Christian Holiness Journal | Page 74 | a record of struggle and victory to know the mind of Christ

Fear Not 365 – Lift Up Your Voice…

February 26, 2017 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

Great is the Lord!

Sometimes, we can do nothing else but praise God. We awaken in the morning with a hymn or a chorus coursing through our head. All day long, we are singing it to ourselves. It just won’t go away. Have you ever had a day like that? For me, they occur quite frequently.

I find, on those particular days, I am more inclined to speak out about Jesus, about what God has done in my life, about the Good News (the Gospel of Jesus Christ), about miracles I’ve witnessed, about healings, and finding the right job at the right moment, and groceries from nowhere when we’re hungry.

Other times, I am too frightened to speak, for I fear becoming a target. I will be mocked or worse. Sometimes, it seems I just don’t have it in me, or, if it is in me, it’s certainly not bubbling up.

The thing I have learned from years of studying is that I don’t have to always “feel it.” I am human, with human emotions, human moods, and human biorhythms. And sin. I am flawed. I don’t always feel strong. I don’t always feel close to God.

That’s okay. God is above humanity. He is always within us, always holding our hands, guiding us, and reassuring us. Whether we feel strong or weak, God is near. Brave or afraid, God is near. Good mood or bad mood, God is with us. He never leaves. He never forsakes us. We cannot fully comprehend that, because we depend so much on circumstances, but God is not driven by circumstances or emotions.

Afraid to speak out about your Lord and Savior? Fear Not. Lift up your voice with strength. God is with us!

Fear Not 365 -For God Hears…

February 25, 2017 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

Not long after King David turned his throne over to his son, Solomon, along with the job of constructing the temple, he died.

God appears to the young King Solomon and says, “Ask! What shall I give you?”

God is no magic genie that we should ask anything of Him, but, in this case, He does exactly that: He offers Solomon his heart’s desire.

You and I could probably not be trusted with such a wish, but Solomon had learned well from watching the failures of his father. He does not ask for wealth, or power, or love. He knows that riches may lead to evil, and excessive power could lead to abuse. Lust leads to infidelity, and sometimes to death. Instead, he asks for wisdom.

If we look back to 1 Chronicles 22:12, we read that David had prayed that God would grant Solomon wisdom and understanding. In chapter 1 of 2 Chronicles, God answers David’s prayer and grants great wisdom to King Solomon.

Much of Solomon’s wisdom was eventually recorded in the Bible, in the book of Proverbs. One proverb that catches my attention is 15:29, which reads,

The Lord is far from the wicked,

But He hears the prayer of the righteous.

– NKJV

I wonder what Solomon thinking when he wrote that proverb? Did he think of that prayer, the prayer of his father, asking God to give Solomon wisdom? Was David perhaps the righteous man Solomon thought of when sharing that piece of wisdom?

If you’ve stayed with me to this point, you may see a paradox here. In one paragraph I suggest that Solomon learned from his father’s failures, and in another I propose that David was the model for the righteous man praying.

This is really no paradox. Both may be true. You see, there exists no truly righteous man but Jesus Christ. Not David, not Solomon, not Peter, not Paul; none are righteous. With a broken heart and true repentance, David sought forgiveness for his sins. By faith, he learned to trust in God, and by faith, through the sacrifice of the Son of God, he was found righteous in God’s sight. In the same way, you and I, through faith in Jesus Christ, can be counted righteous in God’s eyes.

It took David most of his life to develop the faith necessary to live a holy life. I can relate. I’m not there yet, but I am finally headed that direction.

By the way, James refers to Solomon’s proverb, and his thoughts contain sound advice for the Christian journey:

…confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

– James 5:16 NIV

FEAR NOT, for God hears the prayers of the righteous.

Fear Not 365 – For God Will Give You Wisdom

February 24, 2017 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

King Solomon is known for great wealth, but he is remembered more for his wisdom.

In 1 Chronicles 22, David turns over the construction of the temple to Solomon, his son, and tells him to have no fear. David has gathered the materials for its construction. He has received the plans for the temple from God.

That’s the easy part, though. God, we learn, has denied David the opportunity to build the Holy Temple because David is a man of war. He is, in fact, too rebellious.

Although David is later called a Man after God’s heart, he has spent most of his life following his own paths, walking wide-eyed into desperate situations, and remaining in dire straights until he hits rock bottom. Only when he hits rock bottom does he ever repent and fall on his face, asking God’s forgiveness. It is a circuitous pattern.

By the time David commissions Solomon to construct of the temple, he had reigned over Israel for forty years. He was full of days and full of wisdom. He assures his son…

“Courage! Take charge! Don’t be timid; don’t hold back. Look at this—I’ve gone to a lot of trouble to stockpile materials for the sanctuary of God: a hundred thousand talents (3,775 tons) of gold, a million talents (37,750 tons) of silver, tons of bronze and iron—too much to weigh—and all this timber and stone. And you’re free to add more. And workers both plentiful and prepared: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, artisans in gold and silver, bronze and iron. You’re all set—get to work!”

– 1 Chronicles 22:13-16 MSG

Back up a few verses, though, and one sees the foundation upon which David based that entire conversation. It is the same foundation upon which, by that time, he had learned to base his life.

Verse 12 NKJV: Only may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the Lord your God.

The Message makes the verse a little easier to understand. “And may God also give you discernment and understanding when he puts you in charge of Israel so that you will rule in reverent obedience under God’s Revelation.”

Like David, I struggle to give God control of my life. Like him, I must sometimes hit rock bottom before I do. Like him, it has taken me forty years to begin to mature in my spiritual life. Readers, take this lesson to heart: surrender and study God’s Word. Seek the knowledge that builds godly wisdom. For only God’s wisdom protects you from the slavery of sin, and allows you to keep God’s Law.

Fear Not, for God will give you wisdom and understanding and keep you free from the slavery of sin.