What Does "Holy" Mean?

For the last few days, I have been fascinated with the word "Holy".  What does it really mean?  The word can be translated as separated.   I have looked up the word and what different people say about it.  It means more than just being good or separated from the world.  To say that God is "holy" is similar to saying that God is great, powerful, merciful, just, wise, loving, ect.... 

I really feel like Holiness is even more.  I do not know what Holiness is or how it relates to my life in its completeness but I want to find out.  So for the next few days I am going to concentrate on what Holiness is.  I won't be writing post for a while.

If you have any ideas on holiness, please tell me.  This is a quest I need to fulfill.

Living Waters

"Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." John 7:38

Living water does not mean that it is some kind of creature.  Living water is flowing like a river or stream.  The Jews would baptize using living water and not a tank of water like we usually do.  That is why John the Baptist would baptize people in the Jordan River.

Living water is a source of life.  Fish thrive in rivers and streams because it is aerated and clean.  Stagnate water has little air and is a pool where parasites and diseases can thrive.  It literally becomes a pool of death.

You are a reservoir meant to contain the living water of God.  The living water must continually flow in you by the Word and Spirit of God.  If you were to stop the flow by not listening to God and reading His word, your reservoir of living water would quickly dry up and you would spiritually thirst to death.  You would be living a worldly life instead of one of blessings and life from God.

If you were to stop the outflow of the living waters in your life, the world around you would thirst to death.  You were meant to water the lives of those around you.  You are full of the Life of God.  It was never meant to be dammed up inside you.  You might be the only source of the life-giving water of God that your friends and loved ones ever see.

Only living water will satisfy the thirsty soul.

The Non-Prodigal Son

The story of the prodigal son tells of him taking his inheritance, squandering it in wild living, and returning to a loving father.  The elder son is seldom talked about in sermons, but he is key to your life.

You as a Christ redeemed, Bible-believing Christian who seeks to do God's will in your life are the elder son.  You have done the father's will and stayed true to His word.  Hopefully, unlike the elder son in the story, you have rejoiced when others come to or return to God.

One of the first things said of the elder son in Luke 15:11-12 is that the Father divided his property between the two sons.  Did you catch that?  It was not only the younger son who received his inheritance but the elder son as well.  One-third of the estate would have gone to the younger and two-thirds to the elder. 

Wisely the elder son honored his father and cared for the estate, but he never utilized it as he could have.  He could have killed the fatted calf and held a grand celebration with his friends because he was now rich.  The father, in Verse 31, said, "...everything I have is yours."  Everything! The son held in his power all that the father owned.

We have not possessed Heaven yet but we have inherited from the father great riches while still in this world.  There is great power within our reach.  When we pray, we are calling down the power of God to work in this world.  The power of God to heal.  The power of God to protect.  The power of God to comfort.  The power of God to provide.  The power of God to guide.  The power of God to do the miraculous in our lives.

The power of God who sits on the Royal Throne of the Universe has given you Heaven and the power of God who is enthroned in Heaven.  Soon you will claim Heaven but until then all the power of God is your inheritance now.

"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." John 14:13-14

What to Say When You're Speechless.

I have been thinking and praying about what to post today but have not felt comfortable about anything until now.

Instead of telling people something of God, I want to tell you Lord about us.  We are a sinful and rebellious people who seek out comfort and the easy way of life.  We are selfish and prideful.  We are not worthy of you and your love.

Thank you for loving us anyway.  Thank you for giving us your son.  Thank you for all the blessings you give to us even when we forget to thank you for them.

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 107:1

The Revolution

Throughout history, we admired the rebel who stood up to the corruption of an evil government.  We in the United States admire Geoge Washington and those who fought the war for independence from England.  The Scottish admire William Wallace's rebellion against England. And who can forget the slave Spartacus who led Roman Slaves in revolt against Rome?

There is a revolution in this world that covers the whole globe.  A revolt that permeates the very fabric of existence here on Earth.  This rebellion does not have noble leaders to admire.  It is the rebellion against God which started with Adam and Eve and continues to this day.

Christians are not rebels against the world. Just because there are much fewer Bible-believing Christians than there are non-Christians, does not mean we are the force rebelling against the evil of the world.  Christians are the loyal subjects of the eternal King of the Universe.  The world is rebelling against God, not the Christian against the World.

When a person commits a sin, Christian or not, they are committing rebellion against the King.  Every sinful act is an act of treason and punishable by death.  It does not matter how small or big we think a sin is, it is still rebellion and treason.

Are you a rebel?  Do you think a little white lie, a small piece of gossip or stealing that pen from work is too small to matter?  God takes our treasonous actions serious.  Shouldn't we?

"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft..." 1 Samuel 15:23a

No Faith in Heaven

If you stop to think about it there are a lot of things that you can do right now which you will never do in Heaven.  One is that you will never be able to live by faith in Heaven.  In Heaven, you will know God face to face. 

