The TWELVE COMMANDMENTS of a Worthless, Good for Nothing Christian!

Why do so many Christians have so much trouble keeping on track with what God has commanded them to do? From my perspective, I can’t see where anything God has asked of us is all that complicated, confusing or hidden in parable like minutia. Living a life “in harmony with Christ” may not be easy, but we’re not alone in "our walk" either. God is with us, as He promised... living within us as the Holy Spirit. His power is available to help us make every step of our life journey faithful and obedient.

So it seems like we should be able to embrace His commands and walk with Him courageously, knowing He’ll be right there to help us face life’s challenges and endure faithfully. But that knowledge doesn’t seem to make much difference with the majority of people who call themselves Christians.

Many people who seek God, are looking for the wrong things and have unrealistic expectations of what a relationship with God is going to be like. Mostly, they don’t understand how God works, because they’ve never moved beyond their self-centered views of what they want from the relationship. God is not a genie in a bottle, who can be manipulated to meet your every whim and desire. He is to be awed and held high in reverence as the one and only Holy God, always first and foremost in your mind and heart. If you get that right [your attitude]... the rest will come to you with the help of the Holy Spirit.

But if a “right relationship” with God is just too hard for you, requires too much sacrifice and cramps your style... then here’s a list of 12 Commandments that will help define your delusional journey in the quest to make the Holy God fit your lifestyle...

1. Thou shall not permit your commitment to God to get in the way of your friends, hobbies, favorite sports team, or TV shows. Remember, only cults, zealots and fanatics allow Christianity to take control of their lives.

2. Thou shall remember the Sabbath day and keep it full of activities with family and friends, golf, boating, tennis, brunch, seashore, and so on... for the preacher and elders will surely understand if you can't make it to church because you’re so busy with important things.

3. Thou shall not proclaim the gospel of Christ to the lost for you wouldn't want to upset an unbeliever who must confront their sins... pleasant and enjoyable as they are.

4. Thou shall not read and study your Bible, but instead expect the preacher to spoon feed you. In addition, thou shall complain at every feeding, insisting that the preacher doesn't know how to preach, and isn't meeting your needs, your children's needs, or for that matter, anyone's needs.

5. Thou shall not give the offering, let alone the tithe, but only a pittance, for God understands that you are over committed, and can't do any more.

6. Thou shall not spend much time in prayer, for if you do, you might wear holes in the knees of your pants.

7. Thou shall not help in any capacity in the church, for everyone knows that the preacher is supposed to do everything. If thou were to help, it would prevent the preacher and elders from feeling needed, since they don't have anything to do anyway.

8. Thou shall not reach out thy hand to the poor, the needy, the widow, or the orphan, for that is the work of tax supported welfare programs.

9. Thou shall not permit any gossip to pass you bye, but capture each and every morsel so that you may share it with others.

10. Thou shall not worry about the unbeliever, the drug addict, the alcoholic, or any sinner of any stripe, for everyone knows that to touch them is worse than touching a person with leprosy. Thou shall also ignore the needs of those on the mission fields, for thanks be to God... you aren't called to do anything for them.

11. Thou shall expect recognition at every opportunity, whether it be from the pulpit, in the bulletin, or in personal conversation. This should include a reserved parking space and a special title. If thou does not receive this recognition, thou shall throw a temper tantrum before the preacher and elders and threaten to stop giving your pittance to the church, or even leave the fellowship altogether.

12. Thou shall blame the devil for everything you do wrong, and everything that goes wrong in your life, for you know that it can't possibly be your fault.

If thou shall seek to fulfill all these commandments faithfully and do all that is contained within them, then you shall be blessed with self-righteousness, pride, idolatry, jealousies, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, rivalries, envy, ignorance and all manner of foolishness. (Galatians 5:19-21)

There shall NOT be laid up for you a crown in heaven... but you will most assuredly receive a first-class ticket, because you like being treated “first”... to the gate that leads to the everlasting flames of hell.

Don’t worry... you’ll have lots and lots of company!

I’m a Mega Church Christian... it’s all about ME, for ME, all ME, ME, ME.

Sometimes, certain kinds of information is more than you really want to know. But then again, it's better to have your concerns confirmed and know what you’re dealing with.

