Thoughts on Holiness...

God is a Holy Being.  In Leviticus 19:2 He says:
²Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.
Peter paraphrases this verse in 1 Peter 1:16:
¹⁶Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

According to the dictionary holy means "exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness."  Holy is something set apart in it's perfection.  If God is a holy and a divine being, he cannot tolerate sin.  As Socractes said, It may be that Deity can forgive sins, but I don't see how. 

So where does that leave sinful man?  We can not change our sin nature.  It is born into us as genetic defect.  According to the dictionary, the word sin comes from a Latin root that means "guilty."  The definition that best fits sin as it relates to a holy God is this:  "a vitiated state of human nature in which the self is estranged from God."
I had to look up "vitiate" which means to make faulty or defective.  It also means to debase in moral or aesthetic status.  Therefore the definition of sin could be stated as a debased or defected state of human nature in which a person's innermost being is separated from God.    In other words we suffer from a defected state where we were made faulty by Adam. 
Separated from God?  Made faulty and debased from the start?  What can we do?  Fortunately The Lord had a plan.  He prophecied this in the Garden of Eden:

¹⁴And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:  ¹⁵And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.   Genesis 3:14-15.

This prophecy was of a virgin birth, the crushing of sin, and the death and resurrection of a savior.  This was fufilled in the most beautiful passage of Scripture - John 3:16 where it says:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believe on him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.

It boggles the mind that God "gave" so that I might have life. 

Msf :)

a little rant!

http://www.joshuaproject.net/index.php

Just a rant from me J

Having witnessed the tears of anguish for the lost souls from a new believer recently I felt very convicted.. I was thinking to myself the enemy loves to divert our attention from what really matters to God.. the people who have yet come  to know Him.. the souls that are hungry for Him and are looking elsewhere for answers..

We know the King of Kings.. we know His heart is that no man should perish.. we know the truth that is found in Him and Him alone.. He is the way the truth and the life.. He reminds us daily  the harvest is here...

and I was thinking  we can spend so much time on arguing about the smallest details.. about what church we go to.. about the 10 virgins, are they saved or not saved.. although these things have a place for discussion, we must make sure they don’t consume our heart or take place of the compassion and the love  we must have for those who don’t know Christ Jesus..

When I meet people I have’t seen for a while the first question is .. ‘what church do you go to?’.. oh please don’t be offended, but that is just becoming so irrelevant! It is time to wake up and remember it’s about Jesus not the church!! I think He left the building a long time ago!!!

Yes, a thousand times over, It's about JESUS, our Lord and Saviour.. and going about His Kingdom business.. (without being too busy for the King)..

The question to ask each other is how are we going with our relationship with God.. Are we spending time with Him in intimacy.. are we taking the Great Commission seriously? Is our heart devoted to Him and His truth?..

Lets ask Him daily, Lord, use us, we are not ever going to be perfect, so take these vessels as we are and use us to reach the lost, to bring your Name glory, You are the Potter.. Lord we want to take the great Commission seriously and spread your love, your truth and your presence wherever we go.. In the Name of Yeshua, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!! Amen!

The  real heroes of faith are getting their hands dirty with one passion in their heart.. to exalt God, to see the lost come to Christ Jesus, their King..

Well praise God with all my heart that His promises stand, and we will see the Glory of God regardless.. if like some people think it depended on us, we would be a sorry lot!!!

And I could rant on.. but this was just a thought xx

So for those who still wonder what church I go to? I go to the ‘What if’ church..

“What if the word church in ordinary conversation called to mind

‘uncontrived,’ ‘joy,’  or ‘where God has His way’ instead of pews, parking

lots, and preachers?

What if church people had no idea what a ‘sinner’s prayer’ or ‘tithing’ meant, but were instead joyfully repentant, generous without hesitation, and innately compelled by love?

What if church were not a place to learn religion but the best tangible proof of God’s existence?

Where two or three are gathered in My Name.. says the Lord..