by David Brenneman
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." Exodus 20:2-8.
"Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:13-16.
Do you realize that the time you set aside each day to pray or to read your Bible is as holy a time as attending a Bible preaching, Bible teaching Church?
In those moments we are in the midst of holiness because we are indeed living out obedience to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's not just something to be doing.
It's not a chore to complete.
Prayer is our entering into the very presence of God.
Our opening our Bible to read is our entering into God's classroom to be taught of the Spirit of God.
We can only learn what holiness is from the Teacher, the Helper sent for our instruction in righteousness.
We are taught in society that faith is optional to live out. That if a law is written it must take precedence over your faith in God. God's word says that faith in God is exclusive of the laws of mankind.
One of Dr. Charles Stanley's Life Principles says to obey God and leave the consequences to Him.
Times aren't changing...it's that the more seedy, sinful, sorts are getting louder. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. His Word does not change. What it meant decades and even centuries ago it still means today.
We, to this very day, choose who we will worship. Idolatry isn't dead, it's custom crafted for the masses. Shrines exist all over the world in people's homes. Symbols of their idolatry adorn their clothes, houses and vehicles. People have been coaching people to take the time dedicated to God and give it to other people, places and things. That we shouldn't worry, we can squeeze in a few minutes with Jesus.
Is this you?
Are you selling off your time doing stuff, no matter what it is, and giving it to other people, places or things that aren't going to grow you in Christ?
When you pray...look at how Jesus taught the Disciples...look at His instructions. Look at the Lord’s prayer. What are the priorities?
Fiction to politics to hobbies to sports is being used of Satan to get a foothold into the lives of Believers to cause them to stop feeding off the Vine of Jesus Christ.
Anything can be something that takes that time of holiness and turns it into something it shouldn't be.
You pray...you are meeting with Jesus Christ, Savior, Lord, Creator of All that is or was.
You open your Bible...you are meeting with the Spirit of God who was with God the Father before the foundation of the world!
How can these times be anything but holy?
How can we desire things outside of that? It's been an eye-opening moment for me. Not surprising, the more time I spend with Jesus the more I am cognizant of my time with Jesus. It means more than it did when I began giving Him a sliver of my time. The bigger the sliver the more it means to me. The more I want more of it.
Really look to see if you are taking what is holy and are throwing it to the dogs. Really look to see if you are taking what is holy and trampling it under foot.
What are you doing to ADD holy time to your schedule?
How quickly would you toss out your desires if Jesus knocked on the door of your house and said He was there to spend a year with you? How quickly would you be identifying your things you took away from time with Jesus and getting rid of them? How fast would your idols be gotten rid of?
Think about just how you value holiness. It will determine how you spend your time. Nobody is going to care about your idols in Heaven they will want to know of your relationship with Jesus.
That stuff Jesus said would be burned up like wood, hay, and stubble? It's everything we valued apart from our relationship with Jesus.
Reevaluate your time with Jesus today.
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.
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