Optimedia, Inc., is a leading market researcher that surveys various aspects of the Church Growth industry. God’s Church is an industry??? Maybe so... read on.

Optimedia set out to discover the secret behind fast growing mega-churches. You know, the church that started just around the corner from the small struggling church you’ve attended for years. Their first Sunday... they draw 500 and a year or two later they’re attracting thousands. How does that happen? Optimedia’s research uncovered some alarming and disturbing findings.

What Optimedia found challenges the conventional wisdom that people are flocking to churches because they’re spiritually starved and hungering for God. The findinds also have some very large churches hot around the collar.

Here’s a short synopsis of the basic discovery: the fastest growing churches depend on the least involved, least motivated, and least engaged Christian believers. Ouch... keep that info to yourself!

Optimedia’s study, examined 2,000 American churches of 1,000 members or more – including 28 United Methodist congregations, along with other denominational groups – interviewing dozens of recent members in each. Of the 76,000+ participants, 1-in-9 (11% or about 8,500) become deeply and actively involved in the life of the church. Approximately 55% (42,000+) drift away into inactivity within 18 months.

The research revealed this disheartening reality of the mega church phenomenon ... very few are involved in the activities of the church... the majority are just going through the motions, hanging out on the social fringes of whatever the church offers that doesn't require personal commitment or involvement. Quoting one of the research analysts... “This is what we found in the vast majority of high profile ‘premiere’ churches – a whole lot of disinterested spectators.”

When you talk to the guys in charge, the senior preacher and ministry team leaders – you hear a wonderful milk & honey story of success. It’s all sunny, rosey and a blessing of God. When you talk to the people in the pews... it’s like they’re talking about completely different churches.

Mega church leaders are critical of the surveys findings, calling it a hack job. Their defense... the researchers just didn’t talk to the right people. The leaders say the researchers ignored the 10% (of the people) who are on fire for God, to focus on the 90% who are more like consumers of a product. "It isn’t a fair picture,” says a leader from Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston Texas, an internationally known mega church. His retort... “We have an audience and we have a congregation – they only talked to people from our audience.”

Optimedia’s response... “We talked to everybody. Our sample size is enormous – over 75,000 individual interviews in person or by phone. What many people don’t realize is that we wanted to test for success. We’re not trying to paint an intentionally negative picture... just true reality. This is not what we expected, either.”

The research indicates that the vast majority (80+%) prefer:
Anonymity – they like the size of a church that allows them to be invisible
Quality performance – they like good music, funny sermons, a fast pace, and high energy
Affirmation – they want to leave feeling better about themselves than when they arrived
No pressure – they don’t like people ‘pushing’ them into small groups, giving money, service projects, or ‘churchy’ activities
Focus on activities for children and teenagers – love our kids, love us.
Comfort – nice seats, bright, clean spaces, great equipment and technology score big points.

Among key dislikes:
Long services – the rigorous demands of television mean that the service stays short.
Strangers – being singled out and ‘greeted’ is uncomfortable for 4-out-of-5 respondents.
Demanding sermons – ‘heavy’ messages, ‘deep’ theology, ‘guilt trips,’ and highly intellectual messages are big turn-offs.
Old – old buildings, old furniture, old people, old hymns, old stories, etc. Anything old feels low quality.

So is the Mega Church a response to a hungering and craving for the Lord, His Kingdom and a desire to live an obedient holy life? Probably not, at least not for the majority of so-called mega church members. The number one reason people give for leaving these mega churches is that the church started making demands on them. The basic message Optimedia heard was this: “I come to church for me. When I can find a church that serves my needs, makes me feel good, and doesn’t expect anything in return, I will make that my church home." These are the people who are redefining what it means to be a church.

Is this what happens when people don't see God as Holy? Is this what happens when people fail to have a deep awe and reverence for the Holy God? Yes... I am afraid that is the situation.

Nice work Satan. Great job!

NEXT POST: The 12 Commandments of a Worthless, Good for nothing Christian!

Simple Truth... Simple Words

One of the things most lacking among Christians today is a firm grasp of the doctrinal truths whereupon their faith and salvation should be built. When someone mentions the word doctrine, many things come to mind. Plain and simple isn’t one of them. For some, the word conjures up images of stuffy classrooms where men in ugly tweed sport coats drone on endlessly about theological minutia.

