Impurity, Holiness & A Prayer of Blessing Episode 139

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Well, hello there and a big old Happy Spring to you today. Anybody else glad that spring seems to be here, or almost here? I’m hopeful and praying that good things are growing and bearing fruit in your life as a result of what the Lord is doing in and through you, and the spring season reminds me of that. I’m grateful you are listening today as we think about, talk about, and hopefully also prayerfully consider how holiness makes an impact on us individually and as part of the corporate body of Christ. Let’s get going!

You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show Podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing via the Edifi app. This is episode number 139. 

In episode 138 I shared from Psalm 30, verse 4, as well as Isaiah 35:8 and 2 Corinthians 7:1. Three fantastic verses from the Bible that kicked off the podcast series on holiness. 

 

Psalm 30:4 KJV - Sing to the LORD, O ye His saints, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.

Let’s rejoice in the fact that the God we love and who loves us is holy. This is such good news for us! He can’t suddenly stop being holy, right? And His holiness comes with assurance to us that He will not quote/unquote mistreat or mishandle the ones He so dearly loves. So good to know this! 

 

Isaiah 35:8 NLT - And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God's ways; fools will never walk there.

Who you walk with matters. Remember that!

 

2 Corinthians 7:1 Amplified - Therefore, since we have these great and wonderful promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, completing holiness (living a consecrated life - a life set apart for God's purpose, in the fear of God).

God’s promises are true, and He wants them to be our reality. Maybe not all at once, all on the same day, instantly like our drive-thru fast-food society has gotten so used to…but true for us, nonetheless. Because of this, we should want to live a holy, consecrated life that really is set apart for God’s purposes. 

Now let’s look at 1 Thessalonians 4:7, from the Amplified Bible. 

For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness (to be dedicated, and set apart by behavior that pleases Him).

 

This verse gives us a working definition, like a one-sentence how-to manual regarding living out a holy life as a follower of the Lord Jesus. 

First things first, it tells us that God has not called us to impurity. 

Like, this could be a mic drop moment all by itself. 

Definitions for impurity include: lack of consistency - contamination or pollution - the quality or condition of being impure - something that makes something else impure - 

So God has not called us to a lack of consistency (hint hint - the way you live out your daily walk with Jesus is actually very important and is a purity issue - it matters enough to God to PUT IT IN THE BIBLE and so it ought to matter to His people, am I right??). He has not called us to contamination or pollution - so, let’s be careful and cautious and not let ourselves just get overrun by the world and it’s systems (and it has systems, like it or not, it just does - and many of those are not aligned with God’s Kingdom and His ways). And don’t be the one doing the polluting and contaminating. Like, if you are into really trashy music, if you play video games and the group you play with online uses garbage language and you kind of do sometimes too, say you drink too much (and for me as the daughter of an alcoholic who died in a tragic manner at age 47 while intoxicated, I can tell you that too much is probably a limit to be reached far below what you might think…it cost me and my family so much, I just think one drop of something that can cause the kind of lasting damage my dad’s death caused is too much. And before you quote Paul to me, when he told Timothy to take a little wine because since it was good for the stomach…well, if you need to use a verse like that, with it’s obvious and totally clear medicinal intent, if you use that verse to explain away or defend your consumption of alcohol…um, that says a lot and none of what it says is positive and maybe I can be the loud, bold voice encouraging you to lay off the sauce and go dry. Remember when we used to be more frank and bold about things like this, things that can literally wake someone up out of a stupor, show them that others can see they are on a bad, bad track and help them do a hard reset that changes their life for the better? Can we get back to that? I guess I just did get back to it. I’m not sorry! Standing at my dad’s freshly dug grave at age 15 - that girl ain’t sorry to be so frank in her speaking either. Too high a price was paid and it was never what the Lord wanted. Nuff said about that for today.) The quality or condition or being impure. God didn’t call us to that. What’s the state you live in? Hard question, important question. The quality of your life is determined by the condition or state in which you live. Is it pure, or impure? Something that makes something else impure - this could turn into a lengthy list of things God has not called us to. It’s okay, it’s good, it’s fitting and appropriate for God’s people to avoid things that make us impure. Don’t think I need to go into great detail, but some things we just avoid. God didn’t call us to certain things. And sometimes, just by taking a verse and breaking it down and actually applying it to our lives, rather than skimming over it, reading the entire paragraph as fast as possible, well that may not bring about the life change that God wants for us. 

 

If He wants real and lasting change in our lives as a result of knowing Him and of knowing what He has said to us in His Word, the Bible, then we should also want that. Make our desires Your desires, Lord. And may we not miss the details that You’ve given us in the Word of God. Amen to that? 

 

So what has He called us to?

To holiness, it says here in 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 7. 

Our God has called us to holiness. 

To be dedicated and set apart by behavior that pleases Him.

 

I’m so glad this verse is this clear! Lest you think I’m just harping on you today, a harpy in trousers to quote True Grit, hey I’m not just bagging on you. This isn’t my own idea here, this idea of holiness. Good grief, no! I was a walking, talking disaster before Jesus reached down into the pit that was my existence (not exactly a life I was living, more like existing and drifting along on the byways). I did not know one single thing about holiness. 

 

But God! Is He not mighty to save? Yeah He is! 

 

Are you, am I, dedicated to behavior that pleases God?

Dedicated to it?

When’s the last time you were dedicated to something? 

