We have been looking at the fact that we do need to take responsibility for our sin and yet we are not alone in our journey of holiness. Romans 8 centres around the truth that the Holy Spirit is the one who helps us to experience our salvation and take hold of it fully. Verse 1 begins with a reminder that we are no longer condemned. This is like a breath of fresh air when we are battling habitual sins daily. We don’t need to beat ourselves up and promise God we will try harder – we need to remember that the Holy Spirit works inside us to navigate our minds and actions so that they are focused on what pleases God.
Note that Paul says, ‘if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ’ (v9). Turning this on its head, we can view it as a great promise – if we have accepted Jesus as Lord we do have His Spirit living inside us. Our tussles with sin can make us doubt that, but it is important to remind ourselves that He lives inside us and will help us to live holy lives. Interestingly, verses 12 and 13 talk about our obligation to live by the Spirit – but that it is through Him that we do this.
What comes next is such an incredible truth. We are no longer slaves to fear but have been given a Spirit of sonship/daughtership. We have been adopted and have become God’s children. We’ve already talked about how this makes us heirs with Christ – Romans 8 shows us that it is the Holy Spirit who reminds us of this fact, who testifies to our spirits that we are children of God. What an amazing gift from God!
Prayer: God, thank You that Your Holy Spirit lives inside of me, reminding me that I am Your child, and enabling me to set my mind on those things that please You. I am so grateful. Amen.
Having taken a break over the Easter school holiday, it seems quite fitting that our first weekly devotional since celebrating Jesus’ victory over sin and death on Easter Sunday is all about us stepping into the life He won for us…
Paul starts our passage with a rhetorical question (‘Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?’) – but answers it quickly with a resounding ‘no’! If we continue to sin once we accept the gospel we are belittling both the seriousness of sin and the way that God dealt with it. The language used talks of us once being slaves to sin, but now slaves to God. We can find this language difficult but Paul is using the term ‘slave’ to underline the fact that we’ve been bought at a price (see v19 for his explanation). The paradox is that becoming slaves to God is the only way to true freedom.
The problem is, we all continue to sin – why? Often we struggle with sin because we don’t fully understand what Jesus did for us. He took us from one kingdom and made us alive in His. We don’t have to be enslaved to our old sinful nature. The battle can often be in our thinking. Jesus has already killed sin, but we are told in verse 11 to ‘count yourselves dead to sin’. We need to take hold of this. Sometimes that means practically taking hold of the thoughts in our heads (see Romans 12:2) that lead to sin and replacing them with biblical truth.
Jerry Bridges, in his book The Pursuit of Holiness, explains: ‘It is our habit to live for ourselves and not for God. When we become Christians, we do not drop all this overnight. In fact, we will spend the rest of our lives putting off these habits and putting on habits of holiness’ (NavPress Publishing Group, 2003). It takes time and effort to change habits – but the key is in understanding that we are now inChrist. As Kevin de Young says, ‘The pursuit of holiness is…the fight to live out the life that has already been made alive in Christ’ (The Hole in our Holiness, Crossway, 2007).
Prayer: Lord, I can see that there is no need for me to give in to sin any longer, but that I need to cultivate habits in order to make right choices. Help me to start that today. Amen.
This chapter really hones in on how we should live in response to the gospel. Paul starts with a ‘therefore’ and also uses the phrase ‘in view of God’s mercy’. These are the triggers — the response is down to us. While it is true, as we have seen, that we are made holy only through Jesus, and God clothes us in His righteousness, we are in the process of being sanctified. And, while that is done through the power of the Holy Spirit, we do need to make choices and take action.
So many of Paul’s instructions here are active: ‘offer’, ‘Do not conform’, ‘be transformed’, ‘Do not think of yourself’, ‘Hate what is evil, cling to what is good’ etc. James states that faith without works is dead (James 2:14–26) and I think, similarly, Paul is saying here that the process of becoming holy does include us being responsible on a daily basis for choosing to lay down our own agendas and offer ourselves up to God.
I think that often we can shy away from thinking about our own part in our path to holiness. And yet, as Kevin de Young puts it, ‘The Bible clearly teaches that holiness is possible. This is good news, not bad news … You are allowed (and expected) to be obedient. You cannot do anything to earn God’s love. But as a redeemed, regenerate child of God you don’t have to be a spiritual failure.’ (The Hole in our Holiness, Crossway, 2007)
There is also imagery in this passage about each one of us being part of a body and that we need to think of the whole and use our gifts to benefit it. As Christians, we need each other. But Paul goes further: our holiness is to impact every area of our lives, including the way we interact with people generally.
Prayer: Lord I am humbled as I ponder how the choices I make daily affect my path to holiness. Help me to choose to remember who You are today –and who you have made me to be.
