The Forgotton Art of Holiness

We're starting a new series at Fellowship Bible this upcoming week and were discussing it in the weekly worship meeting. The series is going through 1 Peter and is asking the question of how we should live as exiles in a land that is not our home. So...how should we live? With the great price Jesus paid for our salvation, how should we live?

I think my generation has done well in embracing salvation through grace. The book of Romans and Galatians have become a favorite and the message that we can come as we are to throne of Christ and be made whole again by His death and resurrection is our spiritual heartbeat. I am so glad we are exchanging salvation through legalism for grace and I hope it continues to permeate our spiritual paradigm.

However, something I've observed about my generation is that our spiritual journey often times stops at salvation through grace. It really isn't popular to talk about the process of becoming righteous after salvation. We've bought the lie that it's okay to stay the same sinner we were when Jesus first found us. It is true that Christ's forgiveness covers our sins, both past and future. But God's mercy does not justify our license to stay spiritual babies our whole life.

The book of 1 Peter addresses that very thing. Peter is pleading with the elect to live holy. Since our salvation is so great and the grace of God so grand, we shouldn't cheapen those things by not enduring suffering for the sake of holiness. The lack of holiness in my generation's spiritual journey is becoming pandemic, and it is frustrating. It frustrates me because I know just how much I cheapen the grace of God by my own license and I see how much our message of grace is being hurt by the lack of transformation that occurs after our salvation.

Salvation and transformation should never be compartmentalized into separate things. The art of holiness and the long process of brokenness, suffering, and faith that gets us there is what gives credibility to salvation.

The Boldness of the Apostles

So recently I've been reading through the book of Acts and I'm amazed how bold the apostles were in the way they shared the gospel then. They were almost rude about it at times. When Stephen delivers his final sermon he closes with a fairly vindictive indictment of the Jews prosecuting him. This happens over and over again throughout the book of Acts. It made a lot of people mad, but it made the gospel very clear to those listening.

It has challenged me in the way I think of sharing the truth about Jesus. When I talk about Him and scriptural truth, I'm very often delicate in the way I talk about it. I don't want to offend or "turn people away" so I often tip toe around the sins of others and the full power of the truth. I wish I didn't do this and could have the boldness of the Apostles. It might get me in more trouble, but it also wouldn't water down the gospel.

The Anonymous Man's Second Coming

The Man looked through his window.
street cars, street sounds, street smells,
a pitter-patter of rain

The Man stared through His window
why send me for this?

Abraham walks to the Mountain of God afraid

In the city, all are anonymous
rain unique and then crashing upon asphalt
evaporating invisibly into the sky

The Man scribbles into the wood
"Everyone was expecting me, but nobody noticed."

Abraham shivering raises the knife
But doesn't see the ram

The Man crashed through the window
street cars, street sounds, street smells
the pitter-patter of pain

In the sky he was finally noticed, but not for why He came

Abraham treks down the Mountain of God
a murdering man ashamed

A Few of My Favorites Right Now

Margot & the Nuclear So and So's

Margot and the Nuclear So & So's - As Tall as cliffs - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on ef="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo.

Horsefeathers

Horsefeathers perform live at Portia and Slim Moon's BBQ from Dave Allen on Vimeo.

Bon Iver

#93.2 - BON IVER - Flume
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