For others, doctrine is frightening because they feel that they are somehow academically inadequate to grasp the complexities of theology. And for others doctrine is well and good, but to them it seems far removed from their everyday experiences where they struggle to live out their faith in practical ways. But nothing could be further from the truth. Doctrine teaches us how to think and how we think always determines how we act. If we do not think right we cannot act right. Doctrine is the foundation whereupon our practice is built. All that said... doctrine doesn’t have to be complicated.

Jesus, the author of our faith, the foundation of all doctrine, didn't cloud his messages with technical or theological jargon. He spoke in simple terms that normal people could understand. We need to remember that Jesus did not use the classical Greek language of the scholar. He spoke in Aramaic, the street language of that day and talked of birds, flowers, lost coins, and other everyday objects that anyone could relate to.

Jesus taught profound truths in simple ways. Today, we do the exact opposite. We teach simple truths in profound ways. Ever wonder why some people are not getting the message?

Sometimes when we think we’re being "deep," we are really just being "muddy” with our words and explanations. We don’t need to show off our knowledge by using Greek words and academic terms to explain something as simple as the gospel. No one cares about the Greek except other highly educated folks who feel compelled to impress others with their knowledge.
It's easy to complicate the gospel, and of course, Satan would like nothing better than for us to do just that. The apostle Paul worried that "your minds would be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ" (2 Cor. 11:3 NASB).

And remember, simple doesn't mean shallow. Simple doesn't mean simplistic. Simple means being clear and understandable. For instance, "This is the day the Lord has made" is simple while, "Have a nice day!" is simplistic.

Most people today communicate with a vocabulary of less than 2,000 words and rely on only about 900 words in daily use. If you want to communicate with most people, you need to keep it simple.

When it comes to communicating life-saving, life-changing truth we should only be interested in getting our message across as clearly and simply as possible. God doesn’t need us trying to impress people with fancy explanations and complex wordy thoughts about the Bible’s teachings. We need to keep our message of these truths... plain and simple.

Jesus – no one else – must be our model. When we communicate the gospel message and God-pleasing truths like he did, we'll see the results like he did. People will get it, embrace it and love it.

GOD does not Respect you...

... any more or any less than He does any other human being. How does that idea set with you? Maybe you thought since you’ve done so much for the Lord and His Church that you should expect a bit more of His favor, His grace. After all, you’ve done so much to promote the gospel, fellowship, brotherhood, your first in line to serve and you’re known for always extending the hand of forgiveness and so on.

The apostle Peter points us to the Holy God’s fair and balanced perspective with these words.... And Peter opened his mouth and said: Most certainly and thoroughly I now perceive and understand that God shows no partiality and is no respecter of persons... Acts 10:34 (Amplified Bible)

And again in his own epistle Peter states... And if you call upon Him as [your] Father Who judges each one impartially according to what he does, [then] you should conduct yourselves with true reverence throughout the time of your temporary residence [on the earth, whether long or short]. 1 Peter 1:17 (Amplified Bible)

Clearly, a righteous and just Holy God could be nothing but impartial when it comes to His treatment and consideration of all those who have committed their lives to serve Him. No matter what we’ve done for God and His purposes – whether in love, generosity, care for widows and orphans, or fellowship... our acts and works, do nothing to influence our position with God. Likewise, in the context of brotherhood and fellowship, we Christians must not court those of wealth, race, or social standing as more important than the lowliest and poor among us. We must treat all men alike, rich or poor... equally, as God does.

This is a key area of our spiritual formation... our transformation to living with a transformed “Christlike spirit.” Part of this transformation process that God would like to work in each of us, is to make sure that our minds get properly renewed according to the knowledge and revelation that is in His Word. In other words, we have to learn how to develop right thinking and attitudes in our minds from God’s Word. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2 (NIV)

God works in us by the Holy Spirit. To get our minds properly renewed so we can think right about things, we must allow the Holy Spirit to put in what God does want us to be thinking right about, and take out what He does not want us to be thinking about.

One of the very first areas that you will really need to get a grip on is to accept that God the Father is no respecter of persons. What this means, is that every single man and woman who has ever lived is on an equal footing with Him. It doesn’t matter who you are... God has equal and unconditional love for each person He has ever created and He is not playing favorites with anyone.

