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Compromise

Have you ever been in a situation where you try to justify your actions even though you know they are not exactly 100% righteous or godly? As we make the commitment to be intentional in being holy, one of the stumbling blocks that we will encounter is compromise. Compromise is defined as

to weaken (a reputation or principle) by accepting standards that are lower than is desirable

to bring into disrepute or danger by indiscreet, foolish, or reckless behavior

Compromise is exaggerating just a wee bit to make your side of the story sound better than it actually is. Compromise is taking longer breaks at work and not accounting for the time in your timesheet. Compromise is speaking a half-truth famously known as a white lie to cover your tracks (not exactly lying but not exactly speaking the truth). Compromise is violating traffic laws by driving over the posted speed limit. Compromise is helping a friend cheat on an exam because you are trying to help them. Compromise is taking credit for someone else’s hard work and not being careful to return credit where it is due.

This brings to mind an incident when I was applying for my son’s passport. One of the requirement was that the guarantor should have known me for at least 2 years and my lovely neighbor had only known me for  approximately 1 year, 11 months and 26 days. “Well, what difference does 4 days make?”  I know  that some may think of  such minute and arbitrary things as inconsequential and trivial but the  bible has this to say about compromise:

[It is] the little foxes that ruin the vineyards. Song of Solomon 2:15

It is compromise on the little issues that leads to the greater downfall (Bridges, 2006). Every time I read this scripture, I examine myself:

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. Matthew 7:13 NIV

I have always pondered how christians can be on the broad path and not even know it! Ever heard the term, slippery slope? Compromise is the slippery slope that leads godly and holy people from the narrow path to the broad path. It starts with the small insignificant things and next thing you know, you are living in full-blown sin. What compromise does is that it weakens your resolve and deadens your conscience. When you compromise, you slowly chip away at your resistance to temptation and eventually you will not be able to say NO to sin. Compromise is reckless if you are serious minded about being holy. Compromise is what God warns about when He says of obeying His commands:

Do not turn aside to the right or the left. Prov 4:27, Deut 5:32, Deut 28:14

Dear readers as I conclude I leave you with this Psalm:

Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the LORD. Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts. They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths. You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully. Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees! Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands. As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should! I will obey your decrees. Please don’t give up on me! Psalm 119:1-8 NLT

Be a person of integrity. Do not compromise your walk with God. Be intentional in being holy. Feel free to share your experience in the comment section below so we can all learn from each other.

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The fear of the Lord

In the last post, Holiness is for everyone we learned that the grace of God helps us to say No to sin. Today, I learned that something else is able to keep us from sinning: the fear of God.

…so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning. Exodus 20:20b NIV

What comes to mind when you think of the phrase, “the fear of the Lord”? Do you instantly think “…is the beginning of wisdom”? or do you think of the reverence and awe that we give to God?

The first time the phrase is used in the Bible is in Gen 20:11 and thereafter used many times in the bible. So let’s break down the fear of God into its fundamentals, shall we?

The bible says, “The fool says in his heart there is no God” (Psalm 14:1 NIV) and we know that the fear of God is indeed the beginning of wisdom (Job 28:28; Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7). We also know that Jesus is the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24). Putting these three concepts together: at the heart of the fear of God is an acknowledgment of God.

We know from our studies so far that God is a loving God who is intentional in his everlasting love for us. We have also learned that this same God is a Holy God and abhors any kind of sin because it is his very nature and essence to be free from any moral defect. His love makes Him a merciful God and His holiness makes him a just God.

So back to our working definition: The fear of God is an acknowledgment of the God, and having an understanding of who God really is, means we have a balanced view of the mercy as well as the justice of God.

