Worthy Devotions – Daily Christian Devotion » Holiness

Proverbs 6:27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?

June 12, is independence day for the Philippines. In 1991 the day was forever marked by one of the strongest volcano eruptions in history. Mount Pinatubo, dormant for over 500 years, began to erupt, and three days later exploded with twice the power of the 1980 Mount St. Helen’s eruption. The release of power blasted a cubic mile off the mountaintop and the earth shook for eight hours. The eruption produced an ash cloud that rose over 50,000 feet into the atmosphere. If that wasn’t enough, Typhoon Yunga then struck the island nation with fierce winds and torrential rains which mixed with the ash creating what the locals called “Black Saturday!”

The United States was forced to abandon and eventually close Clark Air Force base, located just a few miles from Mount Pinatubo, due to the devastating blanket of fallen ash. When a vulcanologist was asked to account for the widespread damage which sent thousands of American soldiers and Filipinos fleeing, he replied, “When a volcano is silent for many years, people forget it’s a volcano and begin to treat it like a mountain.”

Now here’s a lesson from nature. We should always be aware of how our sinful nature has the potential to erupt. It would be a big mistake to ignore this possibility simply because it has lain dormant for a season…even a seemingly long one.

Solomon writes a profound statement in his book of Proverbs, which, when paraphrased goes something like this; “Can someone play with fire in his lap without incinerating his clothes?”

The enemy of our souls would love for us to believe that we can somehow play with sin, without it negatively affecting our spirit and our walk with the Lord — oh how deceptive Satan can be!

D.L. Moody was a fairly simple man and I love the way he dealt with sin. He said, “When you’re thinking sin, think scripture!”

Let’s be on guard! Sin is a dormant volcano which can erupt at ANY moment and set our house on fire. How do we prepare? First, by being aware of the possibility…then…;”Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee”. [Psalm 119:11] Let’s meditate upon His Word, allowing it to sink deep into our minds and our hearts, so that the only fire which burns there…is the fire of God’s Holy Spirit. Amen.

Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

When a Michigan man entered the hospital for tests one day, he never would have guessed what the doctors would find. A routine chest x-ray revealed that the man’s heart was on the wrong side of his chest! Because of a rare reversed-organ condition, his heart was in the wrong place. This is a strange story indeed, although I think some of us suffer from this condition in a spiritual way.

Do you ever find yourself thinking you’re in a good place with the Lord? I haven’t done this sin or that sin in a long time. I’m doing much better in this area of my life than so and so is. I am in leadership in my church or ministry and and I think I’m a better Christian than the people I lead. You know what I’m talking about? We get to thinking we’re in a good place — a safe place — home free.

This safe place is a dangerous place! The reality is that Satan wants us to be content in where we are. He wants us to compare ourselves to others and feel we’ve arrived! But we haven’t! God wants us to continually strive to be more like Him! It is only when we come to a place of humility and dependence upon the Lord that we can have a heart that’s truly in the right place.

We need to daily examine ourselves to see if our hearts are where they need to be. Are we depending on God in every way? Are we constantly acknowledging that all we have and are is by His hand of mercy and grace? Let’s stop comparing ourselves to others and our pasts and strive for God’s perfection today!

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

As we mentioned a couple of days ago, Chanukah commemorates of the desecration of the holy temple of old, (just another attempt of the enemy to wipe out the Jewish people and the things of God), God’s great grace and the rededication of the temple to Him.

While there is no longer a physical temple today, the Bible declares that we, as believers in Jesus, are living temples of God. But we need to recognize that our enemy is constantly at work, trying to erect idols and desecrate our temple in various ways so that we cannot be used to glorify God. How long has it been since we cleansed and rededicated our temple to the Lord? We should really be be doing it daily!

We want to be more holy — more pure — more righteous so that we can be found a peculiar people, a holy nation, a royal priesthood, as the scripture says. Let’s strive to be a people who shine forth the glory of God today! Let’s pull down the strongholds and destroy the idols that pollute us! There’s so much work to be done!

Nehemiah 8:9-10 And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

Roughly 2500 years ago, there was a special Sukkot celebration in Jerusalem. The people of Israel were exiled and dispersed all across the Babylonian empire. Later, they were given the right to return and start construction on the 2nd temple of Israel. Nehemiah 8 speaks of the special celebration that happened at that time. We read how Ezra taught the people out of the book of the law and how they responded in weeping and repentance before the God of Israel.

Interestingly, Sukkot is a holiday in which the people were commanded to rejoice, yet they were weeping in repentance. And then, in verse 9, they did! Isn’t it true that joy always comes after the mourning?

The word for strength in Hebrew is ”mah-oz”. Not only does it mean strength, but it also means fortress and rock.

When we commit our lives to walking in repentance and practicing holiness, then we will live in a constant state of joy. As the Apostle Paul said, Rejoice always! In our joy we find our fortress, our rock – the stability of our lives!

Hebrews 9:11-12 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement is upon us. Beginning this evening, Yom Kippur marks the holiest of all holy days on the Hebrew calendar. It is the anniversary of the fall of man and it is the climax of the time of Teshuvah (repentance).  Tonight and tomorrow, all around the world, the religious will fast from food and water and read prayers in the synagogue, as will the majority of traditional Jews.

Atonement means “covering”. On this day, according to the Scriptures, the High Priest would slay a goat and sprinkle its blood on the Ark of the Covenant so that the sins of the people might be cleansed and they could have favor in the sight of God. This act was clearly a foreshadowing of the covering that would come when Messiah would die for our sins, our perfect and innocent Lamb.

