DELIGHT THYSELF IN THE LORD

God says if you delight in Him, He rewards you by giving you your heart’s desire. God empowers born-again believers through His Holy Spirit. People who desire to do powerful, effective, soul-winning ministry must have the Holy Spirit’s anointing.

Don’t you remember, the Holy Spirit descended (like a dove) upon Jesus Christ after he was baptized by John the baptizer (Matt.3:16).

If your heart’s desire is to do the will of  God by winning lost souls into His Kingdom, then “Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”  Psalm 37:4 KJV

In fact, the committed #Christian–the one who has decided to completely follow #Christ wholeheartedly, no matter what–can have his/her plans and whatever he/she THINKS, established.

What are your thoughts? Proverbs 16:3 KJV says: “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.”

The uncompromising obedient Christian–the one who seeks #God through the #HolySpirit daily–reaps bountiful benefits from the #Lord. The obedient Christian’s will is automatically aligned with the Lord’s will simply because he/she is obedient to the Word of God.

Be OBEDIENT, delight yourself in our #HeavenlyFather, be COMMITTED, and #believe  #GodsWord containing His promises for you!!! ~EM (^_^)

The Path To True HOLINESS (part 3).

…continued from The Path To True HOLINESS (part 2).

IV. The Greek ἁγιασμός (hagiasmos) (Strong’s G38) is translated holiness 5 times and sanctification 5 times. It refers to consecration, purification and sanctification of one’s heart and life. It also refers to the effect of consecration. We are commanded in Hebrews 12:

¹⁴Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: ¹⁵Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

Here, in the context of the Greek writing, we are told to follow peace with all men and to do so eagerly, earnestly and swiftly. We are also told to eagerly, earnestly and swiftly pursue holiness because without peace and holiness, NO MAN SHALL SEE THE LORD! This refers to literally looking at the Messiah, Jesus Christ!

Look also at 1 Peter 1:

²Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Here we are told that we are picked out and chosen (elect) by God into, unto, to, towards obedience and purification (sprinkling) of the blood of Jesus Christ. This is done through the consecration, purification and sanctification (sanctification/holiness) of the Holy Spirit. What is also interesting is that this is the only place in the entire Bible where all three members of the God Head are independently mentioned in one verse.

V. The Greek ἱεροπρεπής (hieroprepēs) (Strong’s G2412) is translated holiness in 1 verse in the New Testament and refers to people, places, actions or things that are sacred to God. Look at Titus 2:

³The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

Here Bishops are told to speak good doctrines. One of the many reasons listed is so that elderly women can be sacred to God in their physical demeanor, spiritual deportment and moral bearing. They must become sacred in order to teach the young women to imitate them.

All born-again believers are exhorted to travel this path to true holiness. We must be obedient to the Word of God and submissive to the Holy Spirit in order to become sincere travelers on this most necessary path. There can be no compromise, no wavering, and no turning back.

God Bless You!

The Path To True HOLINESS (part 2).

…continued from The Path To True HOLINESS (part 1).

In the New Testament the word holiness  occurs 13 times being translated from 5 different Greek words.

I. The Greek ὁσιότης (hosiotēs) (Strong’s G3742) occurs 2 times in 2 verses and refers to piety towards God and fidelity in observing the obligations of piety. We are commanded in Ephesians 4:

²²That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; ²³And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; ²⁴And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Here we are told that the new man,  that is your inner being who has been born again in Christ Jesus, is created in righteousness and true holiness, so, we should be renewed in the spirit of our minds and put off the old man who is corrupt. This is something we have to do and we can only do it with the strength and power that Christ gives through the Holy Spirit in our spirit.

II. The Greek εὐσέβεια (eusebeia) (Strong’s G2150) is translated holiness in 1 verse and godliness in 14 other verses. It refers to reverence, respect and piety towards God. We are encouraged in 2 Peter 1:

²Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, ³According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: ⁴Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Here we are told that through the precise and correct knowledge [epignosis (Strong’s G1922)] of God, Jesus Christ’s divine power has given us all things having to do with life and godliness/holiness. Its also says that through this epignosis we are given great and precious promises and these promises enable us to become partakers of God’s divine nature, once we escape the corruption that comes from lust.

III. The Greek ἁγιωσύνη (hagiōsynē) (Strong’s G42) is translated holiness in 3 verses. It refers to majesty and moral purity. We are encouraged in 2 Corinthians 7:

¹Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Here we are told WE MUST clean, cleanse, purge and purify ourselves from actions that cause defilement of both body and spirit. WE must perform or accomplish majesty and purity (holiness) in the reverential fear of God.

To be continued in The Path To True HOLINESS (part 3).

The Path To True HOLINESS (part 1).

In the Holy Bible we are commanded to be:

• Holy, not “holier than thou”! Ephesians 1:4 and 5:27; 1 Peter 1:15-16.
• Obedient to the Word of God! Isaiah 1:19; 2 Corinthians 10:5; 1 Peter 1:13-14.
• Loving to everyone, even our enemies! Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:35.
• Intimate with God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit! Romans 8:9-11; Hebrews 2:11; Jude 1:21.
• Noble in word, deed and truth! Colossians 3:17; 1 Peter 2:9; James 5:12; 1 John 3:18.
• Edified by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit! John 14:26; Romans 14:19; Colossians 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:11.
• Sanctified to God and set apart from sin! 1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:21.
• Servants of God in love! Matthew 4:10; John 12:26; Romans 15:1-3; Galatians 5:13.

In case you missed it, I spelled the word holiness above. 🙂 What is holiness and what does the Holy Bible say about it? Let us find out in this new series!

In the Old Testament the word holiness is translated from the Hebrew word קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh) (Strong’s H6944). It is also translated holy, most holy, sanctuary, dedicated, hallowed and consecrated. The idea includes apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness, and derives from the Hebrew root קָדַשׁ (qadash) (Strong’s H6942), which means to set apart, to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified and be separate. The use of the word in Psalm 29:2 KJV is a good example.

“Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”

We are commanded to give God the glory due to His name and to worship Him in the beauty of sacredness, separateness, consecration, sanctification, or holiness!

Blessings!

To be continued in The Path To True HOLINESS (part 2).