Our God is Holy. In revelations we read, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty.” 1 Samuel says, “There is no one holy like our Lord.” When Moses is confronted with the burning bush he asks, “Who are you Lord?” God, having nothing or no one to compare himself to, simply replies, “I Am who I Am.” God had no one to compare himself to until 2,000 years ago he pointed to a carpenter and said, “I Am Him.”

 

We have a call to be Holy as our God is Holy. If we wish to be a Holy people, then we must look at the one person who lived a Holy life; our Lord Jesus Christ. The emphases on the Christian life should come from one thing and one thing only, Conformity to Jesus Christ. As we imitate Jesus Christ we become holy as he is holy. Holiness cannot be found outside of Christ.

 

Can God look down at you and say, “He is holy as my son is holy?” Do you imitate Christ or do you look like this world? Can someone look at your life and say, “he has a passion, not for church, not for missions, not for people, but for Jesus Christ?” If someone does have a passion for missions, church, or people that passion should be born out of a passion for our Lord.

These are the people we want in our church.

 

Every thief, every murder, every prostitute, every crack addict, anyone who has done something so horrible they don’t even want to mention it. We want them in our church, why? Because, such were some of us!

 

We were just has horrible, but we have been washed; we have been bought by the blood of Christ!

Lets try a little exercise. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

From where did that breath come from? Who or what gave you that breath? "because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else." (Acts 17:25) If you said It came from God then you are absolutely right.

Apart from God I do not have the power to take a breath. If I cannot breath apart from God then how do I expect to start a church without him? How do I expect to do something great without God, let alone something little? Perhaps, the great things are the things done for God, even if they seem small at the time. It is important to do what I do for the Lord, not men. I must not do what I do for glory and honor from men. I must do what I do for the Glory of God. Apart from God I am nothing. everything I do apart from God is rubbish.

What should be my desire? I have not already obtained all of this, but this is what I know I must do. When I wake up, I wake up to serve my Lord. I should wake up with an attitude of prayer and worship. When I read the Word of God I must do so with a desire to know God more and more. I should read "on my knees" with a humble heart. When I study I should do so with a desire to learn more about God and His creation; with a desire to use what I learn to further his kingdom. When I go to the store to buy a pare of socks I should pray for it to be apart of God's will and I should pray for God to be with me. I should "set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity" as timothy was told to do by Paul. I should, "be made new in the attitude of my mind; and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."  (Ephesians 4:23-24) I should think of these things, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (Philippians 4:8)

So many more things I could and should add to this list. One thing I know, I'm going to be working a lifetime to attain some of these things. I have so far to go! So much I have fallen short of so much! But one thing I must do as Paul did, "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3: 13-14)

His Alone
Cory Clark