God has always been this way no matter who He is working with. Whether those of great accomplishment and service like Moses, Abraham, Isaiah, David, Paul, Peter, men and women through the ages, who did great things for the Lord, all are on equal footing with Him. God reminds us that “He is no respecter of persons”, in that He does not show any type of partiality or favoritism to anyone, regardless of position, responsibility, perceived stature, accomplishments, achievements, etc. This includes preachers, elders , missionaries, anyone serving in high-profile positions of responsibility to the lowliest among His children.

God will work with any person who will properly come to Him, with the same amount of intensity and to the same degree regardless of their stature before Him. Everyone has an equal opportunity to enter into God’s perfect plan and destiny for their lives – allowing Him to build that life up, to transform it and move you in specific directions that He wants to take you.

With this understanding that God treats everyone equally... there is a problem. It seems, the Body of Christ is divided into two camps. In the first camp, is the Christian who has committed and fully surrendered his life to the Lord and is willing to enter into God’s perfect plan and destiny for his life. As a result of making this kind of full surrender to the Lord, God is working and building up this person’s life to its maximum capabilities and possibilities. A fully surrendered Christian has a very active and powerful walk with the Lord... and it’s visible and noticeable to others.

And then you have the second camp, which is where I believe most Christians are living today, that is... out of the perfect will and transformative power of God for their lives. In other words, while they may have made some sort of commitment, calling themselves “Christian”... they have never made that full surrender to the Lord where He would be the only One to guide and direct their lives.

As a result of this extreme contrast between these two camps, you have Christians who are walking in this second camp, which is “out of step with the perfect will of God” for their lives, wondering why the fully surrendered Christian seems to be experiencing all the blessings in their lives and they are not getting any where in their lives with the Lord.

The fully surrendered Christians have meaning and purpose in their lives. They have right thinking and right attitudes. They know where they are going with the Lord. He leads... they follow... always “in-step” with the Lord’s perfect will. They sense God’s blessing and favor working in their lives. They rely totally on Him for help in their Christian walk. All of this positive activity is being brought into their lives as a result of being willing to fully surrender to God for His guidance in their life management.

The Christians who are living and “trying to walk with the Lord” in the second camp are calling all of their own shots and running their own lives their way. Many, if not all of them are getting absolutely nowhere in this life as a result of trying to be “Christian” all on their own.

There is only one way for each and every Christian to live this life – and that is operating under full commitment and complete surrender to the Lord, where He is the One guiding and leading your life in the direction that He will want it to go in.

As a result of these two camps in the Body of Christ, you have many Christians in the second camp being very jealous and envious of all of the good works and “fruit of the spirit” growing in the fully surrendered Christian (Galatians 5:22-23). Sadly, instead of trying to see the truth as to why the fully surrendered Christians are experiencing God’s rich blessings, they resort to harboring feelings of anger and resentment towards God... accusing Him of playing favorites.

The Bible says that the truth will set you free – but you first have to be willing to see what that truth is and then fully understand it, before it can start to work to set you free.

If you are not willing to see that fully surrendered Christians are experiencing blessings and living a productive, meaningful life in the Lord... all a result of making a full surrender to Him – then you will continue to be stuck and grounded right where you are at. You will continue to throw pity parties, blaming everyone else for your miserable and unproductive life – including God Himself.

As Christians, we all need to think about what God is trying to tell us – that every single one of us, with no exception, will be treated equally and fairly with the Lord in how He will handle our lives – but only if we are willing to enter full surrender to Him where He will be the One controlling and leading our lives.

If you don’t, can’t or won’t believe that God will treat everyone fairly and justly in this realm of full surrender – then you will never make it to the top of whatever mountain God is calling you to climb for Him in this life.

Discover Your Craving for God

When you’re hungry, you crave real [good] food. When you’re working hard, you crave thirst-quenching icy cold water. When you’re exhausted, you crave rest... a good night’s sleep. Basically, whatever afflicts your body, you know what to do to satisfy it’s cravings.

How about your relationship with God? Is your relationship satisfying? Do you crave Him? Many of us may not even feel the need for MORE or DEEPER connection to God. You’re satisfied with your relationship with Him as it is. It’s tough to get excited about reading the Bible, going to church, Sunday School, missions, outreach or asking for the Holy Spirit to move in your life... if your CRAVING is missing. How does one go about developing or reviving a craving for God?