Back in the bible days, the fear (acknowledgment) of God evoked actual fear in the hearts of people and at times it was recorded that people became like dead men. People were actually afraid of God and did not have personal relationships with God. Very few people understood this balanced view of God’s mercy and justice. People like Abraham, David, Job, they understood what it truly meant to fear God and enjoyed a relationship with Him. This fear was inherited from Adam and Eve.  Adam and Eve had always encountered the loving mercies of God in the garden of Eden until the day they sinned. The bible recounts they heard the footsteps of God and were afraid so they hid. God had come to talk to them many times. They had heard God’s footsteps many times. So what was different this particular day? Adam and Eve prior to the fall  lived the Psalm 89:14 life:

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. NIV

Every time God came down to chat, love and faithfulness went before Him. But after they sinned, Adam and Eve experienced Psalm 85:13 for the first time:

Righteousness [justice] will go before Him to prepare the way for His steps. Berean Study Bible

And their response was fear. They were afraid because they saw their unworthiness to stand in the presence of His majesty. This was the expression of the fear of God Isaiah had when he encountered God. Look at what he said:

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” Isaiah 6:5 NIV

Fast forward into the era of grace and the pendulum has swung to the other extreme. Now people are not afraid of God. The definition of the fear of God has evolved so much it is now relegated to just having reverence and awe for God. While having reverence and awe for God is extremely important, exclusively doing so without any acknowledgment of the justice of God is detrimental. We have overextended the love and the mercy of God. We are no longer afraid of this God that smote down a man because he touched the ark of God to prevent it from falling! Afterall, God calls us friends and He wants us to have a relationship with Him not to be afraid of Him. Right? WRONG!

Yes God wants a relationship but with only those who know him. And if you truly know God, then you will know that holiness means everything to God. Righteousness and justice are the foundations of His throne. Armed with this knowledge, you will not have an irrational fear of God but rather a holy reverent fear.

live your lives in reverent fear during your temporary stay on earth. 1 Peter 1:17 Berean Study Bible

God is a consuming fire. You cannot come close to God because of His magnificence. He dwells in unapproachable light. He has the power to destroy your life just as easily as he preserves it.  And yet this God stepped into humanity so that you will no longer be afraid to approach him like Adam and Eve. He invites you to commune with Him daily. He listens to your requests and does your bidding. This is having a balance of the justice and the mercy of God. This is the fear of God. This is the beginning of wisdom!

So yes, you should be afraid of God. But this fear, in the dispensation of grace, should drive you to reverence and worship. It causes you to run to God not away from Him. It is this fear that causes you to be in awe. This is the fear that gives you wisdom and keeps you from sinning. Read this scripture carefully and let your heart understand:

Who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed.” Revelations 15:4 NLT

Grace empowers us to say No and the fear of God keeps us from sinning. Be intentional in your holiness walk.

Don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments so we can learn from each other. Sorry, this was a long post!

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Holiness is for everyone

referencing Walking in Holiness

There are two facets of holiness described in scripture: a holiness which we receive because of the work of the blood of Jesus and the holiness we strive after.

To you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. 1 Cor 1:2 NLT

There is a holiness we attain in the process of salvation. This is also known as sanctification. The process of salvation begins with confessing one’s sin. This sets a snowball effect in motion as described in the scripture below.

But you were cleansed; you were made holy [sanctification]; you were made right with God [justification] by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11 NLT

At the risk of oversimplification, salvation = confession of sin (calling on the name of Jesus) –> cleansing by the blood of Jesus + sanctification + justification. We know there are more steps here according to  Romans 10:14 [How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? NIV] but I digress.

The second facet of holiness is a calling to holiness.

For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. 2 Tim 1:9a NLT

In fact Ephesians 1:4 implies that the purpose of salvation is to be holy. And I know very well how difficult fulfilling this call is. Many Christians, myself included, have a desire to live a holy life but have struggled for years with particular sins or deficiencies of character. As Jerry Bridges so eloquently described me: while I am not living in gross sin, I have given up many times attaining a life of holiness and have settled for a life of moral mediocrity. Today, I am encouraged by this scripture:

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope–the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11-13 NIV

The grace of God is available to help me say NO to sin! Note that the grace is not available so I can keep sinning and repenting but God has made provision for me to denounce sin by his grace. Take a minute to think about that.

In my last blog referenced above, I spoke about reckoning yourself as dead to sin (Romans 6:11 KJV). And while it is true that considering yourself as dead to sin is a powerful first step in being able to say NO to sin, verses 11 and 12 must go hand in hand.

So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Romans 6:11-12 NLT

Because you are dead to sin, DO NOT let sin control you and DO NOT give in. Our daily victory and experience with sin is not in the reckoning of yourself as dead to sin but it is in your WILL.

