More rambling church thoughts as I prepare for a Music Commission meeting tonight and try to avoid the "Worship Wars":
Psalm 144 says to sing a new song on the ten-stringed lyre. Seriously, how far off the worship track would that throw some people that I know. Bang a few cymbals while you're at it, as the psalm says.
I'm always challenged by the phrase "a new song." When you stand up to give you testimony, is there something fresh that the Lord has spoken to you or is it a recounting of something that happened a month, a year, or ten years ago? I experienced this the other night at church. While preaching about the presence of God, I told a story of an experience I had with Him - that happened 7 years ago!! This made me stop and think: Where are my new experiences?
When someone says, "to make a long story short" I say in my head, "Too late!"
What if you're good at something you don't really like doing? I remember when an All-Pro football player retired at an early age and all the critics blasted him. His response? "I don't like playing." Their response, "But you're good at it!" I sometimes feel that way about __________________. But I press on because people say I'm good at it. Why?
I was watching a football game the other day when my wise-guy son kept leaning his head in front of me, blocking my view. I started to get mad, when I realized that this 7-year old was of greater value to me than 11 muscleheads that I've never met. I shut off the game and went out and played in the backyard with him. (Actually . . . . DVR'd the game - I'm not that self-sacrificing).
Speaking of Josh, he was really sick the other day. I went up to his room and asked him if he wanted something to drink. In a quiet voice, he said, "Yes, please." I realized that sickness knocks all the wise-guy out of a person. It's helpful to understand this concept when you're witnessing. When people are hurting, their arrogance goes out the window. They allow you to serve them, which is a huge step in leading them to Christ.
I have officially anointed myself as "The World's Worst Pastor" when it comes to the worship problem. I simply don't care. Really - I don't care. You could rejoice in silence, with Gregorian chants, easy listening or rap songs and I'd think, "Good for you." Again - I DON'T CARE.
Once, when I had to let an employee go, he referred to me as a "meathead." He called the person who took his job a "vulture." We've debated it ever since. Which is worse? A meathead means you're inherently inept. A vulture means you have bad intentions. Years later, we're still trying to figure out who got the worst insult. I believe he did, but he's a bad person. I'm just stupid.
In I Samuel 26 Saul once again tells David that "he's sorry." But David does not cross the valley to see him. He sends his servant. When I read this, I ask the question, "At what point do we entrust ourselves to someone who hurt us?" Even after repeated repentance, Saul has not changed and David knows it. He will not be hurt again. But the true goal of forgiveness is reconciliation, as God did with us. He crossed the valley. I don't know the answer to my question. Like I said above - I'm just rambling. But it's an important one to figure out.
In I Kings 19, when Elijah is depressed, God doesn't do anything at first but feed him. Twice. Think about that the next time you encounter someone in depression. Don't you dare say, "Snap out of it."
I've been listening to the new Derek Webb cd, "Stockholm Syndrome." What a great title - when the captives start identifying with their captors. It's a little different than his other cds, which I love. I consider him to be somewhat a prophet to the church and I would love to find out how we can get him to Boston.
The following three jokes always work:
1. "Did you hear about the corduroy pillows?" "No? I'm surprised, they're making headlines."
2. Knock Knock
Who's there?
I'm a stinking pileup . . . . . . .
3. What do you call a dog with no legs? Anything you want, he's not coming.
Enough fooling around - it's time to get to my Worship Commission meeting and talk about how worship needs to be defined and manipulated and dissected and discussed and programmed and adapted to EVERY SINGLE PERSON sitting in the church . . . . .
Sorry - thanks for letting me vent.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
The Delusion of the Semi-Detached Christian Life
For those of you who read this, I apologize for the barrage of postings. But a few things have happened fast and furious this morning - so here is the story:
I have been praying for a deeper walk. A walk that is more rooted in reality than what I experience in myself or witness in others. The verses I wrote on in my last two posts have been coursing through me. Especially Hebrews 12:4. "In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." Jeremiah 8 shows me the need for a broken heart, a broken church.
