Holiness

What does holiness look like to you? Or when you hear the word holy what comes to mind. The reason I’m asking is because for a while now I have been thinking about holiness. What does it mean to be holy and whether or not we can truly be holy? We are commanded to be holy both in the Old Testament and by Jesus who said be holy as your Father in heaven is holy (Matthew 5:48). 

John Wesley taught that genuine faith produces inward and outward holiness. He consistently argued that salvation must produce holiness of heart and life, but he never viewed the process as something that would be completed. He taught that despite the inner assurance and regeneration of character that results from knowing that you have been saved, it is never too long before we discover that there is still a root of sin within.

However, there is never an occasion or state of true Christian discipleship that does not lead to a deepening of our love for God and for our neighbour and we become more like Christ walking the paths of good and justice every day. That is true holiness.

Mad Wisdom              

When I first arrived in the UK I was sat at a bus stop with 2 other people, A young lady and an older gentleman. The older gentleman was impeccably dressed and was very charming, that is right up to the point when he got up, walked out into the street ad started howling at the moon. He then sat down as if nothing happened and explained he was of lycanthropic descent. He was descended from werewolves apparently. Needless to say, he was less charming after this and, if not already, most likely should have been under the care of mental health professionals.

Solomon describes wisdom as someone who cries out in the streets, who raises their voices in the square. I wonder if we as a society haven’t begin to see wisdom, particularly Godly wisdom, in the same way we might see someone, like my gentleman with mental health problems. It’s all a bit odd and possibly dangerous, best not spoken about or considered and probably best locked away for everyone’s safety.

The trouble is that is that people with mental health problems very often are capable of teaching us profound things. I have a friend who is bipolar. He has a Christian faith and spirituality that amazes me every time. He drew a book called Kanook the bipolar bear about his experiences and the conversations we have had about God have been thought provoking and challenging. Most people wouldn’t give him the time of day I wager. God’s wisdom is radical and challenging and if it seems  challenging, that’s because it is. It

 is the path to  knowledge and righteousness that

 comes from  God who is the most rational mind in

 the universe.  Maybe we need to be listening to

 the shouting in  the square a bit more.

 Attitude of praise 

Psalms is after all the Bible’s hymnbook and prayer book and as we look back over the psalms even those that are cries of lament or anger ultimately bring their thoughts back to praising God. ‘Bring me out of prison, so that I may give thanks to your name’, cries David in 142. ‘How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land’ lament the exiles in 137.

And it got me wondering about the way we live our lives, Are we as the people of God, living lives that give glory to God? Are we a thankful people for all that God has done for us? Is worshipping God consuming us? I wager that the answer is no. And we can make all sorts of excuses for it. It’s unrealistic, we’re too busy, I have kids etc. etc. etc. And yet the imperative in today’s Psalm is ‘Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!’

And it’s more than an imperative, it’s the reason for our being. We were created, the universe was created to praise God and bring him glory. So for today at least let’s make sure we do what we created to do and praise God and give him all the glory due his name.

 Plans?

How many of us have sat with an elderly person and they’ve told us not to waste any opportunities? I think there’s something about recognising that time is short that puts our life choices into perspective and makes us question those choices. It’s a challenge for us because so many of us are simply trying to live life in a way that enables us to survive never mind thrive.

 

In context today’s verse is about not putting our trust in the world or any one person because in the end they to will die, whereas God is eternal and so we should trust him. But as I sat and pondered that particular verse, I found myself asking myself about the plans I had for my life and what would happen when I died. So, what about you?

What are the plans you have? Do they match God’s plans for you? Jeremiah 29 tells us that God knows the plans He has for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. I believe that God’s plan for us includes thriving, not merely surviving. That may seem hard to hear and believe but today listen to the advise of the elderly person (Not me) talking you to take the opportunities that God presents us with.

 

Glory revealed? 

A lady approached a minister and asked the minister to baptise her child. They discussed what infant baptism was, and when he asked her when she wanted her child to be baptised, she told him that she didn’t want the baptism to be done as part of the Sunday worship service. When he asked why, she said to him that those attending didn’t want to sit through a boring sermon.

I don’t know how you felt when you heard the account I’ve just given. I have no doubt there will be some that will be nodding thinking about the last time you had a particularly bad sermon. There will be some that are thinking about the theological debate about infant vs believer baptism. There will be some that may be outraged that people see the church merely as a vehicle to get things done. And there may be some that are thinking what our current worship says about the way we make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.

This is the question I want us to focus on as we go through the day. For many churches, the main point of outreach is their Sunday worship. It’s not ideal but it’s what they have. Does your Sunday service make known to people His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom? It’s a challenge to myself, as a preacher and worship leader, as much as it is to you listening. And as with most of these things there are no easy answers so today please think about your Church services and if need be make some changes and have a conversation with some to make changes so that God may be shown in all his glory and wonder.