Breaking Through

The other day I felt really dried up spiritually and I was just (for lack of a better word) struggling.  Beth sensed it.  Some on staff saw it.  And I knew it ... This morning I sort of had a breakthrough with God where I believe He showed me something (really He has been showing me but I finally woke up to the implications of this truth):

*PERSONAL HOLINESS is proportional to SPIRITUAL FULLNESS*

This means that to be full spiritually I must also pursue personal holiness and vice versa.  As one increases, so does the other.  Here is where this has been hitting me:  I cannot go farther, get closer, grow tighter with Christ without paying attention to my personal holiness.  Jesus said that "Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God."  Paul said in 2 Cor. 4:10-11 that he constantly gives himself over to death so that Jesus' life may be revealed in him.  I think what Paul is saying is that this is a constant process of dying to self so that Christ can live in us and through us.  And that as we increase our level of holiness we increase our level of usefulness to Christ.

Another perspective on this is when you think of exercising.  Eventually as you exercise you hit a plateau where your body has grown accustomed to the routine and challenges and seizes to grow.  If I can run an 8 minute mile and bench press 250 lbs but I want to run a 7 minute mile and bench press 300 lbs, I'll have to vary my program.  Same way with God.  God is always calling me to go higher, farther, and deeper with Him and to do that I have to be willing to die more to self and become more holy so that He becomes more visibly evident in my life & I become more "full" of Him.

This spiritual insight is not just about the absence of sin.  Holiness is much more than sin avoidance ... in it's full meaning it means being set apart for God.  The more I set myself apart for Him, the more full I am of Him.  Here's some ways this is hitting home with me:

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  The level of holiness I have right now won't last a lifetime.


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  God will never let us get complacent about our relationship with Him.


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  Sometimes this is painful and confusing.  Some days we'll wake up and wonder what's wrong and where did God go when God may have just raised the bar and said "It's time to vary the workout so we can go to the next level in our relationship."


• God will never meet us on our terms because we are sinners ... only on His and He is holy.


• I can't be holy on my own ... I must have Him -- His blood, His death, His Word, His Spirit.


• Check out this verse!!