#BalanceforBetter is the theme for International Women’s Day, but is a year-long campaign, not just for today. I knew I wanted to mark and celebrate IWD, but, having written about it most years, I wasn’t really sure what angle to take. That is, until a good friend of mind commented on the following scripture (which she read within my YouVersion Bible study – shameless plug there! 🙂 ):
God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ (1 Corinthians 12:18-21 – but do read vv12-27 if you have time!)
It is so important that we accept, love, encourage, support, challenge and champion one another. There is absolutely no room in God’s family for us to turn to someone and say ‘I don’t need you’, whether on the basis of gender, race, age or any other reason. The Church needs to be leading the way in showing how, as the IWD campaign puts it: ‘Everyone has a part to play – all the time, everywhere.’
Now, as today is International Women’s Day, I want to take the time to give a shout out to some of the women who have stood by me, shaped me, helped make me who I am today – and who continue to challenge and spur me on. But, in the spirit of this year’s theme, I’m also going to include some of the men that have had a big impact on my life too:
My mum: I know I’ve shared before that she has taught me the most about resilient faith. These last few years have been so unexpected, and so so hard, as she continues to battle for every breath. It is amazing to see her faith remain as strong as ever even though she gets weaker and weaker.
My husband: he really is the solid, steadfast anchor of our family. We have been through a lot, but I have watched him grow and develop into the wonderful father and church leader that he is today. And he really champions me, even though what I’ve feel led to do in recent years has necessitated him being more vulnerable than he was comfortable being.
My sister: the last few years have been so incredibly painful and difficult for her, but she has dug deep and shown a strength I have rarely seen. It has been such a privilege to walk more closely alongside her – and to enjoy the delightful results of her incredible cooking too!
My dad: he has shown such generous and selfless love right back from the day he chose to take on us two little girls when he married my mum. Today, more than ever, he is pouring himself out selflessly caring for my mum 24/7. The tenderness in their relationship is so tangible – and beautiful – now.
John: this is the guy who encouraged me to pursue joining a worship band, and who spent hours helping me to build my confidence. He was also the one person who said ‘there but for the grace of God go I’ when I made a huge mistake that impacted so many of us. He is an all-round incredible musician, but also wise, generous and humble guy – that I don’t see often enough now!
Accountability friends: we have been through so much over the years – cried many tears and laughed until we cried too. Thank you for always being there – and for fighting for depth in our friendships, even when it has been such a raw and painful process. You really are people I couldn’t do life without.
Book study group: it is such a delight to be a part of this group. Thank you for persevering through those awkward moments, as we learned to build trust. And thank you for your honesty and vulnerability. Shared stories really do break shame and bring freedom – and I love the way you support one another in being more open.
Fellow writers: thank you for your support, especially through the ACW Facebook page. I love the way we interact (including the banter) and really appreciate those of you who have particularly taken the time to help and encourage me personally (such as Wendy, Amy, Jennie, Fiona, Claire, Philip, Cathy, Sheridan, Jo and many, many others).
Anna and the kingdom ambition WhatsApp group: for years I had longed for a group of women leaders to share more deeply with. Thank you Anna for listening to that nudge from God and inviting me to join your group. And thank you all for the way you share and interact with one another, speaking truth and bringing love through your messages. I don’t know you that well yet, but already I feel a connection with you.
I know I have missed many amazing people who have shaped my life and been a huge support, but I need to stop before this becomes a book rather than a blog post! Can I just encourage you, this International Women’s Day, to thank the women – and the men – who have championed you, and brought better balance to your life. And also think about how you can bring better balance in the spheres of influence that you have.
Leviticus 9 sees the priests begin their duties as those who will enter the Tabernacle and sacrifice on the altar on behalf of the people. Moses’ brother Aaron and his sons are chosen as priests and the start of our passage details how Aaron follows God’s instructions to the letter. We are told that Moses and Aaron then enter the Tent of Meeting and when they came back out God’s glory appeared. A fire from His presence burned up the offering and the people responded to His presence in joy but also by humbling themselves, recognising they had just witnessed an incredible display of His holiness.
Unfortunately, there were two among them who didn’t take God’s holiness as seriously. Underestimating God, they offered up unauthorised fire to Him – and were consumed as a result. It seems harsh to our modern eyes but these men had been warned. They had followed God’s commands on how to be ordained as priests, which involved a long and complicated process (see chapter 8). They had seen God at Mount Sinai, had heard how God told them not to allow His fire on the altar to go out (in chapter 6) and seen Moses and Aaron go inside the Tabernacle and emerge unscathed. And yet, at this critical moment, they choose to offer ‘unauthorised fire’. It is as if they had grown cocky somehow, or, at the very least, indifferent. Whatever was going on in their minds, they chose to ignore God’s command at their peril. The details were there to protect them from God’s holy fire; their disobedience cost them their lives. This is a sobering reminder that God is holy; we are not.
