Baby Update

So these "pictures" were taken a month ago...sorry for not posting them sooner! It is looking like the baby will be a boy...like 99% chance! :) :) :)

You can see he is already praying! :) :) :) :)

Pursuing Holiness

This is the lesson I taught Sunday night at youth group....the quotes are from Jerry Bridges' book "The Pursuit of Holiness" (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1978). I highly recommend reading! Some of the ideas are his too...

1 Thess. 4:7 “For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.”

Gal. 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Living by faith…what does it mean? Who’s living? Who are we putting our trust in? Are our lives completely up to God? Who chose to brush or not brush you teeth today? Who chose or didn’t choose to read their Bible today?

“We have a personal responsibility for our walk of holiness.” Holiness isn’t just God’s job…it’s ours too!

Most of us have decided that some sins are worth committing even though we know it is sin! A certain TV show, listening to certain songs, trying to impress that certain someone by actions or looks, spending hours on our physical bodies (makeup or working out) and minutes on our spiritual bodies, etc!

God’s holiness is the absolute absence of sin! He can’t even tolerate the smallest most insignificant sin in our lives because He is that holy!

We are made holy in our standing before God through Christ, but we are called to be holy in our daily lives! “If there is not at least a yearning in our hearts to live a holy live pleasing to God then you need to seriously question whether your faith in Jesus Christ is genuine…because true salvation brings a desire to be holy.”

God doesn’t require a perfect, sinless life to have fellowship with Him, but He does require us to be serious about holiness and about confessing, grieving and repenting from our sin.

Romans 6:6-7 “that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.”

But why do we still continue to sin??? Because we have formed many habits of sin that we haven’t worked hard enough at removing from our lives! We simply choose to keep sinning instead of living righteously…even though we have the ability not to sin.

We have the responsibility to resist sin, but “to confuse the responsibility of resisting with the potential for resisting is to court disaster in the pursuit of holiness.”

“Holiness is not a series of do’s and don’ts, but conformity to the character of God and obedience to the will of God. Accepting with contentment whatever circumstances God allows for me is very much a part a holy walk.”

SO WHAT ARE SOME WAYS TO LIVE IN HOLINESS???

Col. 1:11-14 “strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

1) Remember who you belong to and who we look to for help!

We are supposed to be strengthened with God's might, according to His power because "He has delivered us from the power of darkness" but if we continue to sin we are walking back into darkness instead of into the light. Unless we remain faithful, we cannot experience His power & strength the way God intended for us to experience as "saints in the light."

On my own, my best is nothing but filthy rags (Is. 64:6), but in Christ, I have His glorious power because I have been delivered from darkness "through His blood."

Col. 3:5 “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”

“Put to death” means to "destroy the strength, vitality, or functioning of!" Don't let sin breathe, grow stronger or have any influence whatsoever in your life!

But in order to do this we must 2) form conviction!

This means that you don't allow the smallest sin to influence your life. When something is sinful you refrain from it, no matter how insignificant it may seem. When something is holy, you go after it...not just casually, but passionately! Your convictions are based upon what scripture says and you follow it...despite your feelings trying to convince you otherwise.

Ps. 119:11 “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.”

3) Hide God’s word in our hearts!

“God’s word must be so strongly fixed in our minds that it becomes the dominant influence in our thoughts, our attitudes, and our actions.”

What are ways we can make that happen? Reading God's word, memorizing God's word, talking about God's word, meditating on God's word, praying to God, think about it all day long.

“Everytime we say yes to temptation, we make it harder to say no the next time.”

1 Thess. 4:3 “It is God’s will that you abstain from sexual immorality.”

4) Refrain from sexually immorality!

Not just from having sex, but everything that leads up to sex! If holding hands makes you think impurely about someone, then STOP! Going beyond that is just wrong…are you touching someone inappropriately? HUGS, making out, it leads to sex and if you don’t believe me then you are either extremely prideful, ignorant or just don’t care. And that is a dangerous place to be. (Pr. 6:27-28)

"By the age of 24, 89 percent of males and 92 percent of females have had intercourse" (Here). ….be part of that small percentage!!!!

Job 31:1 “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.”

Ps. 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.”

5) Make a covenant with your eyes, ears, mouths & hearts...not to take part in sin or even temptation!

We have to be willing to obey and submit to God…even if we don’t want to!

Col. 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

6) Be devoted to prayer!

Until you make a firm and resolved commitment to live for holiness without exceptions, you will continue to live in a pattern of sin! Until you are willing to let go of the fun, enjoyable, or popular things in your life that disgrace our holy and perfect God, you can’t win the battle even though you have every ability to win through the power of God!

How to know right from wrong? (Pg. 88)

1. “‘Everything is permissible for me’ but not everything is beneficial” (1 Cor. 6:12) Is it helpful – physically, spiritually and mentally?

2. “‘Everything is permissible for me’ but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Cor. 6:12) Does it bring me under its power?

3. “Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.” (1 Cor. 8:13) Does it hurt others?

4. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31) Does it glorify God?

“It may not be the activity itself that determines whether something is sinful for us, but rather our response to that activity.”

Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

My goal for the student is that they are transformed into God’s image by His mercy and grace!

Some questions I thought of to help me and others evaluate the things in my life...

Is what I spend my time doing for myself or for others?

Is what I spend my time doing going to have a positive impact on my life? Other people’s lives?

Is what I spend my time doing going to have an eternal impact?

Is what I spend my time doing a reflection of my relationship with God?

Is what I spend my time doing obedience or disobedience to God and His commands?

Is what I spend my time doing helping my walk with God or hindering it?

Is what I spend my time doing an example of something others should do as well?

Is what I spend my time doing give the credit and honor and glory to God or myself?

1) Remember who you belong to! Christ! Col. 1:11-14

2) Form conviction! Col. 3:5

3) Hide God’s word in our hearts! Ps. 119:11

4) Refrain from sexually immorality! 1 Thess. 4:3

5) Make a covenant with your eyes, ears, mouths & hearts. Job 31:1, Ps. 19:14

6) Be devoted to prayer! Col. 4:2

Ephesians 3:20-21 "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."