We talked a little bit before about how God is a just, merciful and faithful God and how it is important that we too should mature in those characteristics through the guidance and assistance of the Holy Spirit.
If you are willing let’s continue up that path a little more. Ever feel the presence of God? Ever feel His holiness? For those who have experienced God holiness, it is something that stops you in your tracks. Our pastor of our church had me pray during our communion one time and as I began to think and speak about these symbols (the bread and grape juice) in my hand that represented Christ’s body and blood, God’s mighty presence came upon me like a great shadow of sorts. A shadow isn’t a great example because God doesn’t cast any shadow but imagine just seeing the Statue of Liberty only in pictures and then being able to stand next to the Statue of Liberty and realizing the magnitude of that great structure. That would only be a little taste of what if felt like when I sensed the presence of God holiness. The presence of God was so great that I could barely finish the prayer.
The same is true of the angels who have come from God’s presence. They have God’s holiness covering them and if you have ever seen an angel and/or read accounts of people seeing angels then you know what I am talking about. God’s holy presence can be overwhelming and even frightening. I remember seeing an angel in a God sent dream. A group of us were sitting in this room as an angel holding an open book came flying through the room. Its face was so luminescent that its face was just a ball of light. God’s glorious holy presence was so saturated on this angel that I was afraid of it and I even tried to push myself into a nook in the room. When the angel had gone by… I immediately woke up and let me just tell you, I didn’t dare look out my window because I was afraid I might see it there too.
Moses had the same glorious presence on his face after he came down from meeting with God. The glorious presence of God was so great on his face that he had to put a sack over his head just so the Israelites could see him. Can you imagine if that was just a tiny glimpse of God that Moses saw, can you imagine what it will be like to see the Father in Heaven and seeing the full magnitude of His holiness?
That my friend is only a tiny slice of the endless ways we can be immersed in the presence of God. God’s holiness should be a reminder to us of how great God really is and how we should honor Him in our lives.
Jesus says, "Don't be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28
If you examine the words “fear God” in your favorite bible search website or concordance, you will see that “fearing God” was an not just an important principle all the way back to Genesis but a way to see life more clearly.
If you look up the word “fear” in the Hebrew and Greek you will see more then a dozen definitions pertaining to “the fear of God”.
Fear it is to recognize God’s ”sovereignty” and “Holiness”; to realize the great “awe” of God; to appreciate and highly respect His “awesomeness” and to have “reverence” towards God; and to “not take lightly” the power God holds.
Proverbs 4:23 says “Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.”
If you have reverence for God and/or some kind understanding of how great God is, are you going to want to do what God tells you to do and not to do?
I probably will speak for most of us reading this, “Thank God for his grace and faithfulness and Jesus Christ being nailed to that cross for my sins because without that I would be lost. I wouldn’t even know how to start over, when I did mess up. That's why it's so important to demonstrate not just God’s grace to others but God’s holiness as well.
If we just took God’s grace for granted and did not exude or display our realization of how great God is, how would we be any different then someone who hasn’t come to Christ yet?
How might someone know whom we serve and whom we trust in?
As the Lord was leading me through different passages Deuteronomy 30:15-20, 1 Corinthians 10, Colossians 3:1-17 and Romans 8:12-17 it became abundantly clear what our actions show and how important they are - not to just those in this world around us but God Himself.
Deuteronomy 30 spoke to me about walking in God ways verses serving and worshiping other “things” or “false gods”
The question then rose from within me. “How might Christians serve and fall into the trap of serving other so called gods? “ The answer was… “by the way we act and behave”.
What cup (the Lord’s table or the cup of demons) do we serve through our actions?
1 Corinthians 10 speaks of not making our brother and sister stumble but it also speaks to us about what and who are actions serve and how they can serve either God or demons.
“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven will fill your thoughts. Do not think only about the things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Chris, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. So put to death the sinful, earthly thing lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust and shameful desires. Don’t be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry. God’s terrible anger will come upon those who do such things. You used to do them when your life was still part of this world. But now it the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old evil nature and all it’s wicked deeds. In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave or free. Chris is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. Since God chose you to be holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, let it be a representative of the Lord Jesus, all while giving thanks through him to God the Father.” (Colossians 2:1-17)
“And whatever you do or say, let it be a representative of the Lord Jesus….”
I had to think, "Why did God get so angry at the Israelites when they started to grumble and complain after He had just brought them out of Egypt?" Who did the grumbling and complaining serve? Who does it serve when we do the things God has told us not to do?
We must be careful and follow the leading of the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) for that is how we demonstrate God’s holiness.
If you feel led read Romans 8:12-29
Thanks for following along with me as I journal these things down.
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