Christian Holiness Journal

The Abundance of God’s Creation

ChristianHolinessDaily — Mon, 05 Aug 2019 23:39:13 +0000

The Psalmist – You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills; they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

Jesus – “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.”

The Psalmist – Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches.

Jesus – “Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!”

The Psalmist – From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth.

Jesus – “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?

“Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!”

The Psalmist – and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

In them the birds build their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees.

The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

Jesus – “And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”

The Psalmist – He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.

You make darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep about.

The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God.

When the sun rises, they steal away and lie down in their dens.

Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening.

O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

Jesus – “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

The Psalmist – Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great.

There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it. These all look to you, to give them their food in due season.

When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.

When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.

May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works…

Psalm 104:10-31 ESV; Luke 12:22-34 ESV

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Seeking the Mind of Christ

ChristianHolinessDaily — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 14:47:53 +0000

It sounds easy. Solomon prayed for wisdom and received it. In fact, he has been called the wisest man who has ever lived. I have always wanted to be wise. Not street-wise or a wise investor, I want to be wise in the eyes of God. I want to have the wisdom to make the right choice. I call the search of godly wisdom “seeking the mind of Christ.” I want to know Christ berger then anyone has ever imagined.

Solomon alludes to the Garden of Eden when speaking of wisdom. He personifies wisdom and compares her to the Tree of Life. He promises that those who eat of the fruit of wisdom will be blessed (or those who hold her fast).

In the Garden, though, were two trees: in addition to the Tree of Life there was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Judging on the names alone, if you were seeking wisdom, is which tree would most likely eat?

The names of both trees are bursting with promise. To eat of the Tree of Life may have meant life eternal. And who could resist the promise of knowledge. Wait, evil? “Forget about it! It’s just superstition.”

Humans are curious creatures. So curious, in fact, that we tend to ignore danger. God, though, attached a warning to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. “On the day you eat of it, you will surely die.”

Today, we face a similar choice. Embrace the love of God and His knowledge and wisdom, and we shall receive life everlasting, or seek the knowledge and kinsmanship of evil and surely die alone and full of regrets. Of course, the temptation presented by the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil never seems evil. Yet, it is.

It is the temptation to seek self. It is the temptation to seek pleasure. It is the temptation to dismiss sin. It is the temptation to embrace the world.

One of the rules for Christian living is to be holy as God is holy. How do we do that? I know I fail daily to live up to God’s standards. So how, then?

We may only over come sin through the wisdom and understanding given to us through the Holy Spirit. That may only be accomplished through loving God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

How do you live holy? Trust in God.

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Do You Feel Like You Are Drowning?

ChristianHolinessDaily — Sun, 08 Jul 2018 03:34:05 +0000

My two youngest boys are grown and have families of their own. When they were ten and twelve, we took them to the beach on an uninhabited island at a Texas State Park. At one point, I looked up and they gone. I found them far from the beach; they were to my eyes but specs in the water. They had been wandered far from shore. When I called, they struggled to return, fighting a riptide. I swam towards deeper water, yelling for them to swim at an angle towards me, instead of straight to the beach.

In the Bible water is often synonymous with chaos, sin, or evil. In the beginning, the earth was formless, void, and full of darkness… Chaotic.

When the nation of Israel escapes Egypt, God not only defeats Pharaoh, he defeats the waters. For Christians, the next generation crossing of the Jordan symbolizes the passing of life and entering life eternal.

Baptism took on new meaning for us with the resurrection of Christ. It came to symbolize our death and burial with He who saves us and our subsequent resurrection.

In the psalms, water represents our enemies, physical or spiritual. In the Psalm 69, the enemy is represented as deep waters, mire or muck, a raging flood, and an abyss. David has come to an end of himself. He is helpless, powerless, outnumbered, accused, and (vs. 19) guilty.

We too must come to the end of ourselves before God may act in His fullness. Paul says it best in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Do you feel like you are drowning, like you are ready to die? Give it up. Surrender to Christ, and He will make you alive. For when you are weak, He will be strong for you.

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