Holiness Up Close and Personal

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the LORD sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim...And one cried to another and said: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!' Isaiah 6:1-3

Imagine with me a beautiful throne. How big is it? How many steps lead up to it? Is it made of gold or fine, polished wood? What precious stones are set in it? Does it have cushions? Do you have the picture? Good. What you are imagining actually exists, and you carry it with you at all times-it is the throne of your life.

What's most amazing about this throne is that you get to determine who or what sits on it. You can sit there, ruling over your own life. Or you can abdicate it to the government, hoping that they will fix your problems. Or you can lift up your job onto that exalted place, trusting that your job will always take care of you.

Friends, family, our spouse, possessions, relationships, intellect, the environment, and an infinite list of other things can all take their place on the throne of our life. We can even let our throne remain empty and try to live in a complete vacuum of authority. But you know what? No matter who is on our throne, God is always on His throne, and His throne is higher than ours.

This is really good news for us, because it means that there is always someone in control whom we can trust. When chaos reigns in our nation or when divisions cancel out leadership, God is still on His throne.

It is when we turn the throne of our life over to God, which really comes down to trust, trusting that He will be a good King and lead our life in a good and fulfilling direction, that is when we begin to live the holy life that God desires. That is when we begin to stand on the Rock of Jesus Christ so that we cannot be shaken no matter what circumstances swirl around us.

The security we find in Jesus' lordship over our lives leads us to happiness. In fact, without that holiness unto the Lord, we cannot find happiness to the degree that God wants us to experience it.

Give your life over to God today. Let Him lead you on the path to holy happiness.

Prayer Lord God,

I need some security and strength right now. Everything in the world is getting shaken right now except for You. Come and take the throne of my life right now and lead me on Your paths of peace!

Amen

Extra, Extra

But thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. For he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord. And we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches, and not only that, but who was also chosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift. 2 Corinthians 8:16-19

What kind of person are you?

Are you the kind of person who needs to be recognized for good things you do? Or are you the kind of person who will give generously even if no one will ever know what you did?

This is an important question for us to ask ourselves, because it gives us a solid gut check where our money and generosity is concerned.

In our verses today, Paul tells the Corinthian church about two men who have a good reputation in the churches throughout an entire region. We know the name of one of these men-Titusbut the other man remains nameless to this day.

Nameless. Anonymous. Yet he gave. He carried. He demonstrated that he was trustworthy and responsible with both the gospel and with the generous gifts of money that the churches collected in order to provide for other churches in need. This man had his heart right-the gospel owned his heart and money didn't.

Can you say the same? If there's any question in your heart, any catch when I ask you, then you have your answer.

But if money and recognition still have a hold on you, there is hope. There's hope because the uncomfortable truth is that it's not that you can't give generously without telling people about it or getting your name put somewhere on a building-it's that you won't. The problem isn't your ability, it's your will.

In this Christian life, we know it's never about our will, but God's will, right? And God demonstrated His will by giving generously of His very life so that our need for salvation would be abundantly met in Him.

The real question we need to ask ourselves is, now that we've received God's generous gift, will we neglect to do the same in giving to Him?

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for giving generously to me everything that I have. I'm sorry for any way that I have held back from You in my giving! Please change my heart until I give generously in the same way that You have given generously to me!

Amen

Jonah-Jacked

Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. Jonah 3:10

Do you know how to escape judgment? There's only one way, so you have to get this answer right.

The only way to escape judgment is repentance. Unfortunately, for most of us, repen-

tance is a big theological word that has a vague meaning at best. Let's break it down so that we can all understand this vital action.

Repentance at its most basic level means to change your mind, to alter the way you think. Or, you might want to say it this way-to altar the way you think. You need to put your old way of thinking on the altar and offer it up to God so that He can transform your mind and give you His way of thinking.

We cannot any longer think that sin is okay. We cannot flirt with the things of the world, pursuing relationships outside of marriage, friends with benefits, or giving away the affections of our hearts to someone besides our spouse. We cannot find our identity in Nordstrom's or put our hope for salvation in the government.

Nor can we sit around lazy at home failing to make a contribution to the kingdom in this world. We cannot assume that someone else will reach our friends, neighbors, and coworkers while we remain silent.

These are all part of our old way of thinking that needs to be sacrificed to God for the sake of His purposes in our lives. This is the old life from which we need to repent.

And having repented-having changed our mind about these things, recognizing our responsibility to live as children of God who are building our Father's kingdom-we must take action. Repentance is more than just turning from wrong action; it is embracing right action.

What right actions do you need to take today? Start with pursuing your family to build relationships with them and disciple them into faith in Jesus. Continue with living out your faith for all your friends, neighbors, and coworkers to see, taking every chance you have to call them to faith as well.

Jesus died to save us from judgment. All it takes for us to receive the benefit of His sacrifice is to change our mind about God, and to embrace the salvation He offers.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for dying to take the punishment for my sins! I repent now from my old ways of thinking and ask You to fill me with Your thoughts! Please give me boldness to not just think differently, but to also act differently as I represent you wherever I go.

Amen

Welcome to Corinth

Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:6-8

You hear a lot of complaints about leadership these days.

Protests cry out against corporate leadership. Pundits and polls cry out against political leadership. And I know by my emails every week that there are quite a few individuals who have issues with church leadership, too.

As a culture, we are obviously looking for new leadership, and I can tell you today that the only leadership that can help us is godly leadership. The Apostle Paul tells us what that looks like in 1 Corinthians, giving us several attributes of godly leadership.

