several times in scripture.  But why does the Apostle use these words?  Is it merely a kind of formal greeting or are these words intentional?

Grace is God doing a divine work in the heart that manifests itself in the life of a person.  This happens at salvation, but it also takes place in other areas.  The fruit of the Spirit is a work of his grace and these are manifested in every area of the believer's life.  In short, grace is when God does through us what we are unable to do ourselves or God enables us to be something beyond the scope of our ability.  So in actuality, "grace to you" means: May God grant you the ability to do and be what you are unable.

The word peace comes from the word which means "to set at one".  This is much like when a bone is broken and a doctor sets it at one so that healing can take place.  When countries are at odds, a negotiator may meet with the heads of state and bring these countries back into a harmony of agreement.  What he actually does is to set them at one again.

Peace in the believer's life is when God brings either his presence or truth to the believer resulting in faith that the situation is under his control and will some how bring about or work together for good.  No longer is the believer anxious or distressed.  His heart is set at one again.  Peace from God comes by recognizing that God is in control of all the circumstances that are out of your control.

Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.  (Galatians 1:3)

From God, you get two fantastic benefits: he will help you do what you cannot do and be what you cannot be and also control all of the circumstances in your life.  He is doing a work on the inside and also on the outside as well.

Therefore, rejoice in him.  Walk today knowing that his strength is promised to be with you and his sovereignty will control all that is around you.

What a Loser (Psalm 146:7-9)

We all know them and have worked with at least one person that the world would label as a loser.  The world labels them this way for many reasons.  Some get this label because of their looks.  Others because of their lack of intellect get called loser.  Others who don't seem to fit in with the norm are cast out as losers.  If we are honest with ourselves, we may have viewed some people that way.  The bad news is, we may be viewed that way by some select group of people.  With all that said, a very important question needs to be asked.  What does God think?

Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners: The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous: The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. (Psalms 146:7-9)

God is for the oppressed, the hungry, the blind, the depressed, strangers, the fatherless and widows.  In fact, you could label God as "The God of the Losers".  Stop and think about it.  Isn't that what you were when Christ found you?  When you cried out to Jesus for salvation, you were poor in spirit recognizing that you had nothing to offer God, your life was a mess and unless he would reach down from heaven and do a miracle, your life would be totally lost.  It was at that point that God came into your life and changed it forever.  What made it happen was a very simple formula: loser + God = fantastic salvation and a wonderful life.

Our society--many Christians included--has cast off the "losers" of this world.  They are so stuck on themselves and their agenda and could care less about the "loser" people who are hurting.  We need to make a difference and reach out to the cast aways.  We must demonstrate God's love so that they can believe in God's love.  Only then can they recognize that the Savior Jesus wants and accepts all that will come to him: especially those the world sees as losers.

So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. (Luke 14:21)

The Danger of Comparing (part 4)

Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Translated that would be it is God which energizes you to determine and do what he pleases to be.

God desires something to be done.  Because he is no longer physically present, he chooses to work his will through us. Remember how Jesus said that he is the light of the world?  We find that in John 8:12. He still is the light, but now he chooses to shine through our lives. (Matthew 5:14)

We are his vessels to be used for his honor and glory. As each of us have a different purpose for our lives, we also each have the Lord working differently in and through us. If we allow him, God will perform his will and work in our lives. He's able to accomplish this by his Holy Spirit and through the equipping that he brings. Some of the equipping is gifts of the Holy Spirit. Other equipping comes through trials of life. James tells us that the trying of her faith will make us perfect or complete so that we will be wanting for nothing.

Each of our lives is different because the circumstances in them are different. Remember God intends for all things to work together for good. God uses each circumstance in our lives as it is coupled together with all of the others to perform that which is good.  The good that he is creating equips and enables us.

How many of you have buried a close family member? Because of it, you have an equipping to reach out to others who are experiencing the same and in fact, you may have a passion to reach out to them.

But at the same time, there may be other people who were only slightly moved by another's great loss. Are they backslidden and cold? Of course not. The difference between the two is there equipping.

Many years ago, I had an earnest passion to serve in the bus ministry and to reach children for Christ. I was so earnest that I judge those who were not burdened for the bus ministry as being backslidden Christians. Sometime much later, I learned the error of my way. I also came to realize that the reason I was so burdened and faithful to the bus ministry was because of my equipping.

I cannot set a standard to which all believers should be measured and neither should anyone else. When they do as I did, they count themselves as one of the number and measure all people to themselves.

We must recognize that we are distinct individuals whose purpose for living will be determined by God. He will equip us for that purpose and empower us to accomplish his will.

Your life may look and be completely different than mine and that is okay.  You are distinctly different.  What you must not do is allow someone to set a standard of their imagination and expect you and everyone else to measure up to it.  You may hear and see people do this and if you fall for this trap, you are unwise.

God made you in your distinct way.  Seek his face.  Ask him if you are reaching the potential that he has set for you.  Thank him for the work that he is doing and has accomplished in your life and as you walk with God, yield to him and the work of grace that he wants to perform distinctly in you.

The Danger of Comparing (part 3)

Every man has his proper gift from God. (1 Corinthians 7:7)

What is a "proper gift" from God.  The word for proper comes from the word idios, which means private or separate.  We see this word as the root for the word idiosyncrasy, which means a mode of behavior peculiar to an individual.

When I think of the word indiosyncrasy, it reminds me of a car that was given to me.  The previous owner said that before he would pass on the car, he wanted to show me the idiosyncrasies of it.  Because it had a Diesel engine, it had its own particular quirks.  Additionally, there was a problem with the side window whistling and he showed me how to stop that.  There were quite a few distinct issues with the car that needed to be deal with in particular ways.

Just as my car was particular, so are we.  God, who knows our beginning from the end, provides for us exactly what we need and when he does, he gives us our "idios" gift or a gift that is distinctly for us.  What is vitally important for us to know is that the private or separate gift that he gives us was done so according to the grace that he has given us.

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, ... (Romans 12:6)

When we measure ourselves to others and seem to fall short, we try to demonstrate grace in our lives that God has not given to us.  Consider the following illustration.

Imagine a woman who does not have any artistic ability.  Her home is tidy and neat, but sparse with decorations.  She doesn't knit, sew, or create crafts.  However, she begins to compare herself with the "Martha Stewart" in the church.  When she does so, how do you think she will fair?  My guess is that she will compare rather poorly.

So, she beats herself up, goes to the altar and tells God that she is going to be a better wife and mother.  She buys items from the craft store and sets out to achieve her goal.  However, the items sit in the closet for about a month or so.  They seem to be calling to her and she runs in fear from their voice.  Eventually, she is back at the altar again making more promises.

She finally starts working on the project, but it is just one problem after another.  She eventually sits in tears--a failure and a lousy Christian mother.  Does this sound familiar? But let me ask you, "Is she a lousy Christian mother?  Let's take a closer look.

Each night she sits at the kitchen table encouraging her child who has learning difficulties. Through all of the frustration and tears, she remains patient and supportive.  Her children--as all children--have their moments, but instead of lashing out and taking her frustrations out on them when they disobey, she remains gentle and calm--even in times of discipline.

While at church, she doesn't look down her nose at others.  In meekness, she encourages those that she sees struggling.  She does this because she recognizes that she too has struggles.

However, this woman does not see herself as a spiritual success because she fails to recognize all that the Lord is doing in her life and the work of grace that is evident.  Why does she continue to see herself that way?  She sees herself as a failure because she compares herself to others.