Prayer: Father I can see that You gave strict instructions in order to shield Your people from Your holy fire. I humbly acknowledge You are still a holy God today. Amen.
In amongst the cloud and fire, God spoke directly to Moses, giving him the Ten Commandments to take back down to the people. So often these are viewed as a list of rules to live by — if we manage to keep them all in our own strength then somehow we will be holy enough to be allowed to call ourselves Christians. However, as Phil Moore points out in his book Straight to the heart of Moses, the timing of when God gave the commandments is critical. He didn’t give them to Moses when he met him at the burning bush and sent him as His messenger to the Israelites in Egypt. They were given after God had saved them. They were given to show them how they should respond to the salvation God had provided for them.
Far from a standard that we need to live up to, the Ten Commandments, and indeed the whole Jewish Law, can be seen as a measuring stick of holiness. God uses them to convince Israel – and us – that there is nothing we can do in our own strength to make ourselves spiritually holy.
Interestingly, when Jesus walked the earth He referred back to the Ten Commandments, sometimes even going further than they do (for example, v14 talks about not committing adultery; in Matt 5:28 Jesus says if a man even looks at a woman lustfully he has committed adultery). No, these commandments are not things for the Israelites – and us – to strive to do. They are to convince us all of the need to accept God’s salvation — and holiness. Indeed each commandment says ‘You shall’. We can read this phrase as a barked order – or a loving promise. Which do you think God meant?
Prayer: Father, while You lovingly revealed to the Israelites ways in which they could commune with You, I cannot be holy without accepting Your gift of salvation. I do so again today. Amen.
Hannah’s prayer is like a song of praise. She talks about how holy God is, but also how He has been her Rock. She celebrates the fact that it is God who is sovereignly in control of what happens, and how He has been in charge since the time He set the world in motion. But just think about the context of this prayer for a moment. Hannah had endured many years of being barren, and being taunted by her husband’s other wife who had children. In the temple, as she poured out her sorrow to God, the priest thought she was drunk! But she had continued to be faithful — and so was God.
When she had her son Samuel, she remembered the promise she had made to God to dedicate him to His service (see 1 Samuel 1:11). She set him apart by dedicating him at the temple and leaving him there with the priest. Imagine that — giving up the one thing you had been desperate for for years. Buther prayer, from today’s reading, is uttered as she leaves her son there. I find that both incredible and very challenging. Somehow, Hannah understood God’s holiness and sovereignty, understood that He orchestrated events throughout history. She had humbled herself before Him and rested in the knowledge that she could trust Him. While she had undergone considerable personal pain over the years, she had seen events with a wider perspective — and God honoured that. Hannah would go on to have more children, and was also able to watch her son grow up ‘set apart’ to be a prophet in Israel, in the service of kings. Is there something you need to trust God for today?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, how humbling to be reminded how Hannah, even when she had given up someone so precious, focused on Your holiness and faithfulness. Help me to learn from her example. Amen.
I know this post hasn’t happened on the usual Wednesday of the week – my apologies. I will also be taking a break from posting over the Christmas break. So I just wanted to say have a wonderful Christmas, and Happy New Year!
This psalm may well have been written by David, as it sounds similar to a hymn of praise he wrote in 1 Chronicles. It is a call to the people of Israel to declare the majesty and wonder of God to all the nations surrounding them. It is all about worshipping God because of ‘the splendour of his holiness’ (v9). As in previous passages, we see various attributes of God listed, such as His glory, splendour and majesty. What is interesting is how the psalmist tells the earth to ‘tremble before him’ in verse 9. This is another aspect of God’s holiness: it should cause us to honour Him with a reverential awe.
God’s holiness is absolute – and His wrath, or judgement, comes out of His desire to preserve that holiness in the world. However, this sort of language is not fashionable these days; we don’t often talk about wrath, judgement and awe very much, do we? And yet, even back in the 1960s, AW Tozer recognised that when we allow human trends and opinion to colour our understanding, then we lose something of our understanding of holiness/God. In his book The Knowledge of the Holy, Tozer said: ‘The Church has surrendered her once lofty concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble, as to be utterly unworthy of thinking, worshipping men… With our loss of the sense of majesty has come the further loss of religious awe and consciousness of the divine presence.’
How fully we worship God is based on our knowledge and understanding of Him – we are called in today’s reading to reflect on how awesome God is and to ‘ascribe’ or give Him the kind of worship that He deserves. Why not give over some time to do this today?
Prayer: Lord, forgive me that I don’t always seek to understand Your character more fully. I see how it informs my worship. Help me to take the time to learn more about You. Amen.
