I have been reading and meditating on the book of Ecclesiates.
I am undone!
I know in my life that I am not living as closely to the LORD as I should be. Our Sunday School class, this session, is on "Pop Culture". The final statement in this week's class was this, "Is Jesus the center of everything you do?" That would mean being "Holy" wouldn't it? Ah!!!!!!!!! This has brought up several questions and ponderings within my soul. My old pastor, Jim, called it pneumospection---spirit inspection--anyway--my heart is about to break because in my home and church not much is considered "HOLY". For example-The Sabbath is not especially "Remembered or kept "Holy". (Oh, we go to church, but that is all that one could see different than any other day of the week.) In our church, the communion bread is attacked after church by the pre-teen boys as if was just a piece of bread on a table in their own kitchens. How can something be Holy one minute and not the next? Is this being petty? O Father in Heaven, I hope not.
Is there anything wrong in having a sanctuary that is understood to be a "Holy" place--where fellow believers meet to worship God, the One who calls Himself, Almighty? Am I off my rocker?
Has "church" become so "grace"-filled that one forgets---1 Peter 1:16? What ever happened to holiness? What ever happened to a higher standard? What ever happened to "reverencing" the Almighty? This is really bugging me--can ya tell?
If Jesus is the center of everything--wouldn't that effect everything? Our speech, finances, clothing, music, behavior, television viewing, roles that we are born into? It seems to me it would effect our marriages, our parenting, our working relationships (men-out of the home/women-in the home), our friendships--etc. etc. Am I being "legalistic"? I totally blown away by this! I have always known that there would be and are changes in a believers lifestyle, but if God is who He says He is--and He IS!--then I and others like me need to come before Him and repent and then obey His Word!
Obedience is such a very hard concept to teach our children and ourselves, is it not? The times I have told my son to pick up his things--go set the table--empty the dishwasher--make your bed--do your math--eat your vegetables--etc. etc.--just trying to instill good life habits and the divine concept of obedience--well, I can't even count that high! If our children are expected to be obedient to us--sinful fallible parents--how much more are we expected to be obedient to our "HOLY" parent? Oh my goodness--how--frightening!
Is idea of restoring "Holiness" back in the church an issue that one would die for? Have I, as a Protestant, run so far away from the Orthodox Church from the past--that I don't have reverence for the things of God anymore? Inside the church building or Outside the church building? Wow! I need some help with these questions!
What is wrong with the word "Holy" anyway. The Webster's online dictionary defines holy as: 1: exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness 2: divine holy — Psalms 99:9(Authorized Version)> 3: devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity holy temple> <holy prophets> 4 a: having a divine quality <holy love> b: venerated as or as if sacred <holy scripture> holy relic>.
"Be ye holy for I am Holy." Be devoted entirely to God who is exalted and worthy of complete devotion because He is perfect in goodness and righteousness, therefore because of His work on the cross we, too, possess a divine quality and are sacred to God, the One who calls Himself, Holy. Are my thoughts off here? Am I on the wrong track?
My heart is repeating the scripture, "Seek the old paths and walk ye in them, for there you shall find rest for your souls." (Jer. 6:16) Jeremiah was contemporary of Daniel. He, too, was a prophet-a heartbroken prophet-warning God's people of impending doom all because of their sin and their forgetting about God and His Holy Word. The only way to escape the calamity that was coming to Judah was to surrender to God's Will. So, Jeremiah was wanting Judah to return to God's "holiness", too! (I write all this to think through my hermeneutics.) So,this scripture seems to come up in every walk in my life. My role as a woman and a mother; my role in church; the way I am thinking of saving money; the tithe; the offerings; the church itself! (My poor husband-when I bounce all these questions off of him-I can see him literally shut down, so my sounding board is my blog--I truly hope you don't mind!)
Anyway, what are the old paths---blood sacrifice? No, I am not talking about Justification--I am talking about living each and every moment for our Justifier!
Of course, the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 are ringing in my ear as well--if I lived a "holy" life without love-it would be nothing! I am not trying to be Super Christian here, I am just thinking in print and I am trying to figure out the modern church and American Christianity-of which I am totally immersed in. Yet, Ecclesiastes 11:13-14 are still fresh in my heart, mind and spirit!--"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: For this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." That sure makes me think and pray--"LORD forgive me and continue to be my justification and lead me daily--moment by moment--down the path or paths that you have ordained for me. I am a fearful, but questioning woman just wanting to think and act on-"whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; things that are virtuous and things that be of any praise." Philippians 4:8 (Italic-mine.)
|
• Tuesday, July 1, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Interesting subject, and I haven't found all the answers to your questions, or mine, but I am praying about it and asking God. Of course when married, and there are two side, sometimes we can come to a compromise, or a happy medium. But I don't want to compromise with our Heavenly Father. I want to please Him!!
Thanks for writing this!
God's Blessings,
Amy Jo