Author: ChristianHolinessDaily

Nothing More Than a Bunch of Babel

February 4, 2016 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

Standing near the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, due east of St. Louis, the ancient pile of dirt known as Monks Mound rises nearly 10 stories above the surrounding flood plains. A thousand years ago, it was the focal point of the largest city in North America. Occupied by the primitive ancestors of the Siouan tribes, the city may have had a population of 40,000 people. The mound is one of hundreds constructed, and the tallest of all.

The largest ancient earthen mound in the Americas — Monks Mound, the largest ancient earthen mound in the Americas

Though parts of it have collapsed, it is shaped much like the pyramids of the Incas, Aztecs, and Mayans in Central and South America. Concrete has replaced wooden steps. Signs and markers explain the best theories of the site’s history and primative use as a religious center (a pre-Columbian temple once stood on Monks Mound).

This visit to the Cahokia Mounds site had me remembering something ancient in my own life, the story from Genesis 11 of the Tower of Babel. Likely, you remember it, too. Generations after the flood of Noah, man had mostly forgotten God, had become proud and haughty, and had begun reaching for the heavens. They built a massive city, and, in it, a tower that would be the envy of the entire world.

Yet, to God, their accomplishment was nothing. So insignificant was their construct that He had to “come down” from heaven to see their tower. God is no respecter of persons. Our works are but filthy rags to Him. All have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God.

By their actions they proved that they had exchanged the truth of God a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. As a result of their sin, God confused their language, and scattered man across the earth.

The act of building the tower was not in itself a sin. The sin was their pride, their worship of self, and the act of setting up system of government without God as its center.

I am reminded that God is to be the center of everything that we do. He is to be Lord and Master of every aspect of our life. Our life is to be lived for His glory, not ours. We are to worship the Creator, not His creation.

My Life: One Big Mess

December 8, 2015 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

My life is just one big mess, like paint splattered on a wall. What’s more, yours probably is, too. Ask anyone, at the right time, or the wrong time, and they feel as though they are a failure. There is a theory that most people mess up their lives and have to seek a fresh start every twenty years. I’m a few years away from my next fresh start.

Yet, unless we live our lives in total dependence upon Jesus Christ, we are bound to make it a mess; it is inevitable. Personally, my biggest problem is that I am afraid when I am not in control. When I am in control, then I ruin things. I have often admitted that my only problems in life are those I have created myself.

Once I have ruined things, I am then too ashamed to ask forgiveness of my Savior, and, like Adam, I hide from Him until I reach a point of desperation.

That is no way to live.

In the Life and Letters of Brother Lawrence, the monk reveals that he had ruined his life. He does not detail his failings, buts makes it clear that his life as a soldier was a shambles. This is what led him to retreat into a monastery and dedicate himself to service to Christ. In the monastery, he washed dishes, repaired shoes, did whatever needed to be done. Yet, even in the face of such tedious labor, he learned to pray and to trust God. In fact, he learned to pray continuously, to carry on intimate conversations with Christ, daily, hourly, minute by minute.

The key to an such an intimate relationship with Christ, he said, is to seek heart-felt forgiveness at every single spiritual failing.

An examination of the life of King David, a “man after God’s own heart,” reveals that he, too, knew how to ask forgiveness. Sure, he would deny his sin for a time; he was human. Yet, once his sin was revealed, he sought divine forgiveness. He repented.

I must learn to stop running, and to readily repent and seek forgiveness. That is the key to a daily walk in Christian holiness.

Four Things that Holiness is NOT

December 7, 2015 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

I hate the thought of trying to be holy. It is a tiresome thought. It brings back memories of my youth, when I was scolded when my hair grew too long, or I wanted to go to a movie theater, or – God forbid – take a girl to a dance. To be fair, it was not my parents who scolded me for such things; it was the church. Holiness is so misunderstood, even by those who preach it and practice it, and -because it is so misunderstood, the struggle to be holy has scared off many who seek Christ.

1. Christian holiness is not the following of the Ten Commandments. While I truly believe that the Ten Commandments are the basis of good government and holy living, I don’t believe that following those commandments make one holy. Obedience to those commandments may make one morally strong, it will not make one pure. Holiness is not a life full of “Thou Shalts” and “Thou Shalt Nots,” rather such commandments serve to chain us, enslave us.

2. Christian holiness is not about obeying church bylaws. Rules and regulations within the church are fluid, changing from denomination to denomination, from generation to generation. As a boy, I visited a revival service where the evangelist preached that if we had not spoken in tongues today, we had likely lost our salvation. I can list dozens of rules that were once written in church manuals that have now fallen by the wayside. I realize now that what passed for Christian holiness then was nothing more than a struggle to maintain cultural norms in a changing society.

3. Christian holiness is not about church attendance. I understand wanting to be at church at every opportunity. Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday night services once were the norm for a Christian in American culture. But, being in church every time the door is open does not make one holy.

4. Christian holiness is not about serving or tithing. I believe in giving of both my money and my time, but neither of those make one holy. One cannot be holy by what one does. Holiness is not about service, actions, church attendance, tithing, or keeping the rules.

Face it, it is impossible for sinful, fallible humans live a life of Christian holiness. You may as well give up and stop trying.

It is simply impossible for a human to be holy. There is only one who is holy: Jesus Christ. It seems a paradox, but the first step to Christian holiness is the realization that you can never achieve it. The second step is the absolute surrender of your will to Christ. The next step is building a relationship with the one who created you, died for you, and was raised from the dead for you. Only an active, ongoing, daily walk with Christ can lead to holiness. Do you want to live the life of Christ? Then spend every moment that you can in prayer. Do you want others to see Christ through you? Then praise Him with every breath you take. Do you want to know what it means to really be Christ-like? Then devote your life to God’s Word.

Christ says in Luke 10.27 there are only two commandments that matter: “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

Those two commandments will be the focus of this blog.