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)