Before we probe for an understanding of that question, this fact must be acknowledged: far too many Christians in the world today have a woefully inadequate view of God. They either have not been taught correctly, not listened and learned, or simply chosen to parse their views of Him to synchronize with their lifestyles. That’s why a lot of the so-called Christians in the world today are not living and acting like true followers of Christ.

God designed us for a relationship based on craving Him, but it is entirely possible to be so detached from this connection that we aren’t even aware we have it. The necessary craving has been temporarily satisfied with worldly things that feed us just enough to camouflage our real hunger for Him.

It is too easy to become a “comfortable Christian” and we must always search for ways to express our active devotion to God and Jesus Christ. It starts and sustains through our Christian life by seeing Him in the right way... as the Holy God. When we view Him in the right way, we become moldable and malleable in the hands of God. Our devotion and commitment to Him grows beyond what we could ever imagine possible.

With our Holy God anything is possible. God is ready, willing and able to help us develop the craving we must have to be pleasing and satisfying to Him. In the beginning when God made man, He made him in His likeness. If God made man like Him in certain capacities, then we are able to see Him as He is... a Holy God.

Jesus said.... “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” (Matthew 18:27) So if you want to attempt the impossible, don’t attempt is with your strength. We need God. He said, “…Apart from me, you can do nothing...” (John 15:5) “You will not succeed by your own strength or power, but by my Spirit says the Lord.” Zechariah. 4:6 The Apostle Paul said of himself... "I can do all things through Christ". Eph. 3:20 (Amplified version) says, "God is able to do superabundantly, far over and above, all that we dare ask or think. Infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thought, hopes, or dreams."

A little taste of God should make us want more and more of Him. He becomes the truest craving in our lives. How do we get that craving? Clear away the clutter that clouds and distorts your life’s journey. Focus on God and commit to learning who He is. Be relentless in your quest to know Him. He gave us a guide book – the Bible. Use it! Relate your life path to the faithful examples of those who saw Him and understood Him in the right way. These stories freely available in the Bible, will help you build the craving you need to have a full and vital relationship with the Holy God.

Consider these examples as a way to envision your potential to crave your father in Heaven.

"There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil" (Job 1:1). Job was a believer, a deeply devout and prayerful man. Surely he knew God as well as anyone possibly could. Surely he had a craving, an awe and reverence for the majesty of God. But then came pain, loss and misery so great that it was like he was living in a spiritual and physical desert, void of anything good or positive. In the midst of Job's darkness God spoke in his holy majesty to Job:

Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be justified? Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his? Deck yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor … Look on everyone that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked where they stand … Then will I also acknowledge to you, that your own right hand can give you the victory … Who then is he that can stand before me? Who has given to me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine (40:8-14; 41:10-11).

In the end Job responds with an enlightened view and completely new understanding of the Holy God. Job says, Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me which I did not know … I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees thee; therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes (42:3-6).

Or... how about that incredible story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the book of Daniel. We should all be in awe at the guts and determination these guys had that clearly flew in the face of the culture, kings, and royal decrees of the time. Even when face to face with the king of the most powerful nation on the earth, they did not back down from their convictions and refused to bow down before an idol and violate commandments 1 and 2 of the law God gave to His people. Judged worthy of death by Nebukanezer... into the furnace they were thrown and out of the furnace they came, not a hair singed on their heads. Their “belief”, trust and faith in the Holy God preserved them alive! God glorified Himself, his great name and power on that day before the pagan Babylonians and King Nebukanezer.

Christians say they trust in the Word of God. But sometimes our convictions fall short of what we claim to believe and we compromise in small and sometimes large ways. If our faith was a matter of life or death, I think there would be fewer Christians, but more committed, passionate and zealous ones.

The convictions of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were so strong that they defied the most powerful ruler of the time and risked death because of what they knew to be true. What they believed, their craving for the true God, was more important to them than their lives. Do you believe what you know of God to be powerful and strong enough to empower you to stand for Him against any adversity? Would you risk being thrown into a furnace to stand by what you believe? We don’t like to think about situations like that do we? Persecution will never happen to me. I hope not, because without a daily growing, active, persistent craving for the Holy God of Truth, we will likely come up with a bunch of excuses that would compromise our “belief” to save our skin. Without the right view and understanding of God... sticking to your convictions would be very difficult.

