Holiness - what does it mean - Part II

Last time, we looked at Webster's definition of holiness. My favorite definition was #2, which said: spiritually perfect or pure, untainted by evil or sin, sinless, saintly.

OK. We know that we are never going to be "perfect" without sin on this planet. But I believe we can be "saintly." I believe we can be "spiritually" pure, and and I believe we can allow the Lord to help us to become "untainted" by evil or sin.

In Matthew, Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." This has been a prayer of mine since I was a child. I can remember studying the beatitudes in a Bible study in a church across the street from our elementary school. I read that, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" and I decided that I wanted to be able to "see" God.

There was a time, though, in my late 20s and early 30s that I "tainted" myself by watching a few movies I shouldn't have. At that time, it was all the rage to say "I can handle it. I'm mature." But what this does is taint us. I had to come to a point where I said, "Lord, forgive me and cleanse my mind." And He has.

Many of us don't realize that what we watch, what we read, what we listen to - affects us in our spirits as well as our minds. My former pastor used to say it this way: "If you don't think Jesus would be comfortable watching what you're watching, then don't YOU watch it either." He said he was convicted by his statements. He had to be careful not to watch "R" rated action-adventure films because of the violence.

I heard a story one time. A pastor called up a prophetic friend of his. The pastor had walked by his 8-year old son's bedroom one day and saw his son talking apparently, to NO ONE. He later asked his son who he was talking to. His son said, "The angel." His father saw no angel. He asked his prophetic friend about it. The friend said, "Next time you see him talking with "no one" ask him why you can't see the angel."

So he did. A while later, he walked by his son's bedroom and saw him talking with "no one." He said, "Son, are you talking with that angel of yours?" "Yes," his son replied. "Could you ask the angel why I can't see him?" "Sure," his son said.

The pastor waited until his son asked and received an answer. Just a few seconds later, his son said, "I have the answer." The pastor said, "Well..." "Uh Dad, he says you can't see him because you've seen too much evil."

Yikes!!! We don't "see" into the realm of the supernatural because we've seen too much evil. The Bible says we are to be transformed by the REWEWING of our MINDS. But I also think there's an element of spiritual renewal as well. We need to keep ourselves "pure in heart" so that WE can see God.

Something New! What is Holiness?

What is holiness? Is it the "absence" of sin? What IS it, exactly, and how do we live it?

Webster's New World Dictionary says: the quality or state of being holy.

Holy: is dedicated to religious use; belonging to or coming from God, consecrated, sacred; 2) spritually perfect or pure; untainted by evil or sin, sinless, saintly; 3) regarded with or deserving deep respect, awe, reverence or adoration.

That's all the farther I'll go with Webster's. My definition of holiness best fits the second definition. It's the one I like the best, and the one I try to live by.

How about you?

WHY we need to be tempered

Aren't I cute? You wouldn't think this little angel would have such a bad temper now, would you?

But I did. My dad snapped this pic when i was about 2-1/2 years old. See Mom peeking around the door. The thing is, as children, we need to be trained in self-control. It's the same when we are children of God. We have a lot of "stuff" that we need to be trained in and brought out of us.

One of my "temper" stories:

Probably about 5-7 years after this picture was taken, I got SO ANGRY at my brother, I chased him around the house with a baseball bat. I was that "mad" that if I would have caught him, I would probably have practically killed him! It's a good thing that he was taller and faster than I.

As you can see - he was a good foot taller than I. He still is about 9 inches taller than I am.

I grew up with a bad 'temper' the rest of my childhood and well into adulthood. I had learned to control it more among strangers, but family was something else again.

Our anger holds us back from the goodness of God. The Bible says we can be angry, but we are not to sin. You know how they say to count to 10 before you cross the line into anger. Are you kidding? I wouldn't even get to "1" before I'd crossed over!!!

Anger isn't the only issue that we need to be "tempered" of...gossip, backbiting, envy, jealousy, self-serving, and all "self" issues - where we elevate what WE want above what God wants.

What do you need to be tempered of? Let God do the work. It will release you into your destiny if you do. I'm beginning to walk in mine.

(Photos: at home on Harrison Street, Newton, KS and at the Grand Tetons, WY)

Next post: Something "new"

Breaking Bad

You've heard about the TV series "Breaking Bad." When I read about this TV show, I was grieved. That's all we need...to glorify unlawful actions and to try to justify them, as the lead character does, by saying it's because of the cancer. Well, the cancer in the body sometimes (not always) shows up because there was already cancer of the soul and/or spirit - especially in this case.

In chocolate, if the "tempering" isn't done right, the chocolate doesn't "set" right. It's not pretty, it doesn't have snap and it doesn't taste as smooth or rich. It won't have that glossy finish and will have streaks and/or spots all over. See the picture. I took that because I wanted to show what "bloomed" chocolate is like. It's called that (bloomed) because it's almost like a bad flower that multiplies itself when the chocolate doesn't set right. The texture is crumbly and soft, falling apart as blossom petals would fall off when a flower is through it's blooming cycle.

When this happens, I as the chocolatier, have a couple of options. I can pitch it, or remelt it and put in additional correctly tempered chocolate and try to reset it - and hope it sets correctly. Usually, my husband and I end up eating the bloomed chocolate.

Thankfully, God won't throw US away when we don't "set" right...at least not right away. He'll continue to work with us until we do "set" right. But the tempering process of our souls continues a lifetime.

However, we can come to a point where we are used of the Master Chocolatier however He pleases, if we stay in "temper." Next time: stories from an angry redhead - why I needed "tempering." The bottom picture is how tempered chocolate looks when it's been chopped a bit. You can see the difference in texture and color. All the chocolate used in this blog post was dark chocolate.

What I can do with Tempered Chocolate

My chocolate is in "temper." For dark chocolate, that would be around 88°. I am now ready to work with it.

The picture at left, shows chocolate being used to provide the "bottom" to a bon bon type chocolate, using a mold. The chocolatier pours the chocolate into the mold cavities, then scrapes off the excess, which is what this chocolatier is beginning to do.

Once my chocolate is in temper, I can do whatever I want to. I can use it to enrobe a peanut butter ball center. I can dip or enrobe a pretzel. I can mold with it. I can decorate with it by grating it, or "molding" it over acetate to create a swirl. I can use tempered chocolate as glue if I were making a chocolate sculpture. I can use chocolate to flavor my ultra rich dark chocolate non-dairy truffle.

Once we've been "tempered," God can use us in a myriad of ways. If we're greeters, our smile and handshake welcome first time and repeat visitors, as well as our friends. If we're a worship leader, our voices and our instruments usher in the presence of God. If we're a small group leader, we can give wise advice to those who are hurting, and with our heart of a pastor, keep those hurting from slipping and falling.

What is it God wants to do with YOU? Have you been "tempered" by God? Post a comment and let me know.