The song in Exodus 15 was written after God miraculously delivered His people from the Egyptians by parting the Red Sea for them and then allowing the water to gush back over those pursuing them. Moses begins by worshipping God for what He has done, describing how He ‘hurled’ Pharaoh’s army into the sea. But he goes on to talk about what it is in God’s character that caused Him to act as Israel’s salvation. He is saying through this that God’s mighty acts reveal His majesty, power and holiness. Look, for example, at verse 7: ‘In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you.’ The language that Moses uses reveals how incredible his God is – that with a simple blast of His nostrils the water was parted. Verse 11 states that there is no one – no god – like God, and later verses talk about how the surrounding nations will hear of what God has done and tremble. Interestingly, Moses also affirms the belief that God will lead His people to His ‘holy place’ (see v13).
God’s holiness can be seen reflected throughout the passage: in His destruction of Pharaoh, His hatred of sin and His wrath against those who refuse to turn from it and His faithfulness in rescuing His people.
This song was written for the whole of Israel to sing. It was a way of honouring God for His rescue – a way of giving thanks for His glory. Israel’s God-fearing leaders often led the people into offering God a holy, consecrated song or prayer. Even today, home-grown worship songs and prayers can help local congregations to thank God for the specific ways He has revealed His holiness to them.
Prayer: Thank You Lord that all Your actions reveal Your holiness. Help me to take the time to recall how You rescue and keep me, and then give You praise and thanks for doing so. Amen.
The winning artwork: ‘A thousand bottles of tears’ by Deborah Tompsett
Earlier this year a new art competition was launched: the Chaiya Art Awards. The theme was ‘Where is God in our 21stcentury world?’ The finalists’ artwork made up an exhibition held at the prestigious gallery@oxo at Easter. More recently, a beautiful hardback coffee table book written featuring all the finalists has been created. To celebrate its launch, I have the huge pleasure of being a part of the book’s blog tour. Here, the founder of the art award, Katrina Moss, reveals the idea behind it and what she wanted to achieve – as well as details about another competition.(Special thanks for Jonny Back for his beautiful photography.)
Where did the idea for the competition come from?
I thought it would be fantastic to create an arena where artists could explore their spirituality through their art and creativity. The feedback I had from artists is that galleries aren’t always interested in art that explores faith. We deliberately made the competition theme based, to focus the work to explore the depth and mystery of God. During the competition I received several emails thanking us for opening up this opportunity. “It has given my practise a significant boost to my confidence and creativity,” said one artist.
‘In the detail’ by Kate Green
Do you come from an artistic family and are you an artist yourself?
I don’t come from an artistic family at all. In my thirties I had a significant breakdown and one of the things that happened in the process of getting well was something unlocked inside of me. I found in the darkest of times an incredible release in being able to express myself creatively. Making art continues to allow me to express myself in life – in the joyous, the confusing, the difficult, the times of sadness and gut-wrenching disappointment. Art is like music; it allows us to communicate things that are beyond words and engages us at a deep emotional level. My current form of making is mosaics.
Did you have a large number of entries for the competition?
We were amazed. In the first three months from our launch in September 2017 we had 80 entries; in the final month we were overwhelmed as the total grew to 453 entries. The entries varied from photography, sculpture, textiles, videos, ceramics, drawing to painting. We were thrilled. The standard of work was really high and we had entrants from all ages across the entire UK including Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. The website had nearly 30,000 hits and visitors to the exhibition numbers were 2,700 plus. (I say plus because sometimes there were so many visitors they didn’t all get recorded.)
Ann (left) and Katrina
How did the book come about?
I knew I wanted a standalone book that would also complement the exhibition. We were doing something new, something truly innovative and I wanted a far greater number of people to enjoy, explore, question and meditate on the work. I think Ann did a superb job in pulling the book together because her writing is so creative and meditative and works perfectly alongside the art. She and I have been friends for 35 years and I have always loved her writing. Our passion for seeing work of faith and spirituality created remains undiminished. It was lovely to work on another project together.
What were the outcomes you hoped for?
There were three things I was looking for:
To allow artwork that explored the theme to stand alongside other contemporary galleries in our capital city in such an iconic location.
To allow the public to discover something of the possibility of transcendence in our hugely secular society.
I wanted the artwork to be for sale to help the careers of the artists. Over 25 per cent of the pieces were sold. It is fantastic that through the exhibition artwork found its way into people homes and workplaces.
As it was so successful, are you planning you do another competition?
Yes, we will. We will announce the theme Easter 2019 and the competition exhibition will be Easter 2020. Please sign up to our website if you want to be kept informed and enter the competition. Everyone is welcome to contribute.
Where is God in our 21st Century World? by Ann Clifford was published by Instant Apostle on 21 September 2018. It is available from bookshops, online retailers and the Chaiya Art Awards website.