In Heaven, you will not be able to stand up against Satan, the world and those who oppose God.  You will never be able to choose to stand with God against the forces of evil.  You can never again bless God by turning your back on sin and self.  On Earth, you have the privilege and honor of telling the lost about salvation being found only in Jesus Christ.  In Heaven, you will never again experience the joy of praying with someone to accept Jesus as savior.

There are no needs in Heaven.  You will never have to trust God for your next meal, enough money for rent, or for anything at all.  You will not have the privilege of reaching out to those in need.  There are no charities in Heaven.  You will not be able to sacrifice anything of yourself to help meet the needs of others.

Heaven has nothing more to overcome.  There is nothing more to be victorious over because the victories are all won.  The place, for all those things, is here on earth, at this time and this time only.  Earth can be painful and hard.  There is much evil here and suffering, but this is where you have the awesome ability to express your faith.

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1

Photo Credit: Faith by Art4TheGlryOfGod by Sharon

A Fool for Christ

One of the titles the world has given to Christians is "fool".  From the view point of the world we seem to be crazy, delusional people who will believe the most idiotic things imaginable.  To us it is rational but to them our beliefs are totally irrational.  Do these 12 things sound sensible?

1. Creation took six days and not billions of years.

2. Death began throughout all of the universe because a man and woman ate a fruit.

3. God became a man.

4. A loving God kills whole nations.

5. Jesus was killed, rose from the dead and lives now in Heaven.

6. By simply repenting and accepting Jesus as Savior anyone can go go Heaven.

7. Jesus is coming back to rule for 1000 years.

8. The Bible is inerrant.

9. The sun stood still so a battle could be waged.

10. Moses divided the Red Sea.

11. Jesus walked on water.

12. Jesus fed thousands with a few fish and loaves of bread.

Believing those things are actually true seems crazy to the world.  Believing that prophecies in the Bible are taking place today is also seen as crazy.

Am I crazy simply because I believe and trust in God and what He says?  If that is a fool then may I be the worse of fools. 

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18

Photo Credit: Easter_EmptyTomb by Donut_Diva

The Brink of War

I don't watch the news on TV but I do read the Newspaper. Very little is said about what is happening in the Middle East.  What is happening is that war is almost inevitable and the United States is in the Middle of it.  With the gassing of people in Syria by Assad, the United States is almost forced to strike back at the Syrian regime.  I won't go into details (you will have to do some research yourself or trust me) but Russia says it will defend its allies even to the point of using nuclear weapons.  Russia is backing Assad in Syria, as well as an alliance between Russia, Turkey, and Iran.

That alliance is in Syria and building up their military there.  They are eyeing Israel with covetous eyes.  Iran especially is setting up to attack Israel with plans to destroy it.  War is coming just as the Bible prophecied.

I fought in Viet Nam.  War is not glorious and should be shunned whenever possible.  It is death, destruction, and horror.  This Middle East war is going to be full of so much death that it will be a bloodbath.

In spite of knowing that, I am excited and not fearful.  I do believe that the Rapture will come very soon and this war is a sign of it being near, but that is not what excites me.  There will be great tribulation starting soon and it will be the fires of those trials which cause people throughout the world to seek God.  Sometimes you have to lose everything and be down in the lowest points of your life before you look up to find help from God.

Seeing the world today makes me sad.  People are so far from God and more people are walking away from Him everyday.  We are comfortable living in this sinful world and that is so sad.

The end is near.  Do not fear.  God is in control and will bring people to Himself so that they might know God and His love.  If you do not know Him, you need him now.  If you do know Him, you need to follow Jesus even closer.

"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.  Such things must happen, but the end is still to come." Matthew 24:6

Get Rid of the Clutter From the Past

I just returned home from a five-day trip up to the Minneapolis area where my mother-in-law was moved from her apartment to assisted living.  It was great to see people up there but it is so nice to be home again.

It is amazing how much a small apartment can hold.  Books, pictures, souvenirs, pots, pans, magazines, clothes, lamps, and thousands of other things were all packed up and taken away.  The apartment was well cared for and not messy or cluttered, but there was still so much of it.

This got me thinking of the clutter in my life.  Oh, I do have clutter, especially on my computer desk, but I mean clutter in my spiritual life.  How many things from my past do I store away in my memory and bring out to view later?  Wrongs which were done to me by others as far back as elementary school I bring to memory and I still feel the pain.  I think of great successes I performed and bring to mind just to feel that pride again when I should be taking joy in successes of today.  Perhaps I need to get off my rear end and make those successes happen instead of glorying in the past?

Those things are all clutter.  Things which should not be brought out today but placed in the past and left there.  Today is a new day where God will lead and victories will be won.  Past victories, defeats, and pains are to be given over to God and not used to control us today.

"... But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13b-14

Why Would a Loving God Kill a Whole Nation?

Most people can not understand why God, who the Bible says is love, would command a nation of people to be killed.  Not just the soldiers, but every man, woman, and child were to be put to death.  It seems counter to what any caring and loving person would do.

In 1 Samuel 15, God orders Saul to kill all the Amalekites.  Every man, woman, child, and baby were to die. Even the animals were to be put to death.  Saul disobeyed God. You might think that Saul was more loving than God was, but that is not true.  God had ordered the death of the Amalekites because of His love for Israel.

