The Beauty In Holiness

Written by FAVORED1 on July 28, 2009 – 8:32 am -

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Next, Jehu got all the people together and addressed them:
Ahab served Baal small-time; Jehu will serve him big-time. “Get all the prophets of Baal here—everyone who served him, all his priests. Get everyone here; don’t leave anyone out. I have a great sacrifice to offer Baal. If you don’t show up, you won’t live to tell about it.” (Jehu was lying, of course. He planned to destroy all the worshipers of Baal.) Jehu ordered, “Make preparation for a holy convocation for Baal.” They did and posted the date. Jehu then summoned everyone in Israel. They came in droves—every worshiper of Baal in the country. Nobody stayed home. They came and packed the temple of Baal to capacity. Jehu directed the keeper of the wardrobe, “Get robes for all the servants of Baal.” He brought out their robes. Jehu and Jehonadab the Recabite now entered the temple of Baal and said, “Double-check and make sure that there are no worshipers of God in here; only Baal-worshipers are allowed.” Then they launched the worship, making the sacrifices and burnt offerings. Meanwhile, Jehu had stationed eighty men outside with orders: “Don’t let a single person escape; if you do, it’s your life for his life.”

(2 Kings 10:18-24)

”The Beauty In Holiness”

Good Morning Beloved,

What a beautiful day! I was thinking about the Majesty and Holiness of God. He is the King of Glory. King of Kings. I never want to forget that. He is my Heavenly Father. He does love me. He is my Friend that sticks closer than any brother. He is patient, kind and loving…. and He is Sovereign. The older saints used to say “Thank God for Jesus”. Ever stop to think about that. In the Old Testament, God gave a command and it was done quickly, or judgment was swift. Idol worship was only tolerated for so long. Everything and everyone connected to serving a false God was completely annihilated. Even then, the Grace of God would patiently wait years. He would send prophet after prophet to warn the people to get rid of them, their refusal meant death. The idols these people worshiped were not harmless little trinkets, they were in essence worshipping Satan. They practiced child sacrifice, self mutilation, and vile forms of sexual deviation. In order for a body infected with cancer to be whole, the cancer has to be removed. Idol worship was the cancer and had to be removed from the midst of God’s people. Unfortunately for those killed, they refused to be separated from the cancer and when it was removed, they went with it. What I found interesting is that Jehu told his soldiers to make sure that there were no servants of God in the Temple of Baal. Question… what were the people of God doing in the Temple of Baal? Evangelizing I don’t think so. That thought made me fast forward to the 21st century. Are there some places where the people of God should not be? Are there some activities that the people of God should not participate in? Are there popular cultural policies that the people of God should not be in agreement with? Again, thank God for Jesus. The beauty of living in a Democracy is that we have religious freedom, and we can serve God without fear. The other side, is that there are so many religions and ideologies, that the people of God are in danger of becoming infected, and the Gospel watered down to be more ‘inclusive’ and ‘palatable’ for the ever-changing tastes of the culture. We all have our “Mt. Carmel experience” where we have to make a decision to stand for the righteousness of God. We are to be ‘in the world, but not of the world’. It may be difficult at times, but it is not impossible. We can live right. God will never ask us to do something that He has not enabled us to do. No good thing will God withhold from those who walk upright. There is a price to be paid for rebellion… “the wages of sin is death”. There is also a price for living for God, “…but the gift of God is eternal life”. Remember, “God is able to do exceeding, abundantly, above all that we can ask of think according to the power that works in us”.