Romans 7: 8 [note verse from context in bold/underlined] … Rom. 7: 4 So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. 7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet." 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead.
My Journal for Today: Continuing the discussion of the effects of the Law on sin in our lives, yesterday (from Rom. 7: 7) we saw that the Law reveals sin. It is like a mirror unto holiness; and it, sometimes painfully, reveals all the ugliness in our soul.
Now, in today’s highlight verse (Rom. 7: 8), Paul uses himself, as he does in much of his discussion on sin in Romans 7, illustrating that The Law also arouses sin in sinful mankind. It’s the old, but perverse, truth that when we’re confronted when THE Truth or with God as our Holy authority, our “natural,” reactive tendency is to rebel. John MacArthur uses the old illustration of what a young adolescent will do walking down the sidewalk, confronted with a “KEEP OFF THE GRASS!” sign. You may have been that child; and yes, I’ll bet you did what I did – i.e., tiptoe through the grass. Admit it; that’s who we are as sinful man [or woman].
So, today we’re confronted with the reality that the sin nature remaining in us will want to take every “opportunity” to taunt us toward sin when we know God’s holy signpost. That word, “opportunity,” is the Greek term “aphorme,” which actually means “taunt;” and the world has a military derivation, meaning that a base camp is established from which attacks on an enemy can be launched. And that’s exactly what Satan does, perversely using the “base camp” of God’s eternal Law. Satan knows that mankind, with his curse-driven sin nature, cannot live up to The Law, so he dangles it out in front of man, tempting him at every “opportunity” to make us want to walk on the grass in rebellion to God’s signpost of holiness. And Satan also wants us to try to do the work of avoidance on our own, trying to independently live up to God’s Law. Our enemy knows that we will never be able to do so; and so he can then use our headstrong nature to create discouragement in the hearts of God’s redeemed. It’s a double whammy; and the Law is there, essentially provoking it.
Yes, of course, it’s true that we must face our inability to overcome our sin nature and the Law on our own; but we can and will do just that … IF … we choose to submit and receive the grace that God has waiting and available for any born-again believer who would choose to accept and use that grace, provided by God’s Spirit, to overcome sin. We can live in holiness; but we have to choose surrender to God’s Spirit to find the victory.
My Prayer Today: Without Your grace, Lord, I am lost in my sinfulness. Amen
Showing posts with label holiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiness. Show all posts
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
March 8, 2011 … Realizing the Need for Seriousness About Holiness
Passage of the Day: James 4: 9b – Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.
My Journal for Today: The question for Christians in the 21st century, especially in today’s world which mocks or makes light of biblical values is, “Just how serious are we as believers, as born-again Christians, about holiness?”
The Apostle James in today’s passage says that our laughter should become mourning and our joy should become gloom when we see the sinfulness in our own hearts and the outflow of sin in the world. And yet, we giggle at top-rated TV sit-coms making fun of Christian values. I’ve done it; and I would guess that you may have done the same thing. Well, God forgive us for falling into line with the world in such moments. Praise the Lord that His mercies are new every morning (Lam. 3: 22-23) and He cleanses me of my flippancy when I get serious enough with conviction and confess it (1st John 1: 9).
Of course, there is a time to laugh and to revel with joy when we see God’s providence and His purpose being manifest in His creation and our relationship with Christ (see Eccles. 3: 4). However, when it comes to our attitude toward sin, with our mind’s eye being toward Christlikeness, James reminds us that this is serious business.
Our relationship with Christ must begin, as MacArthur points out in his devotional from Strength for Today for this date, “… on a sober, humble, and serious note.” When we consider our love for God in the context of our life in this world, we simply cannot abide the world’s attitude about sin, about which we are warned against in 1st John 2: 15 – 17 [a good passage to have memorized!] …
SCRIPTURE: 1st John 2: 15-17 … Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
If I profess to love God – and I do!! – then my love for Him must be shown in the way I think and live; and as we’ve seen before from Prov. 23: 7 (NKJV), “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” If my heart does not grieve or hold remorse over my own sin and the sin I see in the world, then my love for God is very shallow. And if my living worship for my God does not reflect that hatred of sin with my living to be like Christ, my relationship with my Lord is shallow as well.