Because you are dead to sin, if and when you do sin, it is not because you are powerless over sin. It is because you make the CHOICE to sin. Wow!

Dear readers herein lies the link between holiness and obedience (the submission of your will) and we will explore this further. I hope you have learned something that will enable you to be intentional in walking in holiness before your God.

Stay tuned for more. Check out Jerry Bridges’ pursuit of holiness. And share your experiences in the comments so we can all learn from each other.

referencing Be Ye Holy

Yesterday, we established that God’s character and essence is holiness and holiness is nothing less than a conformity to the character of God; a conformity to the image of Christ. The process of holiness is summed up in this scripture:

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4: 22-24 NIV

Taking off the old self and putting on the new self. Period. Sounds simple right? And if holiness is that elementary why don’t Christians experience more of it? Why do many of us feel constantly defeated in our struggle with sin? Why does the church often seem more conformed to the world than to the character of God?

Putting off the old self

Although this statement sounds cliché, it is far from that. Putting off the old self involves many actionable/ practical steps that a Christian can undertake. The first is to consider yourself dead to sin.

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6: 11 NASB

This is a deep acknowledgment that you no longer have a sinful nature because you are now in Christ and affirming this knowledge in your life through your actions. This brings to mind an article I read about how elephants are tamed/trained.

The baby elephant is shackled to a secure pole with strong ropes and after pulling and twisting, and tugging, it realizes it cannot break free and stops resisting. This process is  repeated until the state of bondage becomes engrained in the elephant. Eventually, the chains are replaced with a simple rope that is usually not tethered to anything. But because the elephant becomes so accustomed to being held back, the untethered rope keeps the animal in check. The elephant considers itself in bondage although, in reality, it is free. Can you see the parallel?

This is what Jesus did for us: “He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains” Psalm 107:14 NIV. We are truly free from the oppression and bondage of sin. But do you truly know that you are free? Believe you are free? Or is it just a lofty thing you read about in the bible?

Once you come to the realization of this deep truth that you are free from sin, that you are no longer controlled by your sinful nature, and you do not have to succumb to the pressure of every temptation, you have began the process of the renewing of the mind; a vital step in the process of holiness.

So I repeat, consider yourself dead to sin! This means not toying with the notions of anything that defies the absolute moral perfection of God. It means a willingness to call sin “sin” and not categorize sin into what is unacceptable and what can be tolerated a little bit. It also means not playing with temptations by entertaining the thoughts that we can always confess and ask for forgiveness later. This brings me to the second point about putting off the old self.

Remember that holiness is a conformity to the character of God and one of the inherent characteristics of holiness is that it hates sin. We may make excuses for our sin or trivialize them but the reality is that God hates our sins. He does not say, “this is a small sin so I will overlook it”.

He hates all sin and to put off the old self means to cultivate in our heart the same hatred for sin that God has.

Frequent contemplation of God’s holiness and His hatred for sin should deter us from messing with sin. Remember Joseph, when faced with an appealing temptation to sleep with his master’s wife, said:

How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? Genesis 39:9 NIV

Dear readers, let’s take some time to settle these two issues in our hearts: Do you live this Christian life reckoning that you are no longer bound by sin or are you constantly feeling the blows of defeat to the same sins you confess over and over again? Will you begin to consider and believe it as final that sin has no control over you? Will you begin to look at sin as an offense against the very nature of God? Will you begin to develop a hatred in your heart for those sins that you cannot seem to shake? Will your confession about sin be, “how can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

Stay tuned for more on the holiness series and be intentional in living out your faith.

P.S. Feel free to comment below so others are blessed by your insights too.

 

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Be Ye Holy

Holiness is such an interesting concept and sometimes, it is presented like it is something you can conjure up; like it is a quality you should have simply because you gave your life to Christ. However, many a christian will agree with me that the realization of holiness in the life of a person appears to be for the most part, unattainable. But why? Lets break holiness down into its fundamentals…

Holiness is not the same as righteousness.

Righteousness is to be in right standing with God; free from guilt and sin. It is also known as justification. Justification (righteousness) is by grace, through faith and comes to us by way of the redemptive work of Christ on the cross.

