Holiness
This Episode: Holiness
In this episode Mama J and Chad have a great conversation about infectiousness, Love, Holiness and choice.
"Holiness is not infectious." Haggai 2:10-14
Haggai describes how God's glory will fill His house. We are God's house, His dwelling place. God was teaching His priests (which we are also) the principle that holiness and unholiness don't mix.
If I put a drop of saltwater into a container of pure water; it's no longer pure. If a moldy piece of fruit is in a basket with good fruit, what happens? The moldy fruit contaminates the whole basket.
However, the reverse is not true. Saltwater is not made pure by pouring pure water into it. Good apples in the basket will not un-contaminate the moldy one. Same with us. God gave Adam and Eve freedom, authority and access to Himself. He only had one restriction: "Don't eat from that tree!"
There HAD to be a choice involved. Otherwise their relationship with God would not be based on love-because-I-want-to, but love-because-I-have-to. Adam and Eve were going to discover the price of love.
Love is powerful because we choose to give ourselves to another. If we have to give
ourselves to someone it's called slavery. Love is based on free-will choice, not out of duty. We love because we want to. Love received is indeed a gift. Sadly, love can be accepted and taken for granted, even misused or abused.The choices we make to love God freely involves ready obedience to quickly obey Him. The principle of "hear and obey" is found from Genesis to Revelations. Many promises we cling to, however, are conditional upon obedience.
We choose what we hear/pay attention to. We develop an ability to let things go in one ear and out of the other. That "hear and obey" filter system began forming in childhood. When in were in trouble, we would whine, "I didn't know."
It seemed a reasonable excuse for not doing what we had been told to do from a parent or schoolteacher. Am I bringing back any memories? Sure, we've all done it.
Do we have selective hearing when it comes to our walk with God? The wise: Listen purposefully in order to obey.
- "Blessed are they who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart…
- "You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed." vs. 4 (Psalm 119:2)
- "This has been my practice: I obey Your precepts." vs. 56
- "I will hasten and not delay to obey Your commands." vs. 60
- "I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey Your word." vs. 101
- "My heart is set on keeping Your decrees to the very end." vs. 112
- "Your statutes are wonderful, therefore I obey them."
- "Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for Your law is not obeyed." vs. 129, 136
Want a challenge? Do your own study on "hear and obey." Start by highlighting these verses from Psalm 119 (the longest chapter in the Bible.) Now reread familiar passages looking for this concept of "hear and obey."Perhaps you will experience a radical change in the way you choose to love God and
walk in His ways, I sure did. Holiness is not infectious. Each individual must determine for themselves their personal walk with God. That's awesome!We can't change people or choose God's best on their behalf. Each person determines their own destiny...how fair is that!
Dr Judy Bauer
Give us your feedback on EPIC Conquerors podcast? Let us know topics you would like to see covered and your interest in being interviewed for a future episode. Submit your feed back here: http://bit.ly/EPICQ
Join our EPIC Conquerors page and join in the discussion in our FaceBook Group. Invite your friends and let’s win together as the battle is real…AND the victory is assured. https://m.facebook.com/epicconquerors/
Interested in sharing your message with the world? We use Kajabi for all of our content and marketing needs. Check it out for yourself. The world needs to hear your voice. Try it for 28 days free! http://bit.ly/28daysNOW
Love getting more of God’s Word? Dr. Judy Bauer has been writing a weekly email devotional for 15 years. Each Tuesday she delivers a great mini-message, a great pick-me-up for the week. Subscribe here: bit.ly/TuesDevo
Discover how to fulfill your calling to be a fisher of men. Learn to apply these ministry basics in a conversational, relational manner with your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers. Discover how to share your personal testimony as a springboard to sharing the Gospel with others. Learn to minister to those who desire to receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit and pray in tongues. Learn to minister to those in need of healing. Miracles await as we go in Jesus' name
Direct link:http://bit.ly/Fisherofmen
Discover how to facilitate 10 basic Bible lessons. Each one designed as half-hour sessions to help Christians grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Learn how to use the Process 4 Progress to mentor others. This step-by-step strategy works in tandem with the 10 basic Bible lessons to ensure a stronger foundation of faith.