Guest Post: Walk In Holiness

Guest Joel Littlefield - Author of Grace In Crossville

This essay was first posted on the Calvary Chapel Crossville website. Please visit the site for more of Pastor Joel Littlefield's teaching.

"To walk in this thing we call holiness, 

every eye must remain on the prize.

 That prize is Jesus."

                                                            J. Littlefield

Pastor Joel has written a fine essay on the awesome attribute of God---His Holiness. 

Walk In Holiness

No one is innately holy except God. No man is innately holy except Jesus Christ, the God-man. What then do we do with the command "Be holy, as I am holy"? How can we possibly follow this one? We must see that it is not an optional command. We cannot just back out of this as if anything less than holy were acceptable to God. Holiness is who God is, and what we must seek if we are truly His. To better understand this, let's consider this phrase we often hear, "walk in holiness", and break it into three parts.

First - To walk in holiness is just that, a walk. It's a life with holy movement. It's a life of faithful step-taking. Not sluggish or lazy. Some steps are big and some are small, but the Christian is to be constantly on the move in the strength of the Spirit. This is not like the "busybody". The scriptures condemn that behavior. The busybody is so active, and so loose with his or her decisions, so sloppily involved in everyone's affairs, that they are not acting as the Lord in His holiness. God is purposeful, and deliberate in every action, so that every word, and every move is for the goal of glorifying Himself for the good of others. Let us do the same. Walk in holiness. Walk with purpose and with one goal, the glory of God and the benefit of others. 

Second - Holiness is something that envelopes the true child of God. It is not a secondary nature, but part of a new, God given, primary nature that identifies with Christ. "Therefore if you have been raised with Christ, walk in newness of life."  The action of walking and doing as a Christian is really an outflow of something deep inside you. Yes, something fully worked by God, but something we MUST take hold of. This is justification, that which Christ bought with His own blood.  It is only in Christ that we are made holy.  In Jesus we are acquitted of all unrighteousness and counted worthy - blameless before God - forgiven.  It is a matter of position because of absolute payment on our behalf. The walking becomes easier when we realize what we are walking in. There's more purpose when we begin to understand the grace we have received. To walk in this is to acknowledge the miraculous work of God that placed you here, and glory in Him because of it. 

Thirdly - Holiness is a personal God. Without God, holiness is non existent. Not only should we walk, and walk in, but even more than these we must  worship the one who was, and is, and always will be holy. Try to define God with human words. It's impossible right? At some point we must revert to this one truth, "God is...Holy". It is a term that fits Him and Him alone, and every human knows this. It is a term that speaks of infinite worth and splendor, endless love and purpose, perfect promises and just judgments To walk in this thing we call holiness, every eye must remain on the prize. That prize is Jesus. Jesus came to make the unholy, positionally holy through faith in Him. He is the God who always was, the Great I AM, the holy one of Israel. The train of His Kingly robe fills temples, and His voice shakes mountains.

Walk in holiness today, for holiness is yours through the grace of Christ. Step out in faith with deeds of love and holiness, acting and living in the name of Jesus, spreading His Word to the ends of the earth. Reverence Him for He alone is worthy. He alone is Holy.

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This post was used by permission. Click link for more from Pastor Joel & Calvary Chapel Crossville

On Twitter https://twitter.com/graceinmaine

Pastor Joel Littlefield
I am 30 years old, the father to 3 wonderful children, and blessed to be 11 years married to my beautiful wife, Callie. I'm currently serving as the worship leader and assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel in Crossville, TN.  My passion is to preach and teach Christ to the Church, and show that His glory, His joy, and His will are our primary mission in life as Christians. Since writing is a form of teaching, and can be used to equip the body of Christ unto love and good works, this too has become a passion in my daily walk and growth with God.

Be sure to read the 30 Day Devotion by Joel Littlefield Grace In Crossville available at Amazon

Timing Is Everything

"Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones" Proverbs 16: 24.

For 14 months I clerked at a small combination grocery/hardware store. On both ends of Commercial Street, the store's location, there were churches but their people very seldom came in. The regular clientele were the town's more unsavory residents and we often had to call the police because of fighting in the street or a drunken or drugged customer making trouble. I worked from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm closing.  As the only Christian working the closing shift, I was alone. Every day I worked, either a co-worker or a customer spoke Jesus' name as an expletive or a derogatory adjective. When I once commented on the language, a customer complained to my boss I was 'preaching'  and I was told to stop.