So I prayed this morning. Harder than usual. And while I sat in the back as my Calculus class took a test, God spoke into my heart. I literally shook while He moved within me. I wrote as he said:
Your problem is that everything is motion to you, nothing is real. You don't love them (I have pictures of my children on my desk) - you love the thought of them. You love the thought of everything. It is time for a reality check - time to step out of the fog. All these pictures are moments in time, a time you are allowing to pass without true engagement. You have to solidify the vague sense of sin that you live under so you can truly offer it up. Up to this point, you have only offered up the concept of sin in your heart. You must offer the concrete - the flesh of your old nature, not just the thought of it.
If that doesn't make sense to you, I'm sorry. I understand exactly what He is saying. Ideas and thoughts will not turn me into a new creation that is living with power and authority. The Holy Spirit is a person and must enter into me as Christ entered into the world. Physically - as a person, not a concept. I know what God meant when He said that sin is just a "thought" to me. My selfish ambition, my lust, my competitive spirit, my coveting of the things of the world - these are real things and I let them pass day by day, bemoaning the thought of them but not crucifying the reality of them.
I need to place them on the altar as real things and allow them to be crucified with my flesh. Otherwise my life will continue to drift by as I try to capture moments in time - a time that is passing without any real effect on my life. That is why the authority of Christ is not evident in my life, that real change is not happening, that lives around me are not being redeemed. I have been living a life of minimal engagement. I have been walking under the delusion of the semi-detached Christian life- the one that goes through the motions without ever bringing true redemption into any area of their life.
God does not co-habitate. He is real. My sin is real. They will not co-exist. It's time to give Him everything or walk away.
I have been praying for a deeper walk. A walk that is more rooted in reality than what I experience in myself or witness in others. The verses I wrote on in my last two posts have been coursing through me. Especially Hebrews 12:4. "In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." Jeremiah 8 shows me the need for a broken heart, a broken church.
So I prayed this morning. Harder than usual. And while I sat in the back as my Calculus class took a test, God spoke into my heart. I literally shook while He moved within me. I wrote as he said:
Your problem is that everything is motion to you, nothing is real. You don't love them (I have pictures of my children on my desk) - you love the thought of them. You love the thought of everything. It is time for a reality check - time to step out of the fog. All these pictures are moments in time, a time you are allowing to pass without true engagement. You have to solidify the vague sense of sin that you live under so you can truly offer it up. Up to this point, you have only offered up the concept of sin in your heart. You must offer the concrete - the flesh of your old nature, not just the thought of it.
If that doesn't make sense to you, I'm sorry. I understand exactly what He is saying. Ideas and thoughts will not turn me into a new creation that is living with power and authority. The Holy Spirit is a person and must enter into me as Christ entered into the world. Physically - as a person, not a concept. I know what God meant when He said that sin is just a "thought" to me. My selfish ambition, my lust, my competitive spirit, my coveting of the things of the world - these are real things and I let them pass day by day, bemoaning the thought of them but not crucifying the reality of them.
I need to place them on the altar as real things and allow them to be crucified with my flesh. Otherwise my life will continue to drift by as I try to capture moments in time - a time that is passing without any real effect on my life. That is why the authority of Christ is not evident in my life, that real change is not happening, that lives around me are not being redeemed. I have been living a life of minimal engagement. I have been walking under the delusion of the semi-detached Christian life- the one that goes through the motions without ever bringing true redemption into any area of their life.
God does not co-habitate. He is real. My sin is real. They will not co-exist. It's time to give Him everything or walk away.
Jeremiah 8: The Blushing Bride
Jeremiah 8. God's broken heart spilled out. We are so foolish.
"When men fall down, do they not get up? When a man turns away, does he not return? Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return. I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, saying "What have I done?" Each pursues his own course, like a horse charging into battle. Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But My people do not know the requirements of the Lord. How can you say, "We are wise, for we have the Law of the Lord," when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have? Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain, prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of My people as though it were not serious. "Peace, peace," they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush."
The Puritans used to talk about what they called "The gift of tears." I know what they mean, tears that have not been manufactured simply because we know that we're supposed to feel bad. These are the real tears - the tears of a broken heart. You know when you have them, because you can't stop them even if you wanted to.