And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,   and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Romans 3:22-24 Berean Study Bible

We are righteous because of Jesus. Period. We cannot do anything to make ourselves righteous because our own righteousness is comparable to filthy rags and does not measure up in the presence of His majesty. Holiness  on the other hand, is a different ball game all together. Where righteousness is a state of being,  holiness is a transformative process where you become more like God. Holiness is the very nature, the very essence of God. God’s Holiness is as necessary as His existence and we cannot separate one from the other.

One cannot become more like God without God as the author  and architect of that process; hence, no one can attain a degree of holiness without God. God makes it possible for us to walk in holiness but we must do the walking. Let’s look at this scripture carefully:

But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15-16 Berean Study Bible

This passage of scripture does not minimize our responsibility. As Jerry Bridges states in his book, the pursuit of holiness, some Christians are quick to talk of the provision made by Jesus Christ’s death and relinquish the process of holiness to God. Others simply do not understand the distinction between God’s provision and our own responsibility for holiness.

Unlike righteousness, where Jesus did all the work, in holiness we do some of the work.

Pursue peace with all men, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 Berean Study Bible

The word pursue suggests that it is a process; not something to be acquired like a trophy. As Jerry Bridges put it, as we begin to conform to the will of God in one area of our life, God reveals to us our failings in another area. In essence, the more you want to become like God, the more refining you will have to go through. So how can we be holy?

The idea of exactly how to be holy has in many instances, been misrepresented. To some, holiness is obeying a long list of prohibitions- usually in the area of smoking, drinking, sexuality, dressing, mannerisms, and associations, and this list varies depending on  religious grouping or church denomination. While some of these ideas are accurate to an extent, they miss the true concept of holiness and are in danger of  following the model of the Pharisees with their endless lists of do’s and don’ts and self-righteousness. So then, what does it really mean to be holy?

As you journey with me through the intentionality of living a holy life, I pray that you make the deep commitment to walk this journey faithfully by allowing God’s Spirit to convict and challenge you  as he will me, to do whatever it takes to pursue holiness.

Stay tuned for the rest of this series and be intentional in living out your faith!

P.S. check out Jerry Bridges’ book, the pursuit of holiness.

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Studying the Word of God

If you are anything like me, then you feel the pressing need to dig deep into the word of God. God may be prodding you and nudging at your conscience, telling you you need to invest time in the study of His word. Then this is for you.

I love studying the word of God but initiating the process of taking my bible and reading is the greatest struggle I encounter on a daily basis. I can watch Netflix till the wee hours of the night but as soon as I pick up my bible, a wave of sleep washes over me and gently lulls me into this place of obtundation.

Recently, I heard a sermon by Pastor James MacDonald that has inspired this post. In his message, he outlined 3 things that will enable us deepen our commitment to God’s word:

Discipline

I will pursue your commands, for you expand my understanding. Psalm 119:32 NIV

We need to discipline ourselves to pursue the study of God’s word. This is not something God can do for us. I have learned that I need to make the commitment and initially it can be very difficult. To dare to go deeper with God, I need to move out of my comfort zone and take the leap and commit to reading my bible daily. This means I consciously set aside time in my day to do this. The truth is, reading the bible does not just happen and if you don’t carve time to do it, there will be 1000 other things that will occupy your time during the day. That is the process of self-discipline. The beauty of this process is that even though God cannot do it for you, He promises to help by His spirit:

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 NIV

Desire

Eventually, studying the word will become a part of you and it will no longer be a tedious task but a desire, a longing and you will start to look forward to your time in the Word of God. Like the psalmist, this will be your confession:

Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Psalm 119:97 NIV

And believe you me, this happens to everyone who goes through the process of discipline. The Word starts to come alive everyday and it draws you in until your desire is for more. And finally the most amazing thing happens:

Delight

You start to delight in the word of God.

How I delight in your commands! How I love them! Psalm 119:47 NLT

Direct me in the path of Your commandments, for there I find delight. Psalm 119:35 Berean Study Bible

What an amazing feeling! and if you were seeking to go deeper with God, at this point you will be like a tree with deep seated roots that are nourished by God Himself.

Blessed is the man… whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither– whatever they do prospers. Psalm 1:1-3 NIV

Wow! I want that!