(I know God kept me safe while I was there & I was able to do some very edifying witnessing.)

One night, driving to work, I was feeling very depressed about my job. Talking to God about the struggle of working at there, I asked God to show me another Christian. This particular night I needed encouragement. I needed to know there were Christian brothers and sisters in this town. I began my shift trusting God heard my prayer and I waited for the Christian He would send in.

No Christians came at all. I had given up on God answering my prayer. I wanted to go home and wash the world off me.

It was after closing time but as long as a customer was in the store we couldn't lock the doors. My co-worker and I were trying to get the last customer out so we could lock up and go home. Before the one left, a husband and wife came in wanting some meat from the deli. We both stifled groans and my co-worker walked back to he deli, the woman following while telling what they wanted. I stood behind the counter as the husband wandered around looking at items.

That's when I saw his T-shirt said, JESUS--The ONLY WAY with a stylized arrow pointing upwards.

I asked him, "Do you believe what your shirt says?"

He looked down to read it then looked up and said, "Absolutely."

I asked him where he went to church and he mentioned a local church in the next town over which I knew taught the Bible. When I explained where my husband and I go, he knew of our church also. In fact the parents of members of our church attend his church. In addition to that, they had been to our church to play volleyball. 

I couldn't stop smiling as I rang up their purchase and thanked them for coming in. I didn't tell them that they were God's answer to a prayer. That joy was between me and God. 

• It was after-hours. 
• We should have been closed.
• I should have been at home.

That was God's perfect timing.
Praise the Lord!

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Curious Beings--Angels

God created mankind of the dust of the earth. (Gen 2:7) but there is lack of explanation of what substance God used to form angels. 

How's that for making something of nothing!

I believe God made the angels long before He created earth. They serve in God's eternity not our earthly time-line though they pass between the two. Hebrews 1 says angels as spirits of fire. Now I don't know what that means, but it's certain angels live in the spiritual realm beyond us.

Photo courtesy of morgueFile

They can become the form of a man, (Gen 19:1) or appear very strange creatures described in Isaiah, with six wings as coverings. There are angels that look like metal and bright stones. They have terrible power and yet can be very comforting and humble as when Gabriel spoke to Mary. (Luke 1:30) They are all around us, doing God's will. If they are not doing God's will then they're demons and doing Satan's will. They move both in our time and God's place, and it seems there are a lot of them. They are more powerful than we are and can do extraordinary things.

God makes angels His servants, (Heb 1:7) yet He calls us His children (1 John 3:1). God made a way for us to be born again (John 3:16), --we who are made of dirt-- yet the angels have only their obedience to save them. If they are following Satan, they are condemned forever (Heb 2:16).

But we have no explanation of their substance. They are not made of the dust of the earth. They cannot die, nor is God going to destroy their form. Satan and his followers will suffer forever in the Lake of Fire. (Rev 20:10)

Even with that prophecy coming, I believe whatever God creates by His word, He can speak out of existence if He chooses.

They cannot procreate. Jesus said they neither marry or are given in marriage, (Matt 22:30) so, no angel babies in heaven. I cannot believe God would tolerate fornication in His heaven if it is such an abominable sin on earth. In my opinion, all the angels God created for His service are all that will be.

At the hour of His arrest, Jesus told His disciples that He was capable of calling 12 legions of angels to His aid. (Matt 26:53) Wow! How many angels waited expectantly on the edge of Heaven for the call that never came? If one angel could destroy 185,000 Assyrians in one night, (2 Kings 19:35) would not 12 legions of angels destroy everyone on earth at the command of God!? 

If angels feel any emotions, 

how they must have suffered to watch Christ die! 

They want to know more about us too.  (1 Peter 1:12) They are as curious about us as we are of them. They must certainly find us as interesting we them.

The study of angels is very interesting and it leaves some very interesting questions. Scriptures tell us that someday we will judge angels.(1 Cor 6:3) 

What must they think of that idea?

What are you're thoughts about angels. Leave a comment, please (click 1 comment to open box)

Revival: Noun or Verb?