Sometimes I worry about the church - not only do we not have these tears, but we don't even know how to blush at the wrongs in our midst, in our hearts. We feel bad, but only because we think we're supposed to feel bad. I was praying through the Lord's Prayer the other morning and I was "trying" to repent when I got to the part that said, "Forgive us our sins." I even identified them specifically. You would think that when you voice a particular fault, it would be accompanied by an appropriately broken heart. But in my spirit, I felt as if I was merely reciting a list - cold and manufactured. I prayed for the "gift of tears" but they did not come.
I feel terrible reading Jeremiah 8. But I want to feel worse.
"When men fall down, do they not get up? When a man turns away, does he not return? Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return. I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, saying "What have I done?" Each pursues his own course, like a horse charging into battle. Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But My people do not know the requirements of the Lord. How can you say, "We are wise, for we have the Law of the Lord," when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have? Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain, prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of My people as though it were not serious. "Peace, peace," they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush."
The Puritans used to talk about what they called "The gift of tears." I know what they mean, tears that have not been manufactured simply because we know that we're supposed to feel bad. These are the real tears - the tears of a broken heart. You know when you have them, because you can't stop them even if you wanted to.
Sometimes I worry about the church - not only do we not have these tears, but we don't even know how to blush at the wrongs in our midst, in our hearts. We feel bad, but only because we think we're supposed to feel bad. I was praying through the Lord's Prayer the other morning and I was "trying" to repent when I got to the part that said, "Forgive us our sins." I even identified them specifically. You would think that when you voice a particular fault, it would be accompanied by an appropriately broken heart. But in my spirit, I felt as if I was merely reciting a list - cold and manufactured. I prayed for the "gift of tears" but they did not come.
I feel terrible reading Jeremiah 8. But I want to feel worse.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The Point of Blood
Hebrews 12:4 "In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood."
I have to admit it - I complain to God and cry out for victory but I haven't pushed myself to the point of blood. I see this problem all around me, people like myself saying that we want holiness, that we want more of God, yet we continue to stumble in our mind and in our walk and enter into our Bible Studies saying: "I blew it again!" while everyone pats us on the back and tells us it's going to be okay.
Why don't we admit it and save everyone the pain: We really don't want IT as bad as we say we do. If we did, we would chase harder after Him. We would cast off the things that hinder instead of allowing them to cling to us. We would fast and read and get by ourselves, praying these things down. We would draw a line in the sand on the mountaintop, like Elijah, and not come down until we've won the victory. "Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled" is not an empty promise.
When I pray the Lord's Prayer, I am very careful in each part. Especially, "Lead me not into temptation but deliver me from evil." In this request I am asking God to take me away from the things that I am drawn to. But I like the things I am drawn to. So if I want victory over them, I must be drained of this "like", and that takes a struggle to the point of shedding blood. The blood of my fleshly nature must be drained out of me. Leviticus 17:11 - "The life of the creature is in the blood." I also think that "The like of the creature is in the blood."
This blood must be replaced by the healing blood of Jesus - a new life with new likes. The victory comes when the desires have changed. But my fleshly nature will never change its desires (see Galatians 5:16 - 18). So - - - - in my struggle against sin, I must shed the blood of my old nature, and this takes more work than most of us are willing to put in.
I have to admit it - I complain to God and cry out for victory but I haven't pushed myself to the point of blood. I see this problem all around me, people like myself saying that we want holiness, that we want more of God, yet we continue to stumble in our mind and in our walk and enter into our Bible Studies saying: "I blew it again!" while everyone pats us on the back and tells us it's going to be okay.
Why don't we admit it and save everyone the pain: We really don't want IT as bad as we say we do. If we did, we would chase harder after Him. We would cast off the things that hinder instead of allowing them to cling to us. We would fast and read and get by ourselves, praying these things down. We would draw a line in the sand on the mountaintop, like Elijah, and not come down until we've won the victory. "Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled" is not an empty promise.
