Epaggelia

The notion many people have of holiness, seems to be a pious purity that everyone finds illusive.  Many people think you touch it on Sundays and can’t seem to see it again through the week, till Sunday comes around again. But that is not true holiness. There is a good example of true holiness in the life of Daniel. We see firstly, that Daniel, “purposed in his heart not to defile himself” (Dan.1:8). That is the best purpose anyone could put in their heart. Daniel refused to indulge in the King’s fancy food and wine.  Why? Because Daniel knew whatever the world found great and exhalted, the Lord found despicable and an abomination (Luke 16:15), so to keep his heart’s purpose true, he wouldn’t let the world’s great food and drink, pull him down into degradation of morals, afterall, the first bite was fun, what would other things the world highly exalts do for Daniel? Daniel also refused to turn his back on God’s word, (Dan. 1:9-13). What was the result? The Lord God gave him knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom”, (Dan. 1:17). What a success story! Who wouldn’t want that? The truth is, God gives holiness, Daniel just lived like he was thankful for it. That’s true holiness.

Christians can lose track of what God’s purpose is in our daily life, and end up losing all sight of His holiness. To grow it, appreciate it and show holiness is something Peter said we NEED. “Be holy because God is holy” (1st Pet. 1:16).  Our life is full of attempts to achieve so many different things. How often do we conscientiously try to express grattitude for God’s gift of holiness in our heart. We can win at many goals in our life, but they are very temporary. Take for example the extreme atheletes amongst us.   36 years ago Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in the famous tennis match that acclaimed Billie Jean King globally in the world of sports. She is now at the official age of retirement hitting 65 and still promoting women’s rights around the globe. But what has she won? Lots of medals, titles and money! That is what she loves and that is her reward. Sadly, she has missed the most

important victories in this life. She lost her marriage to divorce, she lost her baby to an abortion and she lost her integrity before God to her perversion of her gender. Famous people are notorious for winning the world and losing their own soul. Look at the best of them, Elvis, Sinatra and Jackson, the list goes on and on and on. Are you shocked at my presumption that these people will not be saved and end up in hell? Do not forget that God says, “ For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Lk. 16:15) What are we really trying to win in this life? 

Jesus wants us to win at the battle of overcoming evil with good. That can only be won with the righteousness of God, not our own. Do you have the righteousness of God? No one can get to Heaven without His righteousness. (Mt. 5:20). His righteousness makes us holy in God’s sight. If we believe this, we should want to show our appreciation for this grace. If we do, we bless God and our self with grattitude.  However you serve God to do what is right is holiness, it can be something as simple as giving a cup of cold water to the least of God’s children. Whatever way you are able to show thanks in service, don’t let it stop. Multiply that talent you are sharing! God is pleased, you please yourself and others are blessed by it too.

To make a public display of God’s wisdom, Eph. 3:10. The early church first demonstrated this by the power of God’s Spirit, recorded in Acts 2:42. There are four ways they did it, and we can emulate the same powerful purposes of God. Firstly, the “Apostle’s Teaching”, encompasses preaching and teaching from Christ’s Spirit. The Apostles wrote out the mind of Christ, and we have it with clarity in the New Testament. God’s purpose in the Apostle’s Teaching is to fill every listener with the grace and knowledge of Christ’s mind (1st Cor. 2:16). Secondly, the “Fellowship” Christians have is precious and maintains the unity God gave us in His Spirit. This should be a practical demonstration of the love of God (Jn. 13:34-35). Without genuine godly fellowship between Christians, God’s purpose in sharing His love is not met. We are obligated by His love that is poured out into our hearts, to share Him. Romans 5:5. The church in Thessalonica was told that life as a Christian essentially involves comforting and encouraging eachother, 1st Ths. 5:9-11. Thirdly, the purpose of God in the church is to proclaim the Lord’s Death until He comes. We do this by sharing the Lord’s Supper. God fulfills His purpose of sanctifying our hearts in His love by giving us a place to remember what Jesus did and promises to do for us. The Communion of unleavened bread and the cup is a public proclamation of the price Jesus paid for you and me. (1st Cor. 11:26). God’s purpose in it, is to empower us to love Him for what he has done for us on the cross for our sins. Releasing us from the consequences of our sin. Fourthly, the purpose of the church is prayer. Prayer is a tool God gave us, so that we can be interceding for the world, 1st Tim. 2:1-2. We are to be devoted to prayer, Col. 4:2 and we are to never stop praying, 1st Ths. 5:17-18. Jesus and His Spirit is our mediator to the Father’s Throne of Grace, but the world lost in sin, can not approach His holiness and enjoy the benefits of direct communication with Him. But God’s purpose in the church (Christians) is to help the world come before God with their needs and anxieties for help. Why? Because He cares for us and them, Jn. 3:16 & 1st Peter 5:7.

When Jesus made the comparison of Christians to Sheep, he was not trying to insult us, He realizes that no one escapes the fact that in this life, the grass always looks greener on the other side.

Regardless of where that phrase comes from, we all feel it from time to time. For a Christian, that “other side” is always farther away from Jesus the great and chief Shepherd of our soul. God is good, in that he lets suffering like a sheepdog chase us back into His loving presence. Jesus put it this way, “My sheep hear my voice” (Jn. 10:27). The problem we sheep have, is that we get so caught up with wandering after greener grass, we fall out of range for the Savior’s voice.  We should be thankful that He lets suffering enter our life as a test to see if we will believe He is faithful to forgive us. Do we look at the suffering as a sheepdog and try to run away in disbelief, or do we humbly submit and get closer to the Shepherd? If we don’t try to get closer, remember the wolves are out there. Sheep are no match for the evil of Satan, when you consider the goodness of God.

There was once a big growing family that was struggling with the old adage of “Familiarity breeds contempt”.  As the parents bickered, the children caught on quick and they were all caught up in the vicious cycle of contempt.  Their grandparents who had seen it all before, offered these words on kindness.  “We must all accept that some days we are pigeons and on other days, we are the statue”.  One of the little children promptly asked,  what pigeons do on statues, and Grandpa replied, “Let’s just say that if we keep our words sweet, we don’t have to worry about eating them later.  But if you really can’t say anything kind, then at least have the decency to be vague.  The child grinned and told everyone that it was her turn to be the pigeon, but she would sing instead of drop anything.

It would be nice if everyone caught on to Grandpa’s words that quick. Suffice it to say that we must all accept that the friction families feel when our differences make us diffcult to deal with, is simply a reminder that we are all very much like a big box of crayons.  Some people are sharp,  some dull, some pretty, some have wierd names, but we all vary in color and must live in the same box. Would Jesus put such emphasis on kindness? It was Jesus who said, “God is kind to the ungrateful”, (Luke 6:35). So let us use our words to color each other in with kindness, even when you feel like your the statue.