"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You. Psalm 51: 12, 13

Do you consider the word REVIVAL a noun or a verb? It is both in the grammatical sense but for the collective church, is the thing we look for the revival of the church body--a noun, or are we, individually, willing to be revived--a verb.

I can ask for a revival in my church And my country. In this, I am thinking it is a thing to watch, to see, in which to participate. That is a noun as in "Lord, send revival. We need a revival!"

But in speaking the word revival am I also asking for new life for myself? Am I admitting I'm dead and desiring to be alive? An example as in, "Lord, revive me. Give me new breath of life. Resurrect my spirit with Your Spirit!"

Then revival is a verb, something to be done, something changing, something moving, an exciting action.

Complacency is quicksand. Week after week we can go through the actions of church attendance and we settle in our faith. It no longer lifts us to higher heights, but fills the Sundays of our week. 

When we see this form of death, like David, we need to cry out for the joy of our first encounter with Jesus. The joy we had when we asked Jesus to save us and the immediate response when He did.

Psalm 51: 12,13, is about personal revival, newness of life. When I am returned to the wonder and awesomeness of my salvation, I can be glad and rejoice, and shout and sing as a child again. It is then when those around me without Christ Jesus will see my new life and desire it. They will want to know my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

From a human standpoint, to be revived is like resurrection, we neither can provide ourselves life in either situation. The dead cannot do anything. God is the Life Giver.

Restore to me the joy of Your Salvation so people can be saved! 

"Revive Me!"

AMEN!!!

Never Fast from the Word of God

No Christian should be on a Fast from reading God's word. Skimping on reading the Bible, will leave you weak and frail in your daily walk. In today's world, no Christian can afford to go on a diet from reading the Bible and expect to stay Spiritually healthy and strong. (Not that anyone ever could at any time!)

Eat it daily 

"Moreover He said to me, "Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel." So I opened my mouth, and He cause me to eat that scroll. And He said to me, "Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you." So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness." Ezekiel, 3: 1. (Italics added)

For Ezekiel, the scroll was good and bad news for Israel, sweet and sour. Ezekiel was told to eat the scroll and he did. With the word of God inside him, he went and did the Lord's work in that strength. Some he enjoyed, some he hated, but Ezekiel was willing to receive all of it.

We too must eat God's word, get it inside us, assimilate it into our core being, to do God's work.

Have you eaten God's word, all the sweet and the sour? Begin now to assimilate it into your core. With God's word devoured by Christians, we have all the weapons, power, heart, and mind of God working through us to do all the work He desires us to do.

Read it at breakfast, lunch break, at the dinner table. Snack on it. Munch away with appetite!

Read it to learn it. Listen to it preached and taught. Study it alone, or in groups. Pray over it. Pray for utilization, pray for the blessings of it, pray for boldness, & strength in the word.

Never go on a Fast from the Bible!!

We Need The Bible

We need the Bible. How else will we know about God? Where would we get any information about God today without the Bible?

I ask this question in my * EBook Squished! Why God Seemingly Destroys Our Fruit,  I talk about the truth of the Bible and the desperate necessity of it for God's people.

This is an excerpt from the book:

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What if God didn’t give us any information about Himself and we had to find it on our own? Ever think about not having the Bible to tell us about God in today’s world? What if God had never given us the Bible, from where then would truth come?

What would happen to you if the Bible somehow disappeared, as if it never existed? Do you know enough about God to sustain your relationship with Him? How much Scripture have you memorized. How complete a picture do you have of God?

Is the only time you open your Bible is when you attend church service? What would you rely on if disaster struck? What comfort would you have if you had no access to Scriptures? Would you have to run to another Christian or your pastor for a word from God? What do you do if you lost the availability to that person to help you understand the will of God?

Scary thought isn’t it.

The Bible is a gift we should praise God for every day."

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God's word is alive always. It is just as valuable to us today as when God had it written.
Psalm 119 is so beautiful. We should read it often. If you have children or grandchildren, read it to them. If you have a Sunday School class, read it to them. A bed-ridden friend or someone you care for, read it to them.

The Bible is one of our communications with our Loving God. read His word for the pure joy of it!

*(Published by Westbow Press a Division of Thomas Nelson Publishers, available at Amazon.com  by S. L. Estes)

Faith In Depression

Depression has nothing to do with a disconnection to God. God holds me in the palms of His hands and nothing can ever take me out.  I believe I have victory over all things in Christ and my belief in God is not diminished by my depression.