There is an interesting verse in Ecclesiastes 3:11 which talks about mankind’s longing for spiritual things… “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

Have you ever stopped to consider the reality of that truth… that God has put eternity in our hearts and that we have within us an indescribable longing, a craving for the Holy God. It is a craving that we try to satisfy with all manner of things. Some travel endlessly trying to find the perfect place… Some people study all their life in pursuit of more knowledge… Some people go from one relationship to another looking for satisfaction… Others try to fulfill this inner desire with things like drugs, material possessions, money, power, position and fame.

But it doesn’t matter what we do… or what lengths we go to… the craving goes unsatisfied if our lives are not centered and focused on God. Not 80%, or 90%.. it’s all the way, 100% of our vitality... craving hard after the Holy God.

Christians frequently talk of revival or a restoration of genuine Biblical spiritual values. That is a worthy pursuit, but it only happens when we see God majestic in holiness, and when we see ourselves, as disobedient sinners. When we can see the depths of our own brokenness and need for repentance, we will feel the unspeakable joy of His forgiveness. We will crave after the magnificence of God, we will hunger for his holiness... to see it more and to live it more: that's genuine restoration of a heart craving God. Again... it only comes from seeing God in the right way. Only then, will what you believe be anchored unshakeable in His Truth.

As children of God, we accept God’s claim upon our lives and in return, He gives us His Holy Spirit, who works in our lives to bring about a miraculous regeneration of our heart, soul and mind. Jesus clearly stated in one of the Beatitudes that righteousness is something we ought to long (crave) for… blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…
We do not give God authority over our lives to God. He has it whether we like it or not. What utter folly it is to live and act as though we have any rights at all to call God’s wisdom and truth into question. Few things are more humbling, few things give us that sense of raw majesty, as the truth that God is utterly authoritative. He is the entire Supreme Court, the Chief Justice, the entire Legislature, and the Chief Executive. After Him, there is no appeal.

To be gripped by the omnipotence (or sovereignty) of God is either a marvelous thing in our lives because we know He is for us, or a terrifying thing because we have moved away from Him and therefore He is against us. Indifference or apathy to his omnipotence means we haven't seen Him for who He is. The sovereign authority of the living God is a refuge full of joy and power for those who live in obedience and reverence of His Holiness. Anything else... is a pathway to destruction.

God is incomparable. His Holiness is His utterly unique divine essence. It determines all that He is and does and is determined by no one or by any circumstance or situations. His Holiness is what he is as God which no one else is or ever will be. Call it his majesty, his divinity, his greatness, his value as “the pearl of great price”, something we feeble humans can comprehend. In the end language that attempts to describe Him runs out. In the word "Holy" we have sailed to the world's end in the utter silence of reverence, wonder and awe. There may yet be more for us to know of God, but that time is beyond this life of reckoning. "The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him" (Habakkuk 2:20).

Someday, the Holy God will eliminate every competing god and make his Holiness known in awesome splendor to every humble creature. Why not figure Him out now, while you still can? Have you humbled yourself to go hard after the Holy God and develop a craving for his majesty and Holiness?

If His Holiness is not part of your daily thinking, then you are probably suffering from spiritual mediocrity. Do you feel shallow and superficial in your relationship with God? Many do and don’t even realize it.

How do we restore and then satisfy our hunger for God? No mortal can answer the question with finality. But know this... God has to be part of our seeking Him and we have to see and know Him in the right way before “we and He” can conspire to enrich our hunger for Him.

To anyone who truly desires to feel the majesty and holiness of God in your life, reach out and take hold of this promise from God, who is ever alive, authoritative, omnipotent, resplendent, revered, holy and glorious... "You will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me (go hard after me) with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:12-13).

You... Me, Holy?

How is it possible that an imperfect human could be viewed by the omnipotent God as holy? What does it take for plain ordinary people living in a sin filled world, prone to sinful conduct... to be holy?



In 1 Peter 1:13-16, Peter wrote to believers, "Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'" Peter was quoting from Leviticus 11:44 and Leviticus 19:2.



