God’s Desires Holiness

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God desire holiness

God desires a heart of holiness for persons and nations!

May we come into God’s presence today looking forward to taking a spiritual bath so we can enjoy being with the One who loves us so intensely He came to earth to relieve us of our heavy weight of sin. Hallelujah!

“The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).

Such an uplifting word this is! We most appreciate encouragement when we are discouraged. Light is the most brilliant in darkness, by way of contrast.

Have you ever thought how God might feel when we are pursuing evil, ignoring His precepts and rejecting His love?

This was written when the nation of Israel was divided. The kingdom of Judah was small in size with only two tribes. God considered her sins big in relation to her size. When I was little and got myself into trouble doing bad things, my mom used to say I was getting too big for my britches.

God gave Zephaniah a piece of His mind to share with Judah what He thought about her defiant attitude toward Him. He made clear what He didn’t like. First, people swore by God and swore by Malcham (a false god) (1:5). Second, there were those who served others with violence and deceit (1:9). Third, some said “in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will He do evil” (1:12).

Those who had “turned back from the LORD” were in God’s sights. Those that had “not sought the LORD, nor inquired for Him” were the ones God wanted to reach (1:6).

God will never let wicked behavior go unpunished.

“The just LORD is in the midst thereof; He will not do iniquity: every morning doth He bring His judgment to light, He faileth not.” On the other hand, “the unjust knoweth no shame” (3:5).

God was about to pour out His punishment not only on Judah but the surrounding nations as well. Zephaniah faithfully passed on the news of God’s plans.

At the same time God offered hope to those who were sensitive to His voice. “Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought His judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger” (2:3).

We have a tendency not to like strong words about ungodliness and punishment, especially if we feel they are directed at us personally. We recoil when we are rebuked.

Disciple not punishment.

God has a unique way of embracing us with His love at the same time He calls us out for our sinfulness. He prefers we cultivate a soft heart toward Him. If we are accustomed to throwing off the Holy Spirit’s work of forming Christ’s character in us, He will need to take drastic measures to purge any corruption He finds.

After God has dealt with the evil that blocks our view of Him, we are more apt to pay attention when He speaks. The key is recognizing God is holy and will not tolerate sin. After we let this truth permeate our entire being, we are able to see clearly. Now God is not against us, but for us.

God sings over us with joy.

Then we can be glad because “the LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing” (3:17).

May we come into God’s presence today looking forward to taking a spiritual bath so we can enjoy being with the One who loves us so intensely He came to earth to relieve us of our heavy weight of sin. Hallelujah!

https://youtu.be/d5gAdAwriCI

Holiness is what I long for – Micah Stampley

Shirley Logsdon

Additional reading:

Psalm 86

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About Shirley Logsdon

I am the only child of Christian parents who wanted me to know God personally as they did. One night during church we watched a movie depicting a family in their home accepting Jesus as their personal Savior. I was nine and realized then my desire to make Jesus my personal Savior. With the full support of my parents, I met with the pastor and prayed to receive Christ. A few years later, several of us around the same age began classes for our confirmation to become church members. The privilege of taking communion was a special time for me. . During my teenage years I was outwardly complacent, but was inwardly rebellious. I developed the nasty habit of disrupting harmony in the household by nitpicking at anything and everything. A preacher came to hold revival services at my dad’s church and nailed me silently with looks. This helped me tremendously. I turned a corner and began to respect and obey my parents in attitude and actions. I survived these years through prayer (mine, my parents and friends). The love and tenacity of my parents and God’s grace got me through these years of upheaval. I readily identify with David the Psalmist when he said in Psalm 25:7, “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.” Because my parents provided a stable home life for me, when I went to college my Christian values remained intact. After completing my education in 1979, I started working. For a while, I worked at temp agencies, then I did odd jobs. I settled down in a secretarial position in 1986 working for a firm specializing in retirement plan administration. In 2007, I started working for a law firm, eventually becoming a knowledge management assistant in their law library, helping to alert attorneys to new business opportunities. I am a productive citizen of my country in large part because my parents prayed for me and made clear by word and example what they expected of me. I am extremely grateful to God for them. John 15:5 is my life verse: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” I am confronted with this realization every day I live, and it helps keep me on the straight and narrow path. I met my future husband at church. After a few years of our two families getting acquainted, he and I started courting. We married at the church where we met, in the presence of many relatives and friends. We have been married for 29 years. My hobbies are reading, cooking, and canning or freezing what my beloved husband grows in the garden. Also, I thoroughly enjoy writing. While my writing has included poems, most of my writing has been letters to family and friends. I like to share my faith when I write and am fond of adding a Bible verse or two to help focus on the source of our life. Since I am now retired after working 38 years, I can concentrate on keeping up with birthdays. Something else I enjoy is studying the Bible, often with others. Blogging is a new form of writing for me. I am getting my feet wet and I’m beginning to enjoy the experience.

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