So I leave you my dear readers with this: Be intentional in studying the Word of God. The command to us today is to

Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 King James 2000 Bible

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The Tracks of My Tears

The first day I heard this song, “The Track of My Tears” by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles I was instantly drawn to the lyrics. I’ll share with you for those who have never heard this song:

People say I’m the life of the party
Because I tell a joke or two
Although I might be laughing loud and hearty
Deep inside I’m blue

So take a good look at my face
You’ll see my smile looks out of place
If you look closer, it’s easy to trace
The tracks of my tears

As someone who has suffered from depression at various stages in my life, the words of this song ring true. Many times I have had to keep up appearances simply because it is easier than trying to explain to everyone why I am sad. For crying out loud half the time I do not even know why I am sad. And yet people who “know” me will never believe I have struggled with depression.

I think of all those times I have been in church, my heart so heavy, my mind spinning out of control because I have so much turmoil within me; barely holding on to my dignity for fear of breaking down and sobbing like a baby; part of me praying, hoping that God will use someone to speak a word of encouragement to me, that someone will discern that I was in distress and just give me a hug! The service ends and people greet me “how are you my sister?” “how’s the family?” while barely making eye contact. Sometimes even before I can respond, they have moved on to the next person saying their hellos as they make their way out of church. If only they looked closer, they would see the tracks of my tears behind the smile, the sorrow in my eye behind all that luscious mascara.

Being intentional about loving others means we take the time to STOP, look another in the eye and ask, “How are you doing?” and in that moment devote all attention to listening not just to words but to the heart of that person.

I think of the good Samaritan who helped the man bleeding and dying on the Jericho road. He did not just help; He did not just say, “how are you?” and keep walking.  He stopped,  and noticed the tears… the sorrow… the hunger…the nakedness (physical and spiritual)…the guilt… the shame…the deep seated need… He saw that the man was wounded and he bound up the wounds, pouring on oil and wine (Luke 10:25-29). and Jesus is saying to you today:

“Go and do likewise.” Like 10:37

God is calling us to pour oil and wine into the lives of our neighbors, our friends, our coworkers, our subordinates, our classmates, strangers; to bind up their wounds; to bring healing to every life we come into contact with; to build and not tear down each other. He is calling us to the highest place of love…

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and, Love your neighbor as yourself. Luke 10:27 NIV

P.S. if you are feeling a little down right now, Jesus wants you to know He knows all about your struggles and has wrapped you in his loving arms. And this is what He says to you right now: “I have loved you with an everlasting love” Jeremiah 31:3 NIV.

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The Evidence of Love

Have you ever found yourself saying, “I love you Lord” but deep down you are not really sure if you even know what that means? Well…that is me 99.9% of the time. However, today I discovered that I can finally put the question of whether I truly love God or not to rest with this simple test:

And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. 2 John 1:6a NIV

Wow! this actually stopped me in my tracks!

The evidence of the love we have for God is found in our obedience. To rephrase, obedience is the inertia (the driving force) of our love. It is the vessel that carries out the intent of our love.  It is the donkey that carries a triumphant Jesus into Jerusalem.  A scripture comes to mind:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son… John 3:16 KJV

The intent of this love was that Jesus, would pay the ultimate sacrifice to redeem us back to God. However, if Jesus had not been obedient, the purpose for that love would have never been fulfilled.

He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Philippians 2:8 NLT

We sing wonderful songs of the love that motivated Christ to die for us and that is amazing. But let me tell you,  it was obedience that sealed the transaction of love the day an agonizing Jesus carried His old rugged cross up to Golgotha. Jesus had a choice (authority) to lay his life down and take it up again and that day, He was intentional in His obedience  to choose you and I (read John 10:18).

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. Romans 5:19 NIV

The victory of salvation and redemption came through the obedience of Jesus. This is why you cannot speak of a victorious christian life outside of obedience. As one of my readers said, obedience is key. But I digress…

Jesus testified to His love for God in His obedience:

But I do exactly what the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. John 14:31 Berean Study Bible

So I leave you with this thought: To love is to obey and to obey is to love. Be intentional.