There are many verses of God's promises of taking care of me. I have read and reread them many times. I can recite many from memory.

Is my depression then a lack of faith? Am I grieving the Holy Spirit because I am depressed? Is my depression a matter of my old nature? Is my depression a matter of self-pity?

Can my depression be a Spiritual heaviness, or a burden for a Spiritual reason? Is my depression a way for God to help me see something I couldn't see otherwise while full of joy and gladness?

I have not the answer to those questions. They tend to be the same questions I ask myself each time depression comes over me.

I cannot say how my depression comes and goes. There lacks any pin-point key to why or when it comes or goes.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, even go through depression and emerge on the other side. God hasn't gone anywhere. He hasn't lost any power. He hasn't suddenly become incapable of helping or saving.

I am a frail human. I am a tender sheep. I am a timid lamb. I need leading. I need protecting. I need feeding. I need a strong, reliable Shepherd.

I have all these in Christ Jesus.

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters." Psalm 23: 1&2

Headed for Hell Fire

Hello, I'm Susan Estes. For all of you who knew me when I was using drugs and alcohol and who cannot understand what has got into me, I want to say He's Jesus, my Lord and Savior.

You may have the notion I 'cleaned' myself up and 'got religion' and that's why I gave up drugs, drink, & the crazy life. You may think I claim I'm going to Heaven by my change of life.

Nope--I couldn't have cleaned myself up enough. I was headed for Hell Fire, not because of the drugs, alcohol, or promiscuity. I was headed to Hell Fire because in the Garden of Eden Adam defied God's ONE rule. Adam's ONE sin sentenced ALL people to Hell Fire. God told Adam "There's ONE tree in Eden you are NOT to eat from. When you eat it you will surely die." Adam chose the fruit of death for all people. Adam killed everyone. Adam sent me to Hell for eternity.

For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

Just because I quit the drugs, alcohol, and the crazy life, doesn't make a bit of difference to purge me of the inherited sin of Adam. ONE sin killed me forever. ONE sin keeps me out of Heaven. I can't do a thing to keep me out of Hell Fire. I will never get to Heaven.

As for my believing Jesus--He SAVED me from Eternal Hell Fire. Jesus came to DIE to pay the death sentence brought on by Adam. ONE sin killed me--ONE death saved me.

God said ALL who look at Jesus hanging on the cross 2000 years ago, dying in their place will be saved. I did and I do. I cried, "God forgive me because I know Jesus did that for me. God thank you for making a way for me to escape eternal Hell Fire. Forgive my sin and save me."

That's why I'm a CHRISTIAN. I am saved for eternal Heaven because I feared eternal Hell Fire. I cried to God for forgiveness from being a sinful descendant of Adam.

THAT is what makes me right with God and ONLY that. Jesus loves me and died for me while I was STILL a druggie, drunk and crazy. He died for me without first asking me to clean myself up. And I am not a druggie, or a drunk, or a suicidal crazy anymore because I love Jesus more.

"These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God" 1 John 5:13.

Not Blind Faith but True Faith

"We walk by faith, not by sight" 2 Corinthians 5:7

If you have plans today and something happens that rips your agenda to shreds, learn from Jesus that interruptions in our plans, no matter how terrible they appear, are not always disasters.

A good example of a disaster in a ministry is Paul and Silas getting arrested, beaten and thrown into prison. But before the night was over, they had helped a man find his way to Jesus and planted the seed of a church in Philippi.

Of course, the best example is Jesus Himself. What looks like absolute destruction of everything when He died at the cross, ultimately brought about the culmination of the salvation God planned before the foundation of the world.

Do not let the trouble of your day stop or hinder you from doing good work for God. Do not let daily troubles stop or hinder you from encouraging others. Do not let the problems you face today stop or hinder you from praying.

Prayer doesn't mean getting God to do something for us, though that is an okay thing to ask for if it is in His will & nature, but prayer is to get us into conversation with Almighty God so we can 'see' by faith what He is already doing.

Maybe your day will not be a horrible disaster but do not let even the small interruptions bother your faith in Christ Jesus.

Walking in faith does not mean we are stumbling around not seeing where we are going but that we are following the One who knows where we're going and we trust His leadership.

And God is always working. Amen