May I grow to grieve more over my sin, to hate it in me and the world, and to revel in purity and holiness!
My Prayer Today: Oh, Lord, how I desire to be holy. … How I hate my unholiness! Amen
My Journal for Today: The question for Christians in the 21st century, especially in today’s world which mocks or makes light of biblical values is, “Just how serious are we as believers, as born-again Christians, about holiness?”
The Apostle James in today’s passage says that our laughter should become mourning and our joy should become gloom when we see the sinfulness in our own hearts and the outflow of sin in the world. And yet, we giggle at top-rated TV sit-coms making fun of Christian values. I’ve done it; and I would guess that you may have done the same thing. Well, God forgive us for falling into line with the world in such moments. Praise the Lord that His mercies are new every morning (Lam. 3: 22-23) and He cleanses me of my flippancy when I get serious enough with conviction and confess it (1st John 1: 9).
Of course, there is a time to laugh and to revel with joy when we see God’s providence and His purpose being manifest in His creation and our relationship with Christ (see Eccles. 3: 4). However, when it comes to our attitude toward sin, with our mind’s eye being toward Christlikeness, James reminds us that this is serious business.
Our relationship with Christ must begin, as MacArthur points out in his devotional from Strength for Today for this date, “… on a sober, humble, and serious note.” When we consider our love for God in the context of our life in this world, we simply cannot abide the world’s attitude about sin, about which we are warned against in 1st John 2: 15 – 17 [a good passage to have memorized!] …
SCRIPTURE: 1st John 2: 15-17 … Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
If I profess to love God – and I do!! – then my love for Him must be shown in the way I think and live; and as we’ve seen before from Prov. 23: 7 (NKJV), “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” If my heart does not grieve or hold remorse over my own sin and the sin I see in the world, then my love for God is very shallow. And if my living worship for my God does not reflect that hatred of sin with my living to be like Christ, my relationship with my Lord is shallow as well.
May I grow to grieve more over my sin, to hate it in me and the world, and to revel in purity and holiness!
My Prayer Today: Oh, Lord, how I desire to be holy. … How I hate my unholiness! Amen
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
2010 – September 15 – Can A Man Be Righteous?
Study from God’s Word… Job, Chapters 25 – 31 … Passage for Reflection: Job 25: 4 – 6 … NIV 4 How then can a man be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure? 5 If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes, 6 how much less man, who is but a maggot — a son of man, who is only a worm!"
My Journal for Today: Bildad again [in today’s highlight text], one of these railing friends of Job’s, spouting off obvious truths mixed in with their assumptions of Job’s unrighteousness. And here we have a statement of some obvious truth.
Certainly man – when compared to God – cannot stand righteous before God. But then again, why, throughout all of Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, do we read of God’s value on man being righteous and following God’s ways. If man cannot be righteous, then why does God value man’s attempts to be righteous. And if man could NEVER be righteous, no matter what he did, what’s the point of even trying to be righteous? Let’s just go be sinners and enjoy it; right?
Have you ever felt like copping out to the “give up” mentality, as Flip Wilson, used to cry out, “… the devil made me do it?” It’s easy, when we’re having trouble with temptation or trials in life, to just give up and declare, “… I’m just a sinner; and I’ll never be able to be as good as God wants me to be.” And of course, in one respect, that is right-on truth. But what do we do with the commands from God Himself in the OT and NT (see Lev. 11: 44-45 and 1Pet. 1: 14-16) to “be holy as God is Holy?”
Well, I’m not going to get into a long discussion here about “positional holiness” versus “practical holiness,” which is pertinent, but not necessarily “in-the-trenches” helpful. Save it say that Jesus was the answer to Bildad’s question: “How can one born of woman be pure?” He was born of a woman; and most certainly, He was pure! And it was God’s plan to allow His Son to be the one – and only one – born of a woman who could provide a way for me (and you), who are but maggots, to be seen as pure and holy in God’s sight.
And when our hearts seek after righteousness; and when we – in any given moment – ARE righteous, it is because God has given us the grace to be such; and we hide behind the robes of righteousness offered by God’s very Son, Jesus, so that we can be holy as God is Holy.
