Be Ye Holy....

This is one that I cannot take credit for.  I received this illumination at a Men's Conference and it changed my life.  It is a very simple way to help you accept who God is and how He feels about you and I.  I wish that I could remember the name of the pastor that shared this truth with me.

He began his dissertation with the verse, "Be ye holy, for I am holy".  Then he looked at every man in the room and said, "You all struggle with that don't you"?  We nodded our heads and murmured amongst ourselves.  He continued, "So did I, until very recently".  He paused and said. "You all seemed shocked by that statement".  He was right.  We were.  You see, this gentleman was a spiritual father.  He was well established within the pastoral circles and very highly thought of among his peers.

So, he began the story of Moses.  He spoke of how Moses was tending to his flock in the desert and noticed one of the sheep heading for the hills.  Moses went looking for it and in his search, came upon a bush, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT (that is an important point that I will explain in a minute) that was burning, but was not consumed by the fire.  Then, the bush started talking to Moses.

So, let's stop and review: So far, we have a talking bush that is on fire, but not being consumed by the fire.

The bush called Moses' name and Moses answered the bush.  The bush said to Moses, "Remove your sandals for the place where you stand is holy ground".  Got all that?  Good, because there is going to be a quiz!

Question Number One:  How on earth can a place, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT, be considered holy ground?

Answer:  Because the voice speaking from the bush was that of the Lord.  Wherever the Spirit of the Lord is has to be holy.

Question Number Two:  When you gave your life to Christ, didn't you invite Him to come and reside in your heart?

Answer: Yes

Question Number Three:  Well then, if the place where the Spirit of the Lord dwells has to be a holy place, why are you striving to be something that the presence of the Holy Spirit, that DWELLS IN YOU, has already completed in you?

Answer:  ? (This would be a good time to go get that box of Kleenex you're gonna need for the bloody nose you are about to have.  Go ahead.  I'll wait)

Romans 8:29, 30 is a powerful passage.  But it is written in the Past Perfected tense.  That means the actions mentioned in the passage HAVE BEEN COMPLETED!  Read it that way:

               29.  For those that God FOREKNEW, He also PREDESTINED to be CONFORMED to the likeness of His Son, that He [Jesus] might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those He PREDESTINED, He also CALLED; those He CALLED, He also JUSTIFIED; those He JUSTIFIED, He also GLORIFIED.

Listen, I don't always FEEL conformed or glorified.  As a matter of fact, if you read my post from yesterday, I feel unworthy and like failure.  But, God's Word tells me to work diligently (without quitting; without giving up) to conform (gradually change the appearance of the outward presentation of) my life to what He says IS TRUE about me.  It says that His mercies to me for my failures are new every morning.  But, it also says something else...in Hebrews 11:6, it says that without faith, it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God.  In other words, if you do not believe the things that God says are true about you, you cannot have or be those things!  And the only way to learn to trust God is to get to know God.  And the only way to get to know God is to spend time with Him.  Yeah, just like you did when you were hitting on your spouse, before you got married or like you do now with that television or those video games.  I have a love affair with my remote control, too!  So, I ain't picking on you.  I'm just saying...

Here is another piece of advice:  when you DO find some time to spend with God....shut up.  You have been talking about all you need from Him for as long as you have been begging (praying for you religious folks that I just offended)!  All God asks us to do is show up and listen for that still, small voice.  You cannot do that, if your lips (spiritual or otherwise) are moving. Relationship is two-way and I am certain that God has some things that He wants to get off of His chest.  How much He loves you and the plans that He has for you are very important topics to God.


Here is the Father's Love Letter to you and you're welcome!

E