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The Intentionality of Obedience Part 1

via Why marry a Godly person? Part 1

A few days ago God taught me a valuable lesson on obedience through this post on “Why marry a godly person” referenced above. As I was reading and re-reading my post as I always do, my eye caught something I had written in the moment without much thought. This is what I wrote:

“So the question today is, “Why is it important to marry a Godly person?” The obvious answer is because the bible says we should not be equally yoked with unbelievers… and rightly so! But why? Two answers…

In part 1, I shared about foundation and then proceeded to share about God’s Spirit in us in part 2. As I pondered over the blogs again, I realized I had missed the more obvious and most important answer: BECAUSE GOD SAYS SO!

Wow! that simple…

I love to ask and answer the question of why…why this?…why that? In fact I’d have fit right in with the Berean Christians (Acts 17:11) back in the day! It is how I process life and my world, and it is part of my process with God. When I read a scripture and want to go deeper with it, I ask, “why?”. When my expectations for life fall short and the answers to prayer is not forthcoming, I ask God, “why?” Sometimes when my husband randomly says ” I love you”, I ask “why?”

I do not believe the statement, “God is unquestionable” in the sense that we should never ask God why. I am certain of the fact that God is interested in a passionate and open relationship with creation where we can ask Him anything. He is not a Father so far removed from His children; a Lover so distant and cold; that we only have a one-sided relationship with Him. I am sure that as much as God is interested in our business, He wants us to be curious and inquisitive about His. So dare to ask, “why?” (In the same breath I caution not to be arrogant. Do not ask questions in a manner that demands that the Creator justify His ways to His creation. Ask with the willingness to be content with His answer even if He does not give an answer at all).

When it comes to obedience, I am learning that God does not mind when we question His demands and His righteous laws in our quest to obey them. Many righteous men of old did same. We have examples in Moses, Gideon, David, Job, prophets of old, the disciples, and many others. However, God is more impressed when we obey without questioning… just trusting fully that He will never lead us astray.

Abraham, the patriarch of faith, is an exemplar of such obedience. He trusted God in the face of many difficult life decisions. And in every instance, even though he did not have all the pieces of the puzzle, he simply obeyed because… GOD SAID SO.

As much as I love to know the what, the why, the how, the when, the who,  and the where of every circumstance, I believe God is leading me to a place where I can step  outside of the confines of what I know to a place of absolute trust; A place where my trust is without borders and goes beyond the questions to the place of “because you say so”

Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” Luke 5:5 NIV

So as I start this journey into the intentionality of obedience, I encourage you to hop on this train with me and be open to saying, “I will obey…BECAUSE GOD SAID SO”

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior (Hillsong UNITED: Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)

 

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Why marry a Godly person? Part 2

So a couple of days ago, I started this series; “Why marry a Godly person” to share what God taught me about the topic and one of my readers requested I finish it. So here goes… The second reason why we must not be equally yoked with unbelievers is a lot more abstract than the first; which was to build your house (marriage) on the rock.

I’ll attempt to explain the second reason from the scripture:

Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? James 4:5 NIV

When you became born again, God’s Spirit took up residence in your heart with a promise never to leave you or forsake you. This Spirit gives you the right to have a father-son/daughter relationship with God Himself!

And he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us. 2 Corinthians 1:22 NLT

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15 NLT

God’s Holy Spirit in you is a guarantee that you will receive everything he has promised including eternal life (Read Ephesians 1:14). In other words, God does not take the deposition and disposition of his Spirit in us lightly. He jealously longs after his Spirit. Dare I say, He jealously guards and watches over his Spirit in you. Now what has this got to do with marriage?

Sex is a spiritual transaction that unites body, soul, and spirit. It is why two become one in marriage. Unfortunately, that equation works whether the union is between two married christians, or a one night stand, or a believer-unbeliever duo. The only force, strong enough to undo the transactions of sex, is the Word of God. Remember the Word of God divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow…. so if you have had multiple sexual partners, all is not lost… but I digress.

As I was saying, whenever there is a sexual union, there is an exchange that has the potential to contaminate your spirit; the new Spirit that God Himself has given you; the Spirit of Redemption, the Spirit that he jealously yearns for. And God does not like that. So now in the light of this, lets read the anchor scripture from which this discussion stems:

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 2 Corinthians 6:14 – 7:1 NIV