Sold out working toward a goal. All in. Committed. Could not be deterred or distracted. Focused. Dialed in. In the zone. Nobody pulling you off your A game. Dedicated! 

When?

 

That’s how He wants us to be regarding the way we behave! Dedicated to behavior that pleases Him. And what doesn’t please Him? Go to the Word and see what it says. Sexual sins do not please Him. Filthy language and lying lips do not please Him. Hate in your heart, bitterness, anger, malice, wrath, speaking badly about others, manipulation (yeah, that makes the list… remember King Saul in the Old Testament, first king of Israel, before David was king? He manipulated on a grand scale and God did not take kindly to it). Stealing bits and pieces from your workplace, God’s not good with that. What the Word says, take it seriously and live accordingly and where it seems too hard to live per the Word of God, cry out to the Lord, ask the Holy Spirit of God to do it in you, through you, and for you and He will answer that prayer. You ask God to make a holy life your life and boy won’t He do it? Yes indeed, you’d better believe it. And in this era, this day and age, when the writing is on the wall and the signs of the times all point toward the end of the world coming soon and then soon and very soon we will meet our King, I’m completely serious about this, in this era, you and I need to live holy lives. Because without holiness no man, no woman, no one can see the Lord. That’s a direct quote from Hebrews 12:14.

 

I don’t think the Lord called me to do a podcast series on holiness at this point in time just because. It don’t matter, no big deal, no sweat off my brow, just whatever. 

No, it’s not whatever. It’s critical mass. It’s the end game, and not the Marvel version. You are here on this planet now, and now is the time to understand that if you are not actively keeping oil in your lamp, then you are in for a rude awakening. (Read about that in the parable of the ten virgins - Matthew 25, verses 1 thru 13 - please take time to read it and pray about it…we just don’t have time to put this off.) 

Holiness matters now, right now. Because now is all you actually have, my friend. You are not promised tomorrow. This matters right now. Be dedicated to behavior that pleases God.

And then you will be set apart as a person who knows their God. Isn’t that what we really want? And if we don’t want that, deep down, don’t we want to want it, as Christians? When our behavior sets us apart, we don’t have to stand on a street corner with a cardboard sign screaming at people because the people we work with, our neighbors, our friends on social media, in our small group, the people living in our own homes, our great aunt Bertha from North Dakota and our old best friend from third grade in Tucson, Arizona will see as set apart. As a peculiar people, like it says in Deuteronomy 14. Standing out, different. Marked by God and for God. That’s what holiness looks like. Does it look like that on you? Are you putting on holy living, like you put on your clothes each morning? If not, why not? And why not start putting it on right now? 

Today I’d like to pray before I wrap things up, and I hope this prayer will encourage and bless you because that is truly what my heart desires. For you to be so blessed, so encouraged as you walk so closely with the Lord right now, in the very midst of this rough and tumble world and all the things it brings with it. Blessed right now and also a blessing to those in your life. 

 

Father, I am coming to You today with a heart that is longing for Your people, Your church, to live holy lives. For us to be set apart and recognizable as people who know You, who love You, who live for You. May the one listening today receive a huge, heavy dose of encouragement from You. Pour out Your love on him or her - show them how great Your love is for them in a way that will mean the most to them right here, right now. And bless them with overflowing peace, no matter what is happening in their life currently. Bless them with joy, deep and abiding joy that cannot be altered or removed by anything outside of them. Bless them with good, godly friendships, with church homes that spur them on toward love and good deeds and holy living. For a desire to spend time with You every single day, in prayer, reading Your Word, enjoying Your presence, in praise and worship. Put Your hand on them, leading and guiding them in all that they do. Bring conviction where it is needed, and bring about real and lasting changes where they need to happen. We cannot do this without You, Lord. It is not possible for us to get it all together, to clean ourselves up, but with You nothing is impossible so I am asking You to do what only You can do, and make us people who are marked and noticeable as having been with You. Every time we have an encounter with You, Lord, may we be changed for the better. Let us be a blessing to as many people as we possibly can, and may we never grow so weary that we stop pursuing You. Give us the energy we need for our daily lives, protect each one of us, shield us and also grow us and mature us. Heal us, physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and in any other way that will bring glory to Your name. Help us to remember that we simply do not know when our last moment on this planet will be, and to live well with each day we have. Stay near to us, Lord, and keep drawing us closer and closer to You. Sometimes the road seems rough and the walk seems long, but I am asking You to show us today that it’s really just You walking us home, and we can walk well and walk worthy when we walk it side-by-side with You. Make the yoke easy and the burden light for the one listening today. Give them faith to reach out and touch the hem of Your robe if that’s what they need to do. Keep oil in our lamps, Lord, as we await Your glorious return. And when harder times come for those who follow Jesus, as Your Word says they will, ready us, steady us, prepare us, strengthen us, and may we never forsake You because You have promised never to forsake us. Thank You for hearing my prayer today. Hear and answer, move and act, do far above and beyond I could ever ask, think or even imagine. And do it quickly, Lord, because today is the day I am asking and today is the only day we’ve got. Thank You, Lord. I ask these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.

I hope you’ll join me for episode 140 and I’d be so blessed if you feel so led to share this podcast with friends or family or church members and also I’d like to invite you to subscribe to the show on whatever platform you listen to podcasts on. And I’m working on a little something that I’m hoping to give to you in the next episode, just a free item I’m creating that I hope will be a blessing to you, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

 

See you next time and keep on keeping on for Jesus, my friend!

 

Connect with Jan here:

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