Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled... Hebrews 12:14-15 ... and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord, our King, Yahusha ha Mashiach (Jesus Christ)... This part of the scripture is most profound, and since it is pointed and direct, it obviously demands our attention. We will not see Him without holiness. Do we know if we have attained holiness? Do we know what this holiness is? These are questions I often ask myself, and I think the very foundation of these questions is something that requires full understanding as well as a daily internal check. First, we cannot ever attain holiness by our own works or our own efforts. Most of us know this... but some of us have to be reminded. Not because we think we are holy, but because we have been trained much of our lives to work and earn love and approval and goodness. We think we must work to be accepted. There is not one inch of holiness in us, and therefore, all our working is considered filthy rags in the sight of our Holy God. Holiness comes from the finished work of Christ, our complete faith in this, and our abiding in this throughout the sanctification process, whereby He, and He only, makes us holy. And this is the only way we will see Him and know Him in this life and certainly in the one to come. I would like to share a very strong connection to this holiness that has been on my mind so much in the last week. But before I do that, I wanted to share some scriptures I was reading this morning in Ephesians 4 that are so helpful in outlining what is holy and what is not holy, kinda like that black and white list we all like to see sometimes, to help us really understand. (Note, I am only focusing on Ephesians 4, but there are many more, maybe even more profound, scriptures all throughout the word on holiness.) What holiness is... I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (verses 1-3) ... for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ... (verses 12-13) ... but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head— Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (verses 15-16) ... that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. (verses 22-24) And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. (verse 32) What holiness is not... ... children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting... (verse 14) ... walking as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. (verses 17-19) ... your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind... (verse 22) ... lying... and do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer... Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth .... And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. (verses 25-31) Obviously, this is much to take in on both sides. Holiness is so much more... so deep and mysterious and pure, and it is a kingdom requirement. We won't see our Beloved without it. Therefore, if we really want to see Him, we will want to search out what this really means and then seek it through His grace. I will say this... living life in carnal Christianity is not it. This holiness has nothing to do with flesh and its pleasures and everything to do with holiness birthed by fire... and as we know, fire is not comfortable. I won't go into this, as this is a totally different topic. The one connection with holiness that will not come as a surprise is its direct tie to forgiveness. It's even clear in the first scripture shared above... I don't believe it's any coincidence that a warning about a "root of bitterness" is given right after we are told we cannot see our Lord without holiness. While we know forgivness is a requirement of salvation and an ongoing requirement of sanctification, its direct correlation to holiness is so precious and beautiful when we can see the whole picture. While this may be somewhat of an "elementary" concept, I had a vision of it in my mind this past week that I spoke out with words, and then it became a prayer. And through the prayer, Father showed me some little leftover tidbits of "angst" I will say, which were actually crumbs of unforgiveness still lurking in my heart. The general topics associated with these crumbs had been dealt with and I thought fully forgiven, but as I could feel the lingering "right to be upset" feelings in my heart, I realized I had not fully forgiven as I am about to explain in the next paragraph. I will tell you that these crumbs are associated with the death of each one of my family members as well as my own almost spiritual death by a direct contribution of someone I love. I share this, because these are the big ones in my life, making the full release all the more amazing, to His glory and praise! Forgiveness is letting someone off the hook, so to speak, right? Not holding someone accountable for a wrong done to you, regardless of the depth and magnitude of this wrong, is another good way we describe it. While this is true, I have another take on it that is an even further understanding that brings us full circle to perfect love and holiness. It brings us to the epitome of being renewed in the spirit of your mind and putting on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness, AND, being kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. We are told in Romans 12:19 that vengeance belongs to our King. Judgment and any needed vengeance is His to determine and carry out. We are told to trust Him and release any wrongdoing committed against us to His faithful and perfect justice and judgment, and we are told to love and pray for even our enemies and those who spitefully use us (Matthew 5:44). Our only responsibility is to wholeheartedly trust Him and His ability to avenge -- or even save!!! -- so much that that we lovingly place it on the altar for Him to handle. This means we don't ponder on it and we don't speak of it. Remember that if we even speak of it, then we have connected it back to us and spoken forth the offense once again. Either it is released to Him, or it is not. Sometimes the offense is so great that it takes time to fully release it, but any desire to do it His way in His strength, will always result in victory! I know this firsthand, and the crumbs He showed me are the evidence, while all along I thought I had fully forgiven. So look at the beauty of this!! The people that we have held accountable in our minds for hurting our loved ones or hurting us have souls, and their souls will either join us as our brothers and sisters in glory, or they will be condemned to a place of eternal judgment. What do we really want for them? What does our Father, their Creator, really want for them, knowing that He does not desire that one soul perish, no matter what they have done!! When we can disconnect the offense from the soul, we can hand it over to our perfect Father so that He may either save them or condemn them, as He extends grace and righteous judgment according to His will. We are then set free -- free indeed!! What about this? If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. John 20:23 I believe that when we do not fully forgive, our unforgiveness can keep the person in bondage, especially in the area of the offense committed. Can you imagine that your unforgiveness of someone can directly impact their deliverance from something that can hold them in bondage? I believe this is exactly why Yahusha so vehemently said that if we fail to forgive others, neither will we be forgiven! Our unforgiveness has power, but praise be to His name, even moreso does our forgiveness!! There is great magnitude in this understanding, and as we prepare to be a holy, unspotted Bride for our King, we must grasp this and deal with it! A precious sister of mine recently shared a revelation with me that Father gave to her some time ago, and since then, I have pondered it over and over in my mind. Of course, as I was dealing with my crumb issue, it came back up again. As I share this, I pray you will receive it into your heart and the blessing of its depth will bring further understanding, just as it has for me. So here it is...