God did love the Amalekites, but He also knew their hearts and what the future held if they were to live.  God looks not only at what is happening now but also what the results of today's actions will bring tomorrow.

Because of Saul's disobedience to kill every Amalekite, the people of Israel suffered.  A wicked man named Haman devised a plot to kill all the Jews in the Persian Empire.  Haman was an Amalekite. He didn't succeed because God used Queen Esther and her uncle Mordecai to stop Haman's plot.

God is the Great Physician not only of our bodies but of our lives.  When a Doctor finds a cancer it must be removed before it affects the rest of the body.  The Amalekites had a heart that was godless and dark.  Israel tried to befriend them, but their hatred for Israel brought them to war against Israel. God knew that this Amalekite cancer would only get worse.  Just as a Doctor would never want to remove an arm from a patient, God did not want to kill all the Amalekites.  But just as a Doctor does remove a cancerous arm before the cancer spreads and kills the patient; God ordered the Amalekites removed.

God never wants to cause pain in the world or in our lives, but because He knows what the future holds in this world, He does bring pain in order to save us.  We can not judge what God does because we can not see what He sees.  We can only trust Him and His love for us that it will all works out for good.

How to Find the Secrets of the Bible

Yes, there are hidden secrets in the Scriptures.  Many things of God are deeper and harder to find than just the surface information we read in the bible. So how do we find those deeper secrets?  It is very simple once you learn the key, but one truth that we must always keep in mind is that the Bible will never contradict itself.

God sent a tutor, the Holy Spirit, who will help you to find more and more, deeper and deeper truths of the Scriptures.  The Holy Spirit is the only one who can help you.  On your own, you might find some of those deeper secrets but without the Holy Spirit, the truth of them and the complete understanding will be lost to you.

How do you get the Holy Spirit to help you with finding and understanding Scripture?  God reveals Himself more to those who humbly seek Him and His Word.  The Christian who realizes that all he has is God's, the believer who puts all his trust in God, the one who gives all glory to God and not themselves is the person that God will entrust with deeper truths.

You read a section of the Bible and find a truth of God.  Later you read that same section and find even more.  Years later and having read that same section of scripture a hundred times, you can still find more of the truths of God.  This is because of the Holy Spirit revealing it to you.  1 Corinthians 2:10-16

God wants you to find out more of the hidden truths of God, but it requires you to die to self and trust God more.  It is in humility that we will find the heart of God.

"He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way." Psalm 25:9

The Most Important Chapter in the Bible

First let me say that every book, every chapter, every verse, word, and letter are important and integral to the Scriptures.  There is one chapter that I believe everything is founded upon and without it, the rest of Scripture would be weakened and much more easily warped by Satan and those who follow him.

Genesis chapter one is so important for the Christian to understand and believe.  Satan is constantly trying to tear this chapter apart and diminish the work of God.  Evolution is a Satanic tool to undermine God.  If Satan can get the world to question this one Chapter, then people will question all that follows.  If God was not telling the truth about creation, then what else is God lying about?

Throughout the Bible, the word "day" is translated as a 24 hour day, but some say that creation is an exception.  All of a sudden people translate that word as meaning eons.  No!  God is able and did create the world in six literal days.

Some say that God created everything using evolution.  Than God lied when he said that death entered the world when man sinned. Romans 5:12  Millions of years with no death would have put Adam and Eve in a world where animals completely covered the world several stories deep.  People accept evolution because they never search for the truth, but dismiss creation without even investigating it.  Many also know the fallacies of evolution but because they do not want to accept that there is a God, they allow their hearts and minds to be hardened.

Genesis 1 is key to all of Scripture.  This is where everything springs forth from.  This is where God reveals Himself and His work.  All the Bible events and people are founded on this chapter.  Read it. Believe it. Live it.

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correction and training in righteousness." 2 Timothy 3:16

Do you think a different chapter is more important? Do you disagree with what I said?  Leave a comment.  I would love to hear from you.

It is All About Jesus

It is all about Jesus.  Hmm.  What is "it"?  I have come to the conclusion that "it" is everything.  It has taken me many years to come to this conclusion, but I don't think there is anything in all of existence that is untouched by Jesus and his life.

The Bible is about Jesus from the very beginning because nothing was created without him. Even the animal skins used to cloth Adam and Eve represent the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to cover our sins. And it ends with Jesus saving the world from destruction and ruling for a thousand years before a new Heaven and a new Earth are created.

Your life is about Jesus.  You exist so that Jesus can bless you with salvation, spiritual gifts and care for you while in this world.  You also exist so that Jesus can guide you in telling others about salvation found in Jesus and to worship and glorify him.  You exist so that Jesus can love you and so you can love him. 

Everything in the world you see exists to be a part of God's Plan in this world.  In some way, everything fits into God's plan to bring people to Christ and to bless His people.  Many times something may be used for evil, but God will use that event for His purpose.

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."  Romans 8:28