First, he says that godly leadership is called by God. It isn't elected. It's not nominated by men. It's chosen by God. You only have to go as far as Samuel when he went to anoint a new king to replace Saul to find out why. He looked at David's seven older brothers, thinking, Surely this is the one! with every one of them because of their size and strength. But God said, Keep going, for man looks at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart. When God chooses the leader, He chooses according to something we cannot see-the heart.

Second, godly leadership comes with authority. This was missing in Corinth, where everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes, but a lot of us have a problem with authority, too. If I'm preaching and I tell you to write down a point I'm making, there are people in the room who refuse to do it. They say, Who are you to tell me what to do? That's a problem with authority!

Third, godly leadership is all about God's purpose. Paul didn't want to go to Corinth, but God blocked every other path and Paul delighted to follow God. Godly leadership, by definition, has to lead the way that God directs, and therefore must always be asking, God, how do you want to use me? Where do you want to take us?

This is godly leadership-from God, following God, and with authority to direct. Check your heart today. When you see godly leadership, do you have a problem following?

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for godly leadership in this world! I want my heart to be right before You so that I have no problems following the people You call to leadership in my life. Please set me straight so that I can know that I'm following You!

Amen

Knowing God's Plan

His delight is in the fear of the LORD, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. Isaiah 11:3-4

They were about to be surrounded. They knew it was coming, and there wasn't any hope to be found.

Living in a powerful nation like America, we maybe have a hard time identifying with the people of Israel in this story. The Assyrian army was coming, a brutal force known for ripping open pregnant woman and throwing children to their death from city walls. They did not simply defeat a people and subjugate them to slavery; no, they ruthlessly destroyed the nations they conquered.

No one had ever beaten them before, and now they had their sights set on Israel.

We know the history of Israel, that God had delivered them against all odds many times before. They knew their history, too, but faith in the God of your history is a lot harder when it demands that you take action.

God saw His people in that moment and knew they needed Him. They needed a fresh encouragement that He was still their God and would be faithful to them. Isaiah the prophet delivered the message, There is someone coming from God who will not be like the rulers of the world that surround us. He will not make decisions based on what He sees with His eyes or hears with His ears, but He will judge the lowly by what is right and just.

The promise was that God saw their need. He knew their desperation, and He did something about it.

What are you desperate for right now? You may not be surrounded by an army, but perhaps you feel surrounded by something else. Is debt sharpening its sword against you? Are you in despair that your marriage is falling apart or your children are walking away from the Lord? Does sickness threaten your life?

First, know that we do not always see our circumstances the way God does (He does not judge by the way things appear). Second, know that God has a plan to save you.

Trusting God in your circumstances is an act of worship! Turn to Him and ask for Him to deliver you.

Prayer Lord God,

I am desperate for You right now! No one but You can save me from what I am facing. Please give me wisdom to change my circumstances, help me to see things the way You do, and deliver me!

Amen

The Be-Ready Attitudes

...Be at peace among yourselves. 1 Thessalonians 5:13

It is amazing how the word peace has become a divisive word. It's almost like it has been said too much; we have heard it so often that we do not hear it anymore.

But here Paul gives us no choice. We have to listen because he commands us to be at peace among ourselves.

This is not a passive objective in our mission. If it is a command, then it has to be an ac-

tive pursuit. We must pursue peace. Wherever we find a vacuum of peace, our job is to create it.

An amazing thing happens when we do this. God's name is, Jehovah Shalom-I AM your Peace. He is also called the Prince of Peace and the God of all peace. This means that when we cause peace to enter a situation, we bring God into it. Or perhaps I should say it this way-when we bring God into a situation, He brings His peace with Him.

Is there strife, division, broken relationships, anxiety, or fear in your life? Can you think of anyone right now with whom you know you should reconcile?

Paul's command is to make peace. No matter whom we need to reconcile with, we need to do it. I challenge you-give the broken relationship to God and ask Him to help you make peace, then watch what He will do!

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for the promise of peace! Empower me to be a peacemaker in my relationships.

Amen

Hijacking the Lo-Jacker

Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters...After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. So Job died, old and full of days. Job 42:1213,16-17

I wonder what Job would say if he knew that his name was synonymous with suffering and loss.

Would he agree with us that his life was defined by the things he lost? Or would he argue that his life was better depicted in his faithfulness through the trial and the blessings he received in his latter days?

I think we can know the answer very easily, because Job's response to his loss tells me where he found his identity. We can learn a lot from him, so let's look at his journey.

Job's story picks up when he is already the richest man in the East. He is blessed beyond blessing beyond proportion beyond measure. He was the man with the Midas touch in his day. And not only that, but he had a great family, too.

He lost all of that in literally one day. Everything came crashing down and he was left with four servants who had nothing to do and a bitter wife who wanted him to die. Then, next thing he knew, he began suffering from excruciating boils so that his suffering was great both internally and externally in every way.

Yet through it all, he never turned from God. He remained patient and faithful. And in the end, God gave him double what he had lost, even giving him another seven sons and three daughters.

What sustained him through it all are the things the devil could never take away from him-his faith, his identity, and his will to honor God in his words and his attitude.

Because his life was defined by God and not by his possessions-even his children-then he was not destroyed when he lost those things, even though it was painful. He was able to remain steadfast and wait for the faithfulness of God to redeem him.

Are you grounded in a God-centered identity? If you are, then you can be like Job as he would want to be remembered-unshakable regardless the storm or pain, faithful to the end, and rewarded of God.

Prayer Lord God,

You are my God and my faith is in You alone! I will not put my faith in the things I own, because You are my provider. No matter what, I choose to stay in You, and trust that You will redeem and restore my life no matter what I may face.

Amen