Don’t be deceived by the title of my devotional. It isn’t a secret. We all know what it takes to be holy before a holy God. It is the fruit of a life totally surrendered to God.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. Psalm 24:3-4 1 O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? 2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; Psalm 15:1-2 We all have the privilege of standing before the throne of God, or should I say spending time in God’s Word and praying each and every day. The enemy of our soul knows what impact that will have on your life so he will try to keep you from this very important appointment. During your time with the Lord, you are opening your life up for the Holy of holies to come and purify your heart, cleanse your hands, sprinkle your conscience with the blood of Christ, and clothe you with white robes of righteous deeds. Why wouldn’t the enemy try to distract you with the busyness and cares of this life? The pursuit of holy living isn’t a burden but a place where we find our highest potential. Holiness isn’t something we do. We have proved over and over that we can’t live up to the holiness of God. Holiness is derived from being filled with the Holy Spirit. It’s something we take on. Only God is holy in and of Himself, we are holy because we are close enough to God that His Holy Spirit has filled us up to completeness. It is only then that someone can accuse us of being holy. Your holiness is derived from not only who you are in Christ but where you are. I pray you don’t miss that. When David fell hard to sin when he committed adultery with Bathsheba, he thought he got away with it by covering his tracks. He did a pretty thorough job but forgot about the One that matters the most – God! God knew what he had done. David was able to fool most of the people most of the time but was not able to fool all the people. David probably continued to grab his harp and lift up songs to the Lord but because of his sin the fire of holiness wasn’t there. When Nathan pointed out his sin, he repented immediately. He knew he wasn’t where he should have been by just going through the motions. That’s when he penned Psalm 51. Holiness isn’t just simply clean living, it is living in the presence of God and dwelling daily with Him when no one else is around. I want to encourage you to never give up your time with the Lord. It is where God makes you who you are. I pray you will never forget that simple truth. I am looking forward to a wonderful Marriage Retreat this weekend. If you haven’t signed up, do it today. It will be worth it all. Your marriage is worth the effort. Can I tell you that your children will thank you later? Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike
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Rev. Mike McClurgSenior Pastor, Findlay First Church of the Nazarene Archives
March 2020
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