And how wonderful is that?
My Prayer for Today: Oh, glory, my Lord … that You would allow me to wear Your robes of righteous to hide my rags of sin. Amen
My Journal for Today: Bildad again [in today’s highlight text], one of these railing friends of Job’s, spouting off obvious truths mixed in with their assumptions of Job’s unrighteousness. And here we have a statement of some obvious truth.
Certainly man – when compared to God – cannot stand righteous before God. But then again, why, throughout all of Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, do we read of God’s value on man being righteous and following God’s ways. If man cannot be righteous, then why does God value man’s attempts to be righteous. And if man could NEVER be righteous, no matter what he did, what’s the point of even trying to be righteous? Let’s just go be sinners and enjoy it; right?
Have you ever felt like copping out to the “give up” mentality, as Flip Wilson, used to cry out, “… the devil made me do it?” It’s easy, when we’re having trouble with temptation or trials in life, to just give up and declare, “… I’m just a sinner; and I’ll never be able to be as good as God wants me to be.” And of course, in one respect, that is right-on truth. But what do we do with the commands from God Himself in the OT and NT (see Lev. 11: 44-45 and 1Pet. 1: 14-16) to “be holy as God is Holy?”
Well, I’m not going to get into a long discussion here about “positional holiness” versus “practical holiness,” which is pertinent, but not necessarily “in-the-trenches” helpful. Save it say that Jesus was the answer to Bildad’s question: “How can one born of woman be pure?” He was born of a woman; and most certainly, He was pure! And it was God’s plan to allow His Son to be the one – and only one – born of a woman who could provide a way for me (and you), who are but maggots, to be seen as pure and holy in God’s sight.
And when our hearts seek after righteousness; and when we – in any given moment – ARE righteous, it is because God has given us the grace to be such; and we hide behind the robes of righteousness offered by God’s very Son, Jesus, so that we can be holy as God is Holy.
And how wonderful is that?
My Prayer for Today: Oh, glory, my Lord … that You would allow me to wear Your robes of righteous to hide my rags of sin. Amen
Thursday, February 18, 2010
2010 – Feb. 18 – Marked for Holiness
Study from various sections of Deut. 5, Exod. 22, Deut. 16, Lev. 19, Deut. 12 – 13, and Deut. 17; Passage for Reflection: Leviticus 19: 28 … NIV Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourself. I am the Lord.
My Journal for Today: Today my trek through God’s word, under the shepherding of F. LaGard Smith, in The Daily Bible In Chronological Order, took me through several sections reviewing how God imparted his laws to His people through Moses, as the called and anointed “Law Giver.” And though Moses was the agent of the law being imparted to God’s people, God, and God alone, was “THE Law Giver.” And we see just how detailed the laws could be for the Israelites; but they all were designed to set God’s chosen people aside from the world of that day, to protect them from evil (which, of course, included themselves), and, above all, to honor and glorify the One True God.
And today, in his devotional, Dr. Smith singles out one of these laws which was given to the Israelites, dealing with the avoidance of a pagan practice of the day, which was marking the body, including tattooing. And right before this one law, we read in Lev. 19: 27, [to the men of Israel] “Do not cut the hair at the sides of sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.”
Even today in the obvious personal practices of the Hasidic Jews, we see these laws lived out in the way the Hasidic men display their very orthodox observance of God’s Mosaic laws; and we ought to be able to see how it sets them apart from the world in their very close observance of the ancient bodily practice laws which God laid down for His people through Moses.
But why then don’t we see orthodox Evangelical Christians observing these personal practice laws the same way as the Hasidic Jews do? Well, we could get into a long discussion here about the fact that our day – the age of grace and of the New Covenant – follows the example of Jesus, The Christ, in what we think, say, and do. And God’s Law (and all those laws which set apart God’s people from the pagan cultures which surrounded them in that age/culture) is not part of our day as we follow Christ as our Law Giver.