When I pray the Lord's Prayer, I am very careful in each part. Especially, "Lead me not into temptation but deliver me from evil." In this request I am asking God to take me away from the things that I am drawn to. But I like the things I am drawn to. So if I want victory over them, I must be drained of this "like", and that takes a struggle to the point of shedding blood. The blood of my fleshly nature must be drained out of me. Leviticus 17:11 - "The life of the creature is in the blood." I also think that "The like of the creature is in the blood."
This blood must be replaced by the healing blood of Jesus - a new life with new likes. The victory comes when the desires have changed. But my fleshly nature will never change its desires (see Galatians 5:16 - 18). So - - - - in my struggle against sin, I must shed the blood of my old nature, and this takes more work than most of us are willing to put in.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Bending Our Ears to THE VOICE
We all have natural bents. Some toward lust. Some toward violence. Some toward self-gratification. (actually - ALL toward self-gratification). There is a battle raging within us. In Galatians 5:16 we read that the Spirit and the flesh are at WAR with each other. This explains why some non-Christians can seem at such peace. It takes two to battle, and they are so consumed by their own fleshly nature that a battle doesn't exist!
The Christian has a war in his soul because upon salvation he is sealed with the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13,14) and now has two conflicting entities within him. Of course there is going to be war, and what Christian could honestly claim that they don't feel the battle within their heart?
David and Saul are classic examples of this. Both had a bent to violence. All men do. In I Samuel 24 David sees Saul "relieving himself" and is overcome by a natural desire to kill him. Or at least humiliate him. But he listens to the Voice and feels stricken that he even had the thought. He repents and lets God go to work. In I Samuel 25 Nabal insults David and he responds again with an intense desire to take matters into his own hands and seek vengeance. It's difficult to overcome this bent. But Abigail intercedes and he once again listens to the Voice and pulls back his hand. He has a change of heart.
Saul has the same bent as David. He uses all of his best resources to hunt down his rival with the intention of killing him. Several times he hears the Voice - and he repents for a moment, but then continues on his way. He has heard the Voice, has a temporary change of heart, but then continues on with his natural inclination.
What is the difference between these two men? They both have the same natural bent to self-justification. We all have it. A bent to violently taking matters into our own hands. The difference is a willingness to listen when God speaks and then to act upon it. To allow His Spirit to truly change our minds and to remove our hand from the neck of our enemy and let God move in His way.
How is this battle won?
II Corinthians 10:5 "Taking captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
It is won in the mind. It is won in our quiet times with God. David meditated upon God and His Word and so was able to not only hear the Voice, but to respond with a change of heart. The battle is won before it is ever waged.
Do you take every thought and make it captive to Christ? Or do you make Christ captive to your thoughts and make Him obedient to them? We have a tendency to lean in a direction and try to force Christ into that direction with us. Saul did this. Read his story and note how many times he misunderstood every piece of information as a sign that God was with him. God was not with him. He had left him. But Saul was leaning in a direction and continually made God obedient to his own personal thoughts and agendas. How often do we see individuals and churches do this.
Step back and listen. Feel which way the Wind is really blowing. Go that way. Lean hard into the direction God is going.
Jeremiah 6:16 "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls."
The Christian has a war in his soul because upon salvation he is sealed with the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13,14) and now has two conflicting entities within him. Of course there is going to be war, and what Christian could honestly claim that they don't feel the battle within their heart?
David and Saul are classic examples of this. Both had a bent to violence. All men do. In I Samuel 24 David sees Saul "relieving himself" and is overcome by a natural desire to kill him. Or at least humiliate him. But he listens to the Voice and feels stricken that he even had the thought. He repents and lets God go to work. In I Samuel 25 Nabal insults David and he responds again with an intense desire to take matters into his own hands and seek vengeance. It's difficult to overcome this bent. But Abigail intercedes and he once again listens to the Voice and pulls back his hand. He has a change of heart.
Saul has the same bent as David. He uses all of his best resources to hunt down his rival with the intention of killing him. Several times he hears the Voice - and he repents for a moment, but then continues on his way. He has heard the Voice, has a temporary change of heart, but then continues on with his natural inclination.