You, me, we can be “holy”? I really doubt many of us feel very holy as we go about our daily lives, yet Scripture says “we shall be holy,” or we can be. To understand this concept of imperfect humans attaining to holiness, we need to first look at God's holiness. What does it mean that God is holy?

In Exodus 15:11, we read, “Who is like you among the gods, O LORD? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?” The clear and logical answer to that question... no one is like the God. In 1 Samuel 2:2, it is written, “There is no one holy like the LORD, indeed, there is no one besides you, nor is there any rock like our God.” David said in a psalm concerning God, “Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His holy hill, for holy is the LORD our God.” God is the only one ever to be acclaimed as the fullness of holiness (Psalm 99:9; 111:9; Isaiah 6:3). In awe and reverence we are to recognize God as holy, for, “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; for all the nations will come up and worship before you,for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Revelation 15:4).

These are but a few of many passages about God’s holiness. Holiness is at the core of His being... God is absolute perfection. God is unlike any other (Hosea 11:9), and His holiness is the essence of His “separateness” His “otherness.” Nothing created can attain to the level of His holiness. His very being is completely absent of even a trace of sin (James 1:13; Hebrews 6:18). He is high above any other, and no one can compare to Him (Psalm 40:5). God’s holiness pervades His entire being and shapes all His attributes. His love is a holy love, His mercy is holy mercy, and even His anger and wrath are holy anger and holy wrath. These concepts are difficult for humans to grasp, just as God is difficult for us to understand in the totality of His being.



So... what does it mean for feeble humans to be holy? When God told Israel to be holy in Leviticus 11 and 19, He was instructing them to be distinct, different in every aspect of life, from the other nations by giving them specific regulations that would govern their lives. During the period of the Old Covenant, Israel was God's chosen nation and He set them apart from all other people groups. They were His special people, and consequently they were given standards that God wanted them to live by so the world would know they belonged to Him. No other [holy] God like Him... no other people like His chosen [holy] people.

When Peter repeats the Lord's words in 1 Peter 1:16, he is talking specifically to believers. He is talking to and about the Church... the body of Christ. As believers, we need to be "set apart" from the world, consecrated to the Lord. We are bound to him, tied to His goals and purposes... fellow workers in accomplishing His mission. We need to be living by God's standards, not the world's.

Holy for believers does not mean perfect like God. God isn't calling us to be perfect, but to be unique in our nature and character and distinct from the world. First Peter 2:9 describes believers as "a holy nation." God’s Church is to be known as a body of believers who are separated from the world. We need to live out that reality in our day-to-day lives, which Peter tells us how to do in 1 Peter 1:13-16.



Finally, how can we become holy? Holiness only results from a right relationship with God by believing in Jesus Christ as Savior, committing your life to Him, confessing your belief and commitment before other believers, and demonstrating obedience by being baptized for forgiveness of your sins and beginning a life-long walking with Him, unique, different, distinct... in awe and reverence. (Acts 2:38)

If you have not placed your faith in God's Son alone to rescue you from your sins, following the Biblical plan of salvation, then your distinction as “a holy one of God” will be impossible.

Ephesians 4:22-24 reminds us that the main step towards holiness is to obey the gospel, and put on “the new man.” Paul wrote... “that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in {the likeness of} God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” First, one’s sins are washed away in baptism (Acts 22:16) then and only then can the indwelling Holy Spirit assist you in transformation... putting on the new man that leads one to a life of holiness (Romans 6:1-8).

The Apostle Peter said of those who have been sanctified, “…you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (I Peter 2:5). It is after we are sanctified that we continue to perfect holiness. Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth with the exhortation, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor 7:1).

To all people who yearn for a deeper relationship with God, you must first make certain you are a born-again believer (John 3). If we truly are believers living according to God’s will and purposes, then we recognize that our position “in Christ” automatically sets us apart from the world (1 Peter 2:9). Set apart... living each day as if separate from the misguided passions, corruptions and pursuits of this world.

Christians have a relationship with the living God! WE... represent the interests and purposes of the Living God. The body of Christ... His Church, has an awesome responsibility! Therefore, we must daily live a set-apart life, not trying to "blend in" with the world, but instead living according to God's Word as we study the Bible and grow in and by its counsel. It takes total uncompromising commitment, unshakable faith, and precise exacting obedience to “be Holy” in a relationship with the Holy God.