02/22 Reading - Thoughts & Comments DX3

22-Feb Leviticus 19-20 Acts 15-16 Psalms 111-115 Proverbs 22

Lev 19:1-2 (NIV) 1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

1 Peter 1:13-16 (KJV) 13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

ho·ly    /ˈhōlē/   Adjective
Dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; sacred: "the Holy Bible"; "the holy month of Ramadan".
(of a person) Devoted to the service of God: "saints and holy men".
Synonyms:   sacred - saintly - sainted - saint - sacrosanct - blessed

God reminds us that He is holy.  Therefore, He commands us to be holy.  This is not a good idea, nor a suggestion, but a command.  May I be specific today in my focus with this writing?  

I have lived in the gospel arena for 31 years.  I've pastored churches and traveled the world in missions work.  I've spoken at leadership conferences and been around the horn as they say.  Through all of this, I continually find believers caught and stuck in a trap.  I hope to spread some light on the subject and give you some relief in the event that you are trapped like many believers.

So many people are locked into a personal prison of belief, that God is watching your every move.  He notices when you are not ACTING right, or talking right.  If you do wrong, you may feel that God may be angry with you.  People have this MICRO vision that God is watching every move you make, kind of like Santa Clause does . . .  "He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake.  He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!"

We can become so focused on the micro level with God and "personal holiness" that it can become a bondage.  I remember when I was young in the Lord, in my first few years of serving Him.  I was a gospel singer and I traveled to churches to sing for Jesus, and to evangelize teens.  And I remember that I would start sweating about 3 days before a church service that I was going to sing at.  I knew that if I thought something wrong, did something wrong, or said something wrong, that I would feel this immediate alienation from God as if He was angry at me and had left me.  This feeling would not go away for three days.  I knew that God was a "three angry day" God for me.  And it was a terrible thing to stand up on the stage, sing for Jesus, and not feel the power of the Holy Spirit or the love of God, as if I had been alienated by God.  What a horrible trap.  I would literally go into 3 day fasts and protective positioning to try to keep my relationship with God straight so He wouldn't leave me just before I did a service in honor of Him.  HUH?  Exactly.  The human psyche is a crazy thing and I was trapped in a mode that was not biblical, but it was how I felt in all reality.  I was doing all I could do to STAY HOLY and not offend God.

I have grown and learned alot about God since those first few years.  I know that He loves me unconditionally, that He will never leave me or forsake me, and that He is not surprised when I blow it.  I know now that He is always with me and that I can't do anything to shake His presence.  And one of the most important things that I think I've learned;  God wants me to focus on the MACRO, not the MICRO.  If I can get the big picture, the smaller picture will easily take care of itself.  What does this mean?

COMPASS GUIDE helps you to capture the macro plan of God for your life.  It's the big picture, the long term plan, and the end result of what God has for you on earth.  When a person figures out who they are in Christ, and what specifically God has called them to do for Him on earth, that person will begin to BE HOLY AS HE IS HOLY.

Holiness is being connected to God.  It's devotion and consecration to God, and service to God's purpose.  Holiness isn't a picture of some monk dressed in a robe, sitting in a monestary and praying all the time (although some monks are consecrating themselves to God in this manner).  Holiness is YOU finding out what God has planned for your life, and then consecrating, committing, and devoting yourself to that cause.  This is holiness!  Once this lifestyle begins to unfold, the holiness and consecration that connects you to God will bring the POWER TO LIVE A GODLY LIFE in the micro vision.

People try to stop cussing in order to please God.  They try to stop drinking or carousing, and they try to crucify the flesh so that they will not do anything wrong before God.  But what good is it to have a person who doesn't do any of the vile things of the flesh, but this person NEVER finds who they are in Christ, and they never do what God wants them to do on earth?  Is this person holy?  No.

Was King David holy?  Yes.  Did he have some serious setbacks and problems in his life? Yes.  Lust, adultry, murder, yet God said that David was a man after His own heart.  David learned from his errors and he brought himself back around to focus on God's plan and intentions for His life.  He did what he saw God doing.  He said what God was saying.  He was HOLY, committed, consecrated to God's work and plan.

It's important to crucify the flesh, to work on the details of our lives, and to try to, NOT do the things that are contrary to the Word of God in our every day lives.  But I am convinced that a Holy Spirit power comes upon a person to take care of and cover these minor things when we get the MACRO PICTURE and start moving out with a long term vision that we know is authorized by God.  If God has called me to a long term vision, why would I want to continue playing around in the fields of fools, drinking, cussing, chewing, or whatever the infraction is that used to hang me up.  The MACRO vision will cause the MICRO vision to come into line, and the power of the Holy Spirit will empower you to walk as a free individual in Christ.  Your accuracy, faith, and commitment with God's vision in your life will drive you to be holy as He is holy.  He is committed to the long term plan.  Are you?  I know that you are, and that makes you HOLY!      

Tomorrow's Reading:
23-Feb Leviticus 21-22 Acts 17-18 Psalms 116-120 Proverbs 23