What is the difference between these two men? They both have the same natural bent to self-justification. We all have it. A bent to violently taking matters into our own hands. The difference is a willingness to listen when God speaks and then to act upon it. To allow His Spirit to truly change our minds and to remove our hand from the neck of our enemy and let God move in His way.
How is this battle won?
II Corinthians 10:5 "Taking captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
It is won in the mind. It is won in our quiet times with God. David meditated upon God and His Word and so was able to not only hear the Voice, but to respond with a change of heart. The battle is won before it is ever waged.
Do you take every thought and make it captive to Christ? Or do you make Christ captive to your thoughts and make Him obedient to them? We have a tendency to lean in a direction and try to force Christ into that direction with us. Saul did this. Read his story and note how many times he misunderstood every piece of information as a sign that God was with him. God was not with him. He had left him. But Saul was leaning in a direction and continually made God obedient to his own personal thoughts and agendas. How often do we see individuals and churches do this.
Step back and listen. Feel which way the Wind is really blowing. Go that way. Lean hard into the direction God is going.
Jeremiah 6:16 "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls."
Swords
I Samuel 25: 13 "David said, 'Put on your swords!"
John 18:11 "Jesus commanded Peter, "Put your sword away! Shall I knot drink the cup the Father has given Me?"
I'm still reading the Intercession of Abigail in I Samuel 25, learning more each time. I can't get away from it. She falls prostate to the ground before David to save a) a man she despises (Nabal) and b) the conscience of the future king. She doesn't want David to have blood on his hands.
But that was David's first response. When he was insulted by Nabal, he told his men to "put on your swords" and he was going to avenge his honor. He was going to take matters into his own hands and bloody them as he seeks revenge. Abigail is truly a Christ-like figure, bringing the king and the coward together. She understands that violence is not God's way. It never has been.
We see this scene repeated in the Garden of Gethsemane. Peter wants to avenge the insults hurled upon Jesus. But like Abigail, Jesus tells Peter to put down the sword. This will not be the way.
We need to be willing to listen to this Voice of Intercession. Will we avenge ourselves - seek our own violent self-justification or will we leave it all in God's hands and accept His way. The way of peace? This is more important than it sounds. God's way is the only way that brings true healing. The way of violence brings temporary relief but in the process hangs a "staggering burden" upon ourselves. There are many who live under this. They don't forgive. They don't release people. They seek their own justification.
If we will step back, as David did, and listen to the Voice, we will allow room for God to go to work. And His work is the only eternal work.
If there is something you are holding against someone - let it go. You do not have to carry the "staggering burden" of being the judge, jury and executioner. Love freely. Forgive without strings. Release without expectations. Increase your heart by removing yourself, and then God can truly enlarge His kingdom.
John 18:11 "Jesus commanded Peter, "Put your sword away! Shall I knot drink the cup the Father has given Me?"
I'm still reading the Intercession of Abigail in I Samuel 25, learning more each time. I can't get away from it. She falls prostate to the ground before David to save a) a man she despises (Nabal) and b) the conscience of the future king. She doesn't want David to have blood on his hands.
But that was David's first response. When he was insulted by Nabal, he told his men to "put on your swords" and he was going to avenge his honor. He was going to take matters into his own hands and bloody them as he seeks revenge. Abigail is truly a Christ-like figure, bringing the king and the coward together. She understands that violence is not God's way. It never has been.
We see this scene repeated in the Garden of Gethsemane. Peter wants to avenge the insults hurled upon Jesus. But like Abigail, Jesus tells Peter to put down the sword. This will not be the way.
We need to be willing to listen to this Voice of Intercession. Will we avenge ourselves - seek our own violent self-justification or will we leave it all in God's hands and accept His way. The way of peace? This is more important than it sounds. God's way is the only way that brings true healing. The way of violence brings temporary relief but in the process hangs a "staggering burden" upon ourselves. There are many who live under this. They don't forgive. They don't release people. They seek their own justification.
If we will step back, as David did, and listen to the Voice, we will allow room for God to go to work. And His work is the only eternal work.