As my sister had been pondering the violent stoning death of our brother Stephen outlined in Acts 7:54-60, she realized something so beautifully amazing. It is there that we see Paul, then Saul, standing by very likely with his arrogant arms crossed, complicitly supervising and encouraging this heinous crime against one of Yahusha's own servants. And then we read the last words of the servant as he is dying (and try to hear them in your spirit)... "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Lord, do not charge them with this sin." My sister explained that at that moment, when the sin was not charged against them (including Saul) through Stephen's forgiveness, the very Spirit of the Living God prepared to meet and indwell the man who would become one of the greatest apostles of all time, Paul. It was Stephen's full forgiveness that opened the door, so to speak, to Paul's magnificent conversion!! So with this, do you see the power of our full forgiveness, for the sake of the one who has committed the offense against us??! Isn't this love -- the very love that our Savior extended to us -- that while we were yet sinners (His enemies), He died for us? THIS is what is also required of us! It's as if our obedient release says to our Beloved... "Yes my Lord, I will forgive them that you might save them!!" Full and complete forgiveness, in pure love, unto holiness. This is the connection to holiness! This is why we cannot be forgiven unless we forgive! It's foundation is perfect love... love that casts out all fear, love that conquers all, and love that never fails! HIS LOVE!! And finally, I have one more thing to share that will put some really nice icing on this wonderful cake feast! This is something another very special sister shared with me yesterday, and just now I have found out that she has also included this same story in a devotional she just posted today! I have not yet read this devotional, so it appears our minds may be on similar tracks - and I do not think this is a coincidence! As I was just now searching for a summary of this to share with you, I went to her devotional to find exactly what I was looking for. With that, I will use an excerpt from this to make my point: To them He (Jesus) said in that moment of extreme agony and complete devastation, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do”. It is not just that He died for them, but how He died for them. With love. What kind of love is this that dies for the ones that crucify Him? The same love that caused Richard Wurmbrandt after being beaten under His feet with rods for years, causing it to become a pulp, confronted by the prison guard with the words, “Why do you still pray? Don’t you realize by now after all these years that no one is coming for you? That your God is not going to save you?” To which Richard replied standing on his knees, “I was not praying for me, I was praying for you”. It is that love that transcends human understanding. In this excerpt above, my sister is referring to the man Richard Wurmbrandt whose story is told in the movie, Tortured for Christ", of which you can access here should you be led to watch. This is an example of the forgiveness, grounded in love, that is required of us and that when is observed in action can change the hearts of the most vile and sinful humans. Are we prepared for this? Are we willing to forgive at this level unto holiness? I know I desperately want it, but I also know it cannot be done in my strength but only through the fullness of the Most High God that comes from knowing and receiving the height, depth, width, and length of the love of Messiah Yahusha! (If you would like to read my sister's devotional post where I obtained the excerpt, you can access it here. I have shared many of her writings on this site, and as with all the rest of them, you will be filled and nurtured with raw truth poured out from the Spirit.) I pray this post has blessed you in some way, as everything in it has blessed me. It is my desire to share my experiences and blessings with those who are truly seeking the face of the One True God, through His Son Yahusha ha Mashiach, as we feel the urgency to prepare for His soon return! And to that we say... Make us ready! Come King Yahusha!!! One final note that I would like to share as I proclaim the good works of our God... My Father has blessed me with the most amazing group of sisters who have inspired, encouraged, taught, and supported me... and in all of this, He constantly shows me how much He loves me through them! They are like the most beautiful, exotic flowers in a dry and lonely garden! I am so very grateful!
2 Comments
|
Special NoteThese writings are written in love and a spirit of servitude. They are not designed to judge but make us think. We are all sinners in need of saving, and we all need encouragement and absolute truth to endure on the narrow road to sanctification and ultimately eternal life. Categories
All
Archives
May 2024
|