{"id":27716,"date":"2020-03-03T03:30:18","date_gmt":"2020-03-03T11:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=27716"},"modified":"2020-02-27T16:12:22","modified_gmt":"2020-02-28T00:12:22","slug":"march-3-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2020\/03\/03\/march-3-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"March 3, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cConsecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Leviticus 20:7<\/p>\n

Be Ye Holy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Sometimes, I find life is just hard. Decisions are hard. Obedience is hard. People are hard.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, we really do sink in deep waters. Sometimes, the fire really is too hot, and we really are getting burned. Sometimes, the tornado does destroy, the drought does come, the nations do rage, and man does evil.<\/p>\n

During times like these, the easy answers just won\u2019t cut it. The well-meaning but grossly understated \u201cIt\u2019ll be OK,\u201d or \u201cBe anxious for nothing, friend,\u201d or even, \u201cThat happened to me once; let me tell you about it\u2026\u201d just doesn\u2019t touch our deepest questions and cries.<\/p>\n

God, where are You? Too often, the first thing we seem to lose is the very thing we most need at those times: intimacy with God. Once upon a time, we were so close. Back then, we sensed His presence. Have we sinned once too often? Are we living a life that doesn\u2019t please Him\u2014yet we don\u2019t know it? Are we having these problems because we have disobeyed\u2014except we don\u2019t know we\u2019ve disobeyed?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the worst question of all: have we done this to ourselves? Have we lost intimacy with God because of something we\u2019ve done?<\/p>\n

As Pastor Jack reminded us one Sunday, God\u2019s primary purpose in what He does and allows is TO MAKE US HOLY. And He has the infinite wisdom to bring that about. But He won\u2019t just point His finger and make us holy. No, He gives steps to take. Ways to live. And it takes time to become\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>something. It requires a series of steps in the right direction over a very long period of time.<\/p>\n

Left on our own, without His Spirit working in us, we could only walk a phony walk. It might have been religious, but it wouldn\u2019t have been real.<\/strong>God intends for our faith to be strong and deep, not weak and shallow. Our faith needs to be so strong that we would never slink into the embrace of an idol, and never cave in to the enemy.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s aim is for \u201ca deep, strong, doctrinally sound, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated, unshakable new you. (He wants) you to be tough, unshakable, unbendable in your allegiance to Jesus as your supreme treasure\u201d (John Piper). In other words, not soft, but tough.<\/p>\n

This is what it takes to stand for Christ today. If you feel He is being extra-hard on you, then I say there is something in your future that requires it. His training will set you apart for His purposes. \u201cGod is absolutely abandoned to the purpose of manifesting the beauty of His character\u201d in you (Spirit-Filled Life Bible).<\/p>\n

Is your life hard? Count the cost, be strong, and determinedly follow Him.<\/p>\n

Lord, we abandon ourselves to showing others Your character. Make us holy in Your sight. Fulfill Your purposes in us to bring glory to Your name. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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