Lights, Camera...

"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'" (1 Peter 1:13-16).

Did you get to see any movies over the holiday break? I admire how much action and work happens before the making of a movie. God asks us to be prepared for action, too. However, what sort of action does God want us to do?

With Christ's work on the cross and the Holy Spirit's work within us, we are able to be obedient to God's lead. Will we follow it? Have we confessed our sins before our holy God? Will we let the Holy Spirit work in us and give us the power to follow Him? Christ came to earth to die in our place for our sins, but He also showed us how to live for God out of love for Him and for others.

As believers, we know that God is the source of light. We are given light from God that comes from being a part of His family and having the Spirit working in us. The camera is ready, as there is a world of people who don't know the Messiah yet. What is left? Action. Will we obey and follow God's lead, to live for Him and to reach a world in need?

Do you have the light? Do you see the camera? If yes, then let us move forward to action, following our Savior's footsteps.

Lord, thank You for helping us come to know You. Thank You for developing a relationship with us. Help us honor You in our resolutions and in this upcoming year. Guide us in how to bring Your light to the world through our actions. Amen.

Above study based on the workbook HeartCall: Women Sharing God's Heart (Jaye Martin, 1999).
Photo from www.lovelyandcompany.co.uk.

A Holy Christmas

"For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his  name"  (Luke 1:49, ESV).

Holy is His name! Holy is the name of the Most High and Mighty God! In her hymn found in Luke 1:46-55, Mary sang of the holiness of God. She had a right perspective on it all. It wasn't about her, it was about the God of the universe. It was about a mighty God who was holy!

To be holy is to be set apart, to be pure, to be without blemish. God is the only one who is holy. He is the only Messiah. He is the only one worthy. God sent Jesus, His Son, to earth to show us how to live and how to die. Jesus is God in flesh - fully human, and yet still God. Jesus was holy. Our minds cannot conceive of what it means to be without sin, but Jesus was without sin. Mary understood enough to know that she was carrying the Messiah of the world. She understood that God was holy and that He had done a mighty work in her both physically and spiritually. She rejoiced in His holiness and in His mighty hand in her life. No doubt she understood that she was not worthy, yet He was.

We live in a world that is full of sin. In fact, we tend to look the other way or just ignore some things in our lives. Sometimes during the holidays, we forget that we must be holy before God. When we are not holy (and have unconfessed sin), we tend to let things get to us. People and even family members bother us. Somehow we get so busy that we forget to sit before the Lord and confess our sins one by one.  One thing leads to another and we find ourselves stressed and losing perspective on the little things.

I was blessed to be in two small gatherings to pray for my friend Lisa. Lisa lost an eye to cancer 20 years ago. The cancer has returned in the other eye and we prayed over her today. Her surgery is December 23. Praying for her healing has brought a new perspective to the season for me. The things that seemed big are now small. My personal sin seems so huge as I have close times with the Lord. I am so aware of my shortcomings and I am committed to keep my eyes on the log in my own eye and not on the specks I see in others. I'm sure I will fall back but I'm going to keep pursuing holiness. I'm going to keep confessing my sin and keep my eyes on what is important - that Jesus came into the world to save us.

Mary had many things happening - she was pregnant, the baby wasn't from Joseph, her friends and family must have wondered about it all, and she was staying with a relative - but she praised God that He was mighty and holy. She knew that He was in control and to keep her focus on His holiness - not on her worthiness.

This Christmas, will you join me? Will you confess your sins before the Lord? Will you concentrate on the Lord and His mighty hand in your life. He chose your family and placed you there. He knows, cares, and is working. Let's fall before Him and "be holy because He is holy."

Have a "Mary" Christmas!

Holy - the Son of God

"And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God’” (Luke 1:35, ESV).

Holy. The word described Mary's son, the Son of God. I wonder if she fully understood it all. Can you imagine that you would give birth to the Holy, Son of God? My Logos Bible software describes holy as "exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness; divine" from Merriam-Webster's Dictionary. I think of holy as one who is set-apart, one who is pure and without fault While Mary heard the angel say it, I am sure the thought must have overwhelmed her. And yet somehow, she trusted God to walk her through each day and learned to depend on the Holy Spirit that had come on her.

It is one thing to know that God is holy. We may not comprehend that but we can accept it. The hard part comes when we try to understand how we are to be holy as it says in 1 Peter 1:16, "since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy." We are to be set apart, to be holy and pure. The only way we can do that is with the help of the Holy Sprit. When we confess our sins, He is faithful and will forgive them and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

This season, let's be like Mary. Let's trust that God is holy. Let's believe in Him and take Him at His word. Let's ask forgiveness of Him and others when we lose our cool because the season is so hectic. Let's remember that there are more important things than perfectly decorated homes and perfect gifts. Let's remember that He is the reason we are here. He is holy. Let's fall on our faces, confess our sins, and make a commitment to start over and to be like Him - Holy.

Will you join me? So many need to know the cleansing power of God. He is the reason for the season.

God is Holy and Pure

"And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; His glory fills the whole earth” (Isaiah 6:3, HCSB) .

“God is holy and pure. There is no impurity in Him. He cannot look on evil. He is a God without blemish; He is a God who is free from all flaws. As leaders, we can only be holy and pure by coming before Him and allowing Him to cleanse us and sanctify us. We do not assume that saying a quick ‘God forgive me’ will do it. We take the time necessary to repent and to allow Him to remove our impurities and make us holy. We are to be holy because He is holy. Only those who have come before Him on a continual basis can be holy and pure leaders. When we disregard our need for Him, we lose our effectiveness to be the holy and pure leaders that He calls us to be.”

Oh Lord, make us holy and pure today. We want to lead like You.

(excerpts from Chapter 4 – Follow the Leader by Jaye Martin, Women Leading Women, Martin & Stovall, B&H Academic, 2008).

Make me a Masterpiece

“If a man cleanses himself…he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work” (2 Timothy 2:21, NIV).

Prepared by God - Job 10:8-12
God made each one of us. I love that Job says that His hands shaped and made us, He molded us like clay. God knit our bodies and lives together so that His life may flow from our bodies and from our lives. He has a purpose for each of us.

Made Holy - 2 Corinthians 4:7-12
We see in 2 Corinthians that while He made us like jars of clay, He is the treasure that fills us with His "all-surpassing power" and while we may be hard pressed on every side, we will not be crushed, in-despair, abondoned or destroyed. We may feel like we are going to crack but we aren't. The life of Christ is always at work in us. We are made for a mightly, holy, and heavenly purpose.

Today, let's remember that the troubles of the world need not be our troubles. While we feel that we are just cracked pots, the Lord is able to use us to encourage others. We are masterpieces made for His glory and not ours. Let's allow God to cleanse our vessels so that we will be useful to Him today.