You know the life of a mom is always changing. One week I may be able to spend a ton of time writing and working and the next I may not be able to sit at my computer let alone read. This week I have had some time to read and I have been able to study more about holiness.
As I have written before God is teaching me about His call to be holy as He is holy. If I just think about being holy on my own I immediately feel defeated. I know the only way I can be holy is through Jesus Christ. Many times I like to leave my holiness there. Oh, Jesus has got me covered. I am sinful, it says that all throughout the Bible. Sin is the exact opposite of Holy. Therefore it is impossible for my to be Holy. I will just let Jesus pick this one up for me. God is showing me that this is not what I am called to. While it is true I can never be holy without Jesus, God still calls me to actively seek holiness.
I have also told you that my first impression of holy is to be perfect and set apart. I actually picture a man with a long white beard and wearing white robes and he has a glow around him. Thank you to childhood Sunday school illustrations. As I have been studying I have realized that there is so much more to holiness than perfection and white robes.
The first part of God's holiness that I have tried to understand is one that we must understand, respect, and believe. God has authority over everything in the earth. He is ruler of all. He rules over nature. He rules over heaven. He rules over physical and spiritual things. Nothing no matter how insignificant it may seems happens apart from His will.
You know that old riddle, if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it does it make a sound? God hears it and God knew it was going to fall before it did. This is something I am still trying to grasp.
I remember I was a senior in high school and it was time to make that college decision. I remember praying desperately that God would show me His will because if I chose wrong my whole life would be off track. I remember the pressure of trying to figure out that exact path that I should follow. I have recently realized that I can't make a decision that will ruin God's plan. I can make poor choices and pay the consequences but I can't change His plan. His plan for the world is so much bigger than me. God rules over the world and I certainly cannot thwart His plan. In his book, "The Transforming Power of the Gospel," Jeff Bridges says, "We cannot carry out the plans that we make apart from His will."
James 4:13-15 (NIV) "Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year, carry on the business and make the money." Why, you don't even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."
I am not saying we shouldn't seek His will. I believe as part of seeking Holiness we must seek His will but understanding that we are but a tiny part of His big plan and we do not have the power to change or derail anything He has planned.
If we are in relationship with Him. If we are studying His Word (even if it is in little snippets as we go throughout our day). If we are truly seeking Him, we have to believe we will be in His will. We have to trust the Holy Spirit's work in us. We have to trust His authority over us and even more than over us over the world, over Satan.
As I have written before God is teaching me about His call to be holy as He is holy. If I just think about being holy on my own I immediately feel defeated. I know the only way I can be holy is through Jesus Christ. Many times I like to leave my holiness there. Oh, Jesus has got me covered. I am sinful, it says that all throughout the Bible. Sin is the exact opposite of Holy. Therefore it is impossible for my to be Holy. I will just let Jesus pick this one up for me. God is showing me that this is not what I am called to. While it is true I can never be holy without Jesus, God still calls me to actively seek holiness.
I have also told you that my first impression of holy is to be perfect and set apart. I actually picture a man with a long white beard and wearing white robes and he has a glow around him. Thank you to childhood Sunday school illustrations. As I have been studying I have realized that there is so much more to holiness than perfection and white robes.
The first part of God's holiness that I have tried to understand is one that we must understand, respect, and believe. God has authority over everything in the earth. He is ruler of all. He rules over nature. He rules over heaven. He rules over physical and spiritual things. Nothing no matter how insignificant it may seems happens apart from His will.
You know that old riddle, if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it does it make a sound? God hears it and God knew it was going to fall before it did. This is something I am still trying to grasp.
I remember I was a senior in high school and it was time to make that college decision. I remember praying desperately that God would show me His will because if I chose wrong my whole life would be off track. I remember the pressure of trying to figure out that exact path that I should follow. I have recently realized that I can't make a decision that will ruin God's plan. I can make poor choices and pay the consequences but I can't change His plan. His plan for the world is so much bigger than me. God rules over the world and I certainly cannot thwart His plan. In his book, "The Transforming Power of the Gospel," Jeff Bridges says, "We cannot carry out the plans that we make apart from His will."
James 4:13-15 (NIV) "Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year, carry on the business and make the money." Why, you don't even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."
I am not saying we shouldn't seek His will. I believe as part of seeking Holiness we must seek His will but understanding that we are but a tiny part of His big plan and we do not have the power to change or derail anything He has planned.
If we are in relationship with Him. If we are studying His Word (even if it is in little snippets as we go throughout our day). If we are truly seeking Him, we have to believe we will be in His will. We have to trust the Holy Spirit's work in us. We have to trust His authority over us and even more than over us over the world, over Satan.
Joy, You have no idea how much I needed to hear this today. It kind of makes me laugh to think that if I hadn't seen the She Speaks ad and encouraged Sorrell to come with me... and she hadn't met Evona on the plane... and you hadn't met Evona... then I wouldn't have met you and we wouldn't be FB friends and I wouldn't have seen your FB post linking to this (after not looking at FB for days) and I wouldn't have read it. All by itself the web of how I ended up on your blog today is proof in and of itself that God will make His plan happen, no matter how many moving pieces there are. I'm so glad you have more time to write these days - it's such an encouragement! Many blessings, my friend!
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