Genuine Holiness

It amazes me how much time and energy is spent in the pulpit trying to make people behave properly when Jesus says so clearly that it is our heart that really matters (Mt. 15:19). Now, this does not mean that our behavior is unimportant. God is holy and He calls us to be holy (1 Peter 1:16). But it does mean that true holiness must extend beyond behavior and into the condition of our hearts.

If we behave absolutely in accordance with the Biblical teaching, but have the wrong motivation in our hearts, then our holiness amounts to nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). The holiness God is looking for is right behavior motivated by love. That is true holiness.

So, how do we get there? Certainly, we can’t do it on our own. Our hearts are deceitful and we cannot even understand them fully (Jeremiah 17:9). The only way is have our hearts transformed by God – cleansed of all its ugliness and filled instead with His love. It is only then that we are able to truly love others and to walk in true holiness. It is only then that we are really Christlike.

Of course, allowing God to transform our hearts can mean that we engage in prayer, Bible study and other Christian activities. However, each of these only works to the extent that the Holy Spirit is active in the moment transforming us. That said, it is so much easier just to seek the presence of God directly than it is to engage in these other activities. It is in His presence that hearts are changed and nowhere else.

Being Spiritually Dry

Have you ever felt spiritually dry even though you have been doing all the right things?

When that happens we often make one of two choices. We either blame our church because it no longer meets our needs ("There's too much milk and not enough meat") or we blame ourselves. In this second instance, we decide that we need to fix the problem - often by doing more - more Bible study, more prayer, more acts of service, etc.

Maybe, just maybe, there is no problem that needs to be fixed at all. Could it be that the God who made you and loves you has pulled Himself away just a bit to create in your heart a greater hunger for Him? Is it possible that instead of being chronically disappointed in you, He actually wants to be closer to you?

Could it be that spiritual dryness is an invitation for intimacy and not an opportunity for guilt and criticism?

I think so.

Christianity with Power

In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells the disciples that they would be given power for ministry. It reads:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Here are a few thoughts on this verse:

1. The verse is not referring to merely receiving the Holy Spirit. That happened to the disciples earlier (John 20:21-22).

2. This empowering was so important that Jesus told the disciples to do nothing until they received it (Acts 1:4).

3. This verse was fulfilled in Acts 2 at Pentecost and it involved much more than speaking in tongues. After Pentecost, we see in the disciples a new boldness, unity, and spiritual power. There is also a remarkable lack of selfish ambition.

It seems to me that we in America lack spiritual power. Only a small percentage of what is accomplished by most churches is the unmistakable work of God. Much of what we do is based on human efforts and abilities instead. What will it take for us to finally enter into power? Here are a few ideas:

- We need to admit that the way we function now is powerless. It is time to quit pretending that our candles are bonfires and confess our poverty before God.

- Like the disciples, we must wait on God, seek after Him, and receive power from Him.

- I do not think that receiving God’s power is done merely “by faith” as we often think of that phrase. Receiving things by faith is often an excuse for being lazy. Instead, there has to be an intentional pressing in that costs us something – an ongoing asking, seeking and knocking. That is faith at work in a way that allows us to receive.

The American Church is losing ground with each passing year. And sadly, rather than humbling ourselves and seeking God, we are caught up in all kinds of human efforts to make things better. The only solution that will work, however, is a genuine move of God in power.

I think that when this happens, God will be seeking out people who are willing to abandon themselves and their reputations and their security to follow Him. God will not be looking for the talented or the leaders to further His purposes. He will be looking for people like Mary in Nazareth – people who have no other qualification except that they are willing.

Am I willing? Are you?

Another ginosko (See March 13, 2009 post)

In John 17:3, Jesus says:

"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

The word in the Greek for "know" is ginosko. So what Jesus is saying here is that eternal life is not found in an intellectual understanding of God, but in an intimate knowing of Him. It is a relationship thing - not an intellectual or performance thing.

Being in the Presence of God

When Jesus says to abide in Him, it is easy to focus on His command to us. What we can miss in the process is that Jesus is also revealing that it is His desire to be with us. In effect, the command to abide in Him is not so much a command as it is an invitation. Jesus wants us to experience His presence in an on-going way and He invites us to participate in that very thing. Why? Because He wants to experience our presence.

Knowing God and Knowing God

It is a bit of a shame that English has only one major word for knowing. In the Greek of the New Testament, there are two main words, oida and ginosko. Oida refers to knowing something through an intellectual apprehension of the subject. Ginosko, in contrast, carries with it a sense of experientially knowing something.

So, when the Gospels say that Joseph was not intimate with Mary until after Jesus was born, they say that Joseph did not know (ginosko) her. Likewise, when the woman with the issue of blood felt that she was healed and when Jesus felt the healing power leave him, in both cases, the word used is ginosko. Both the woman and Jesus knew what had occurred not by an intellectual understanding, but by the experience of what just happened.

1 Jn 3:6 states (in part): No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

This verse is puzzling until we understand that the word for know in this verse is ginosko. What John is saying is that the way to overcome sin is to have a life-changing experience of the presence and love of God - to know God by an intimate experience, not just intellectually.

This truth highlights that being a Christian is all about experiencing the love and presence of God. Everything else in the Christian life is the natural result of having developed the habit of being in His presence in a significant, experiential way.

God's Leading

How often have you heard that God leads us through circumstances? Does that really make sense? This is not to say that God does not use circumstances, but it seems like circumstances in themselves, are not good sign posts of the Lord's leading. Think of what would have happened if Paul had followed God's leading through circumstances.