If there is something you are holding against someone - let it go. You do not have to carry the "staggering burden" of being the judge, jury and executioner. Love freely. Forgive without strings. Release without expectations. Increase your heart by removing yourself, and then God can truly enlarge His kingdom.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Re-membering Community Part IV - The Point of Holiness
God pulled the Israelites out of the darkness of the world, cleaned them up, set them apart - then put them right back in. They had one purpose - and it wasn't to be a "special" people. It was to be a light in the darkness to draw the others to God.
Exodus 19:5 "Now if you obey Me fully and keep My covenant,. then out of all nations you will be My treasured possession. Although the whole earth is Mine, you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."
Don't misunderstand the "treasured possession." I believe what God is telling the Israelites is that they will be a treasure in the sense that they will be His vessel to bring salvation to the entire world. (Is. 49:6) The point of their holiness is so that they will be effective priests, an entire nation of men and women who stand between God and man. Their holiness was for others, not themselves. The Law was given to them as a means of cleansing and revelation. Cleansing for themselves as a revelation to the world. It was not a Godly means to a personal end - which is how they ended up applying it.
The concept of holiness is often taught on an individual level, where we desire to become separate unto God through prayer, fasting and other disciplines of an inner life. We think of monks and priests and monasteries and quiet nights chanting to our self. But that's not what it it's all about - it's about being separated by God, unto Himself, so that we can then become useful as intercessors for others. The purpose of a holy priesthood is to bring others to Christ. The disciplines are important - but as a means of cleansing us for His use, not our self-satisfaction.
Dwell on this passage for a moment:
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friend, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us." (I Peter 2: 9 - 12)
Why were we called out? To bring others out of the same darkness we were in. We cut ourselves way too much slack in the things we tolerate in our lives, because we're only thinking of our own personal holiness. "I can't believe that I did that again!" We're not thinking of how this affects the testimony of God through us to the lost, only of how it makes us feel bad.
The quest for personal holiness is important, but as a means to an end. It is not the end in and of itself. Other people are the end. If I am so self-centered that I think even my own holiness is only about me, then I am a useless vessel in the house of God. Good only unto myself. And that, quite simply, is not good enough. It's why Jesus declared the Temple invalid and said that He would take it from there. Using a new temple - us.
(Read II Timothy 2:20 - 22)
Exodus 19:5 "Now if you obey Me fully and keep My covenant,. then out of all nations you will be My treasured possession. Although the whole earth is Mine, you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."
Don't misunderstand the "treasured possession." I believe what God is telling the Israelites is that they will be a treasure in the sense that they will be His vessel to bring salvation to the entire world. (Is. 49:6) The point of their holiness is so that they will be effective priests, an entire nation of men and women who stand between God and man. Their holiness was for others, not themselves. The Law was given to them as a means of cleansing and revelation. Cleansing for themselves as a revelation to the world. It was not a Godly means to a personal end - which is how they ended up applying it.
The concept of holiness is often taught on an individual level, where we desire to become separate unto God through prayer, fasting and other disciplines of an inner life. We think of monks and priests and monasteries and quiet nights chanting to our self. But that's not what it it's all about - it's about being separated by God, unto Himself, so that we can then become useful as intercessors for others. The purpose of a holy priesthood is to bring others to Christ. The disciplines are important - but as a means of cleansing us for His use, not our self-satisfaction.
Dwell on this passage for a moment:
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friend, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us." (I Peter 2: 9 - 12)
Why were we called out? To bring others out of the same darkness we were in. We cut ourselves way too much slack in the things we tolerate in our lives, because we're only thinking of our own personal holiness. "I can't believe that I did that again!" We're not thinking of how this affects the testimony of God through us to the lost, only of how it makes us feel bad.
The quest for personal holiness is important, but as a means to an end. It is not the end in and of itself. Other people are the end. If I am so self-centered that I think even my own holiness is only about me, then I am a useless vessel in the house of God. Good only unto myself. And that, quite simply, is not good enough. It's why Jesus declared the Temple invalid and said that He would take it from there. Using a new temple - us.
(Read II Timothy 2:20 - 22)
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