Thursday, January 13, 2005
A Sneak Peak At 'Holiness: The Heart God Purifies'
After thinking over, I've decided to give you all a sneak peak at this amazing book God has gave Nancy Leigh DeMoss the wisdom to write. In this book it is mentioned that:
Holiness is:
1. Set apart
*God set apart one day out of the week & called it "a holy Sabbath to the Lord". (Exodus 16:23)
*A priceless privilege.
*A call:
-to belong to, to be cherished, to enter into an intimate love relationship with God Himself, much as the groom declares his intent to set his bride apart from all other women to be his beloved wife,
-to fit into the grand, eternal plan of our redeeming God for this universe,
-to experience exquisite joys & purposes for which we were created,
-to be freed from all that destroys our true happiness.
2.Morally clean
*You must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)
*Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. (2 Timothy 2:19)
*It is:
-for moms who battle a sense of usefulness & discouragement & who are tempted to escape into self-pity, romance novels, antidepressants, or the arms of an attractive man,
-for students who are constantly bombarded with pressure to conform to the world & to indulge in ungodly forms of entertainment,
-for lonely widows, divorcees & singles,
-for husbands & wives who wrestle with bitterness towards mates who have abused or abandoned them,
-for men who are tempted to cheat on their expense reports or their loves or to abdicate their spiritual leadership in the home,
True holiness is cultivated in the context of relationship with God.
-It involves adherence to standard but it is also a warm, joyous, loving response to the God who loves us & created us to enjoy intimate fellowship with Him,
-It is the overflow of a heart that is deeply grateful to have been redeemed by God from sin,
-It is motivated & enabled by the Holy Spirit who lives within us to make us holy; not manufactured by sheer grit, determination & willpower.
(Extracted from Nancy Leigh DeMoss' 'Holiness:The Heart God Purifies', Moody Publishers)
Wow, read about it? It's just jaw-dropping to know how amazing & loving God is; not DeMoss' words, but God's through DeMoss' pen as it is written: "& we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe." (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
Hope this would enlighten your path with God. Have a blessed day ahead!
On 9:21 am, Cheryl lays it all at the feet of Jesus.