Today, there are no more sacrifices and no more Temple. Yet the religious are convinced that their sins will be atoned for by doing their best to keep the law and doing good works. Sadly, there is only one recipe for true atonement — trusting in the One of whom was prophesied long, long ago –Yeshua haMashiach, Jesus the Messiah. His blood has covered over all of us who believe so that our sins might be washed away, that we might have favor in the sight of God and that we might have our names inscribed in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Let’s take some time to repent and get right with the Lord, ourselves — allow the Lord to reveal our sins, both known and unknown. Perhaps God will call you to fast and pray along with us for Israel as well. We look forward to the wonderful day when ALL Israel shall be saved! And there’s oh, so much work to be done!

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Picture this — you come home from a long day of work — you walk into your living room — plop down on your couch in exhaustion — and there in the corner of the room — your eyes are drawn to something moving — it’s a rattlesnake! Do you say to yourself, “Oh, I’m too tired to worry about that now, I’ll deal with it later?” Of course not! You’d jump up right away, find a bat or something of the like, alert your family, call the neighbors, call 911, call the fire department and who knows what else! It’s a life-threatening situation!

In the same way, we need to consider it an emergency when a negative thought enters our minds! We immediately need to jump up, put our armor on, alert others and ask for help if needed and take cover in the promises of God! When those unrighteous thoughts enter our minds, we must deal with them immediately — lest they linger and fester — and before we know it, poison our entirety.

Sadly this is a battle that continuously rages on. We must renew our minds daily — and even hourly in order to remain in a place of peace. Let’s not wait ’till the enemy has us in his grip! Let’s put him in his place at the first sign of attack!

2 Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

As we were leaving for Jerusalem this morning, my wife made one of her frequent requests of me – “Honey! Could you take down the trash?” Well, I don’t know about you– but this is not one of my favorite tasks. Why does it always seem like we guys always get pinned with the dirty work?!(My wife — and probably many of you ladies out there would probably have a good laugh at that question!) But really, though — I was sure I had just emptied that trash can two seconds ago! I mean, I turn around and it’s full again!

It amazes me how much garbage our little family makes. But it got me thinking about spiritual garbage. Let’s face it. We live in a world running rampant with spiritual trash. It’s everywhere — and though we as believers try and avoid it, we step out our front doors and there it is to greet us. As a matter of fact, we don’t even have to step out our doors anymore! The trash has inundated our television, our music, our computers. It’s in our schools and even in our churches! We’re probably so chock full of trash by now, we’re overflowing! I think it’s time we empty our spiritual trash cans.

We have a responsibility to make sure we empty our spiritual trash – and empty it often. Let’s ask the Lord to help us take out this yucky mess and clean us up from head to toe — that we might be able to do greater things for Him!

Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Have you ever thought about how much power God releasing in our midst right now? Is it 20%… 50%… 100% of His great power?? I would venture to say that God is not even releasing a fraction of 1% of His power today. That might sound crazy to you, but think about it. If He were to release all His power on this earth, don’t you think that sin would be completely destroyed and righteousness and holiness would abound?

God is an all-powerful, all-encompassing God, and there is no limit to what He can do. He chooses to release His power through His saints — through sinners that have been washed by the blood of the Lamb! We have access to amazing power from on high — but we have to be open vessels, allowing the anointing of God to flow through us!

The power to tread upon serpents, scorpions and every power of darkness has been given to us! Let’s pray like we’ve never prayed before! And allow the Lord to use us as vessels through which His power can be released! There’s so much work to be done!

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Have you ever heard about how the Eskimos kill wolves? You’re not gonna believe this one!

First the Eskimo coats the blade of his knife with animal blood and allows it to freeze. He then adds and freezes more layers of blood, several coats, in fact, until the blade is completely covered with frozen blood. Next, he plants his knife in the snow, the blade facing up and goes about his business.

When a wolf finds his way to the luring aroma of fresh blood, he starts licking. Then more and more vigorously, lapping it until the sharp blade of the knife is exposed. However, by this point, so intense is his craving for the scrumptious blood, that the wolf does not notice the sharp sting of the blade on his own tongue, nor does he even realize that his ravenous craving is now being satisfied by his very own blood! By light of dawn, the Eskimo will find him laying dead in the snow.

Sin entices and seduces us in precisely the same way. Satan lures us to the place where he plans to ravage us with some sort of destructive fleshly pleasure — gossip, rage, sexual sin, etc. Once we give in to it’s lustful pleasures, our craving for it increases. When we continue to allow ourselves to indulge, it grips us all the more. And before we know it — it completely consumes us. Our friendships are damaged. Our marriages are broken. Our testimony, spoiled. Satan has come only to rob, kill and destroy.

Let’s begin recognizing our enemy’s tactics upon us! There is no more time to give in to his destructive ways! We must strive to walk in holiness and righteousness for the glory of God’s Kingdom! There is so much work to be done!!

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

One of my favorite ministers of the Gospel is D.L. Moody. He tells a story about having heard Pastor Henry Varley once say that, “The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him.”

As Moody pondered the pastor’s words, He realized something. Pastor Varley did not say that God would use an intelligent person. He didn’t say an educated person, nor did he say a person who was ultimately gifted. What the wise pastor said was that the person with whom God will work with and for and through will be the person “who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him”.

This radically changed Moody’s ministry… and ours too, for that matter. We realized that God isn’t looking for people with amazing minds or hands or voices or computer skills. He’s not looking for those who are wearing the nicest suits or dresses at church. And He’s not looking for the people with the highest grade point averages at the local Christian College. What God is really looking for, are people who are simply sold out for Him!

One of the great secrets to a successful walk with the Lord, is understanding total commitment to Jesus. But being totally committed requires us to daily take up our cross — leave the past behind us — and despite all the obstacles the enemy tries to throw in our path, press forward for the Lord and His work! Let’s consecrate ourselves to the Lord again today. There’s so much work to be done!