But when we can see from those past laws and their observance how they might apply to our lives, we can learn from them and let them teach us how to honor God through what we do or don’t do for Him and in His Name. And you don’t have to have a Ph.D. in Theology to see that tattooing or cutting one’s body to set the self apart for the observance of worldly or selfish pleasure dishonors God and would therefore be considered a sinful practice. Tattooing marks the body permanently; and we who are Christians need to recognize that we are already permanently marked in the Temple (i.e., the body) God has given us by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, Who will display in and through us the marks of Christ, which are the fruit of His Spirit (see Gal. 5: 22-23). We don’t need any bodily marking to set ourselves apart in the world and display Christlikeness for all to see. So, there is Spiritual validity for all the ages in the command given by Moses to God’s people to avoid being like the pagans with the marking/tattooing of the body as a way for showing that the flesh is on display to honor pagan gods and/or worldly idols.
In application here, we need to ask ourselves if the markings of God’s Spirit are on us for all the world to see to Whom we belong. Does the world see God’s markings of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control in the way we live our lives? Or do we find ourselves tattooing our lives with the marks of the world and the trappings of selfish pursuit? Can the world see the permanent tattoo of Christ emblazoned on our very being; or do we have idolatry tattooed on our soul which dishonors God by the way we live our lives?
Choices are the tattoos of our Christian living.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I so desire that others see Your permanent eternal marking on my soul from the way I choose to live. Amen
My Journal for Today: Today my trek through God’s word, under the shepherding of F. LaGard Smith, in The Daily Bible In Chronological Order, took me through several sections reviewing how God imparted his laws to His people through Moses, as the called and anointed “Law Giver.” And though Moses was the agent of the law being imparted to God’s people, God, and God alone, was “THE Law Giver.” And we see just how detailed the laws could be for the Israelites; but they all were designed to set God’s chosen people aside from the world of that day, to protect them from evil (which, of course, included themselves), and, above all, to honor and glorify the One True God.
And today, in his devotional, Dr. Smith singles out one of these laws which was given to the Israelites, dealing with the avoidance of a pagan practice of the day, which was marking the body, including tattooing. And right before this one law, we read in Lev. 19: 27, [to the men of Israel] “Do not cut the hair at the sides of sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.”
Even today in the obvious personal practices of the Hasidic Jews, we see these laws lived out in the way the Hasidic men display their very orthodox observance of God’s Mosaic laws; and we ought to be able to see how it sets them apart from the world in their very close observance of the ancient bodily practice laws which God laid down for His people through Moses.
But why then don’t we see orthodox Evangelical Christians observing these personal practice laws the same way as the Hasidic Jews do? Well, we could get into a long discussion here about the fact that our day – the age of grace and of the New Covenant – follows the example of Jesus, The Christ, in what we think, say, and do. And God’s Law (and all those laws which set apart God’s people from the pagan cultures which surrounded them in that age/culture) is not part of our day as we follow Christ as our Law Giver.
But when we can see from those past laws and their observance how they might apply to our lives, we can learn from them and let them teach us how to honor God through what we do or don’t do for Him and in His Name. And you don’t have to have a Ph.D. in Theology to see that tattooing or cutting one’s body to set the self apart for the observance of worldly or selfish pleasure dishonors God and would therefore be considered a sinful practice. Tattooing marks the body permanently; and we who are Christians need to recognize that we are already permanently marked in the Temple (i.e., the body) God has given us by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, Who will display in and through us the marks of Christ, which are the fruit of His Spirit (see Gal. 5: 22-23). We don’t need any bodily marking to set ourselves apart in the world and display Christlikeness for all to see. So, there is Spiritual validity for all the ages in the command given by Moses to God’s people to avoid being like the pagans with the marking/tattooing of the body as a way for showing that the flesh is on display to honor pagan gods and/or worldly idols.
In application here, we need to ask ourselves if the markings of God’s Spirit are on us for all the world to see to Whom we belong. Does the world see God’s markings of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control in the way we live our lives? Or do we find ourselves tattooing our lives with the marks of the world and the trappings of selfish pursuit? Can the world see the permanent tattoo of Christ emblazoned on our very being; or do we have idolatry tattooed on our soul which dishonors God by the way we live our lives?
