Journey into Forever

  Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.                                                             Galatians 1:10           She loses 10 pounds because her husband mentioned her weight.  She gains it back within a month.  He works instead of attending his son's soccer game because he knows his boss will notice and approve.  Resentment builds.  She goes to the movie all her friends are wanting to see .  The language and sexual content bother her, but her friends are happy she is wit...

      Whew!  I guess maybe I didn't realize exactly what I was getting into with this holiness thing.  It sounds easy on the surface....just do what the Word tells you to do.  But there is so much more to it than that.  This will no doubt be a lifelong journey.       I want to share some of the scriptures that are there to help us understand God's expectations of holiness.  I am also delving into the application part of those scriptures, but this is obviously something I need more time for before I share it with anyone.  So for the time being, look at some of these scriptures, not just the individual reference, but in context with the rest of the chapter.  Give some thought and devote some prayer time to the understanding of what God is teaching us through each passage.  And I will study and learn and share more with you next time.  Anyway, what better post could I write than simply...

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."                                      -Matthew 5:8      I began a journey with a teacher/singer named Gwen Smith this summer.  She challenged us to read through the Psalms in 30 days....5 psalms a day.  Well, I didn't even remotely make it in 30 days....here it is October and I just finished Psalm 115.  I have learned a lot by doing this though.  Much about praise, about remembering our history with God, about seeking Him first.  David wrote many of them as you know, and he was a lot like us.  Heading in the right direction, getting distracted and veering off of the path God makes for us, returning and starting again.  When I first started reading them, I was not excited about it.  The Psalms ...

"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.  But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."                                            - 1John 3:2 "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."                                          - Proverbs 18:21  This journey I'm taking on holiness is turning out to be many faceted.  There are bumps, turns, twists in the road that I never even considered.  But it's a fascinating roa...

        Reading Psalm 106 this morning.  If this Psalm doesn't say it all....I'll eat your hat!  It recounts how, time and time again, God's people forgot His works, disobeyed Him, walked on His mercy.  And yet, every time, He returned to them at their first hint of repentance.      Read it.  If you can't plug yourself into every verse, then you are a much better person than I .  I see my life throughout every verse in this Psalm.  A mind forgetful of what He's done .  A heart deceitful and cold.  A selfish desire to live my life for me rather than for Him.  And yet......      Time after time after time, He turns His mighty head back toward me at the slightest evidence of  return to Him.  I would have stopped the senseless bouncing back and forth long ago......but not Him. He loves and wants us so much, He keeps thinking " This time will be different.  This time she will be st...

  " Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ."                 -Philippians 1:27     It's been quite a week. As many of you know, we said goodbye to a friend of over 45 years this week. Right after his funeral, we left for a small vacation to see friends in western Kansas.  Riding in a car for 6+ hours gives you a lot of time to think.  Of course, losing a friend makes one think a lot about eternity.  And, as promised, I have been thinking a great deal about holiness.  I wonder how closely the two are related.  I suspect they are very close.      Even 45 years ago life was very different .  Families spent a lot more time together.  Church wasn't an option, or even a "sometimes " thing.  You went every week , as did all of your friends. And, being normal kids, we were all curious about the  forbidden stuff... things like sex, nudi...

My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. - Proverbs 3:11-12 I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. I hate what faithless people do; I will have no part in it. -Psalm 101:3 Ouch! When I was a child, my parents didn't know a thing about time out, positive reinforcement, or behavior modification. They usually modified my behavior with a fly swatter applied to my behind. Worked pretty well, and was a pretty good deterrent for the same poor behavior later. And guess what......I still loved them anyway. I knew they loved me, and that was the reason for their correction. They wanted me to grow up and be a productive, polite citizen. A person that people could stand to be in the same room with. And, for the most part, it worked ( although some might disagree). Our Heavenly Father has the same desires for us. If our earthly paren...