Choices are the tattoos of our Christian living.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I so desire that others see Your permanent eternal marking on my soul from the way I choose to live. Amen
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
2010 – Day 33. Feb. 2 – Anointed for Holiness
Study from Exodus 39 – 40; Passage for Reflection: Exodus 40: 9 … NIV [God to Moses] "Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy.”
My Journal for Today: What’s going on here in Exodus 40 (and on into Chapter 41), where the Tabernacle and the Priesthood are being Anointed with oil by Moses at God’s command? Is there something magical or extra-spiritual about the oil (which, by the way, is not specified by any type of oil)? No, what is going on here is the reality that the Tabernacle (i.e., God’s “Temple”) is being “set apart” as a Holy place where God, Himself, can and will reside. And that place must be so designated and consecrated, as well as those who enter the “Holy of Holies,” because these anointed Priests are to be in the place where God Himself has chosen to reside.
Do you see what implication this ritualization of Holiness has upon you and me as Christians in the New Covenant, where Jesus Christ has become our Tabernacle and His Spirit resides in the Holy of Holies, … our hearts. From the standpoint of the Church, God resides in His Body, the Church collective (see 1st Cor. 3:16-17 - linked); and from the standpoint of each individual Christian (see 1st Cor. 6: 19-20 - linked), God, the Holy Spirit, Who is One with God, the Father and God, the Son, resides in the place which should be consecrated as the Holy of Holies – our hearts.
So, this brings up the ultimate question for all of us from studying how God wanted His Tabernacle (i.e., His Temple of Holiness) to be anointed (i.e., “set apart”) where He, The Lord, could reside. It must be a place anointed (i.e., “dedicated”) to absolute Holiness; and this raises the biggie question for me today: “Bill Berry, is your heart set apart for holiness?” Since I am the place, along with any born-again Christian, where God has chosen to reside, I must ask myself if my heart (i.e., my body) is worthy of His residence there?
And my answer? Well, my answer is my answer! And your answer to that question must be yours. But God certainly knows where the process of our being anointed for His Holiness now stands. And He deserves to reside only in a place – our hearts – which is “set apart” for His holiness. What we need to do to clean out and anoint this place for our Lord is something we all must do in our own hearts to make it a Holy place for God’s Spirit to reside.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, may I be anointed for Your Holiness. Amen
My Journal for Today: What’s going on here in Exodus 40 (and on into Chapter 41), where the Tabernacle and the Priesthood are being Anointed with oil by Moses at God’s command? Is there something magical or extra-spiritual about the oil (which, by the way, is not specified by any type of oil)? No, what is going on here is the reality that the Tabernacle (i.e., God’s “Temple”) is being “set apart” as a Holy place where God, Himself, can and will reside. And that place must be so designated and consecrated, as well as those who enter the “Holy of Holies,” because these anointed Priests are to be in the place where God Himself has chosen to reside.
Do you see what implication this ritualization of Holiness has upon you and me as Christians in the New Covenant, where Jesus Christ has become our Tabernacle and His Spirit resides in the Holy of Holies, … our hearts. From the standpoint of the Church, God resides in His Body, the Church collective (see 1st Cor. 3:16-17 - linked); and from the standpoint of each individual Christian (see 1st Cor. 6: 19-20 - linked), God, the Holy Spirit, Who is One with God, the Father and God, the Son, resides in the place which should be consecrated as the Holy of Holies – our hearts.
So, this brings up the ultimate question for all of us from studying how God wanted His Tabernacle (i.e., His Temple of Holiness) to be anointed (i.e., “set apart”) where He, The Lord, could reside. It must be a place anointed (i.e., “dedicated”) to absolute Holiness; and this raises the biggie question for me today: “Bill Berry, is your heart set apart for holiness?” Since I am the place, along with any born-again Christian, where God has chosen to reside, I must ask myself if my heart (i.e., my body) is worthy of His residence there?
And my answer? Well, my answer is my answer! And your answer to that question must be yours. But God certainly knows where the process of our being anointed for His Holiness now stands. And He deserves to reside only in a place – our hearts – which is “set apart” for His holiness. What we need to do to clean out and anoint this place for our Lord is something we all must do in our own hearts to make it a Holy place for God’s Spirit to reside.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, may I be anointed for Your Holiness. Amen
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