IN PURSUIT OF HOLINESS

IN PURSUIT OF HOLINESS BY W. E. McCumber 1

BOOK ONE--DEVOTIONS FOREWORD This is a book of devotions. Each one is a response to what theLord says to us in a passage from the New Testament. They are beingoffered to encourage, inspire and help any disciple of Christ who isserious about pursuing holiness. Each text should be read in its context prior to reading the briefdevotional comments. I have used the New International Version of theBible throughout. Exceptions are noted. These devotions are for preachers and lay persons alike. We aremade of the same mud, though preachers are sometimes muddier. Ibelieve that anyone who reads these passages of scripture and thesedevotional reflections in response to them will be helped. George Campbell Morgan once defined holiness as \"love-mastered life.\" I say a hearty \"amen\" to that. But I would go beyondthat to say that holiness is Jesus-like living. God intends to make allfollowers of Jesus completely like him. Paul wrote, And we know that in all things God works for the good ofthose who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to thelikeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he alsojustified; those he justified, he also glorified (Romans 8:28-30; italicsadded). John wrote, 2

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that weshould be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reasonthe world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends,now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been madeknown. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for weshall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifieshimself, just as he is pure (1 John 3:1-3; italics added). \"According to [God's] purpose,\" all believers will eventually \"belike him\" in whom they believe. The process begins when God calls usthrough his word to trust in Jesus as our savior. That process continuesthrough crises of cleansing and processes of growth until at last, at thecoming again of Jesus, we shall bear his image perfectly. A prospectmore glorious cannot be imagined or experienced. To be all that we canbe is to be like Jesus in our total character and conduct. The more like Jesus we become, the less critical and judgmentalwe will be of one another. As John Wesley taught, the more we grow ingrace the harder we will be on ourselves, the more tolerant we will be ofothers. So, fellow pilgrims, let us go onward and upward--not through thestars, however, but through the Scriptures. 3

1. PURITY AND PROSPECT Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). God’s word makes it clear that the human heart is impure bynature and can only be purified by grace. This beatitude, in its context,identifies heart purity as an experience and condition possible here andnow. Heart purity no more awaits a future age than does humility,mercy, peacemaking or persecution. The Lord can cleanse our heartsfrom all sin and sustain our hearts against all temptation. He can graceus for holy living “all our days,” even the Mondays. The prospect of this purity is ultimate. There can be no greaterblessing than seeing God. God can be seen to some extent in nature, inhistory, and in the gospel records of the incarnation, crucifixion, andresurrection of Jesus Christ. The eyes of evil and proud men are blindto such gracious disclosures, but the pure in heart behold them withjoyful praise. These “glimpses of truth” will give place to perfect sight whenJesus comes again and our salvation is completed. We shall see him ashe is and, therefore, we shall see God as he is. Wrong -headed notionswill be dissolved in the light of his countenance. What a glorious prospect! Wonder of wonders, it is our prospectthrough grace and by faith. 4

2. SEASONING AND SHINING You are the salt of the earth.... You are the light of the world(Matthew 5:13-14). It is clear that \"You\" goes back to verse 11: \"Blessed are you...\"The people who are described in the Beatitudes are the \"salt\" and the\"light.\" Kingdom people, willing to follow Jesus at the cost of insult,slander and persecution are the ones who function to preserve andilluminate society. \"Salt\" is a metaphor that calls believers to purity; \"light\" is ametaphor that calls them to ministry. The first speaks of the privateinfluence of Christians, the second of their public impact. Without “thesalt of the earth” nothing on earth has the flavor it needs. Without “thelight of the world,” the world stumbles in darkness, and we can’t get toheaven with broken shins. As salt and light, God’s people create the world's opportunity forsalvation. The world’s opportunity, in turn, creates the world'saccountability. \"Everyone in the house\" is responsible for living in thelight. Jesus warns us that \"salt\" can become mixed with impurities andlose its power to season and preserve. Light can be hidden, becominguseless. If we wish to perform the functions of discipleship we must heedthese serious warnings. O Lord, help us to season and shine to your glory! 5

3. PERFECT LOVE Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew5:48). The Father’s love excludes no one. He dispenses his blessings upongood and evil, righteous and unrighteous, alike. As his children, we arecalled to love all persons, whether “brothers” or “enemies,” whetherinsiders or outsiders. The perfection Jesus here commands is love thatmakes no exceptions. His love does not imply approval of evil. His love is not morallyindifferent. It makes no compromise with sin and it will visit judgmentupon sinners. For us to love our enemies does not mean that we excusetheir enmity. It does mean that we respond to enmity with active goodwill. We cannot justify reacting in kind to anyone’s wrongdoing. TheLord’s love, and not the world’s hatred, is the pattern for our behavior.We are to be like him, not like them. Love is not a mushy feeling; it is an active mercy. When God loveshe gives sun and rain and Jesus. Our love must be expressed in thatmanner, though it can never attain that measure. In the light of thispassage we must ask, “What are we doing for our brothers and for ourenemies?” Are we guiding the world by Jesus-like attitudes and actions,or are we joining the world in demonic prejudices and discriminations? Help us, Lord! 6

4. TOP PRIORITY But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these thingswill be given you as well (Matthew 6:33). Life is a matter of priorities. We seek first whatever we prize most.If things have top priority they become our gods and we are guilty ofidolatry. The Lord will not share his throne with rival gods. We cannotserve him if we serve Mammon (v. 24). If we serve him, we will not bedeprived of necessary food, clothes and shelter. These things will be given,but in the measure he deems best. If things have priority we will be driven worriers. If he has prioritywe will be relaxed pensioners, for he knows our needs and will supplythem (v. 32). Our identity and security are found in him, not in things.Our truest Social Security number is Matthew 6:33. We can live asworry-free as birds and flowers. Pagans chase things, but we choose topursue God. We won't be trouble-free, but we will be worry-free, and it'sworry that breaks people down, not trouble. It’s not the little we have that most endangers us; it’s the much thatwe want but don’t have or can’t have. Jesus teaches us that “a man’s lifedoes not consist in the abundance of “his possessions”--nor does awoman’s. Lord, teach us anew to trust you and relax. 7

5. THE GOLDEN RULE In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you(Matthew 7:12). These words are commonly called \"the Golden Rule.\" How quicklythe gold standard is abandoned in human affairs! How seldom is the ruleapplied in society's daily life. This kind of \"role-reversal\" would quicklyreform our relationships and render obsolete our judicial systems. Crimewould disappear and peace would prevail. When we are tempted to hurt others by words or by deeds, we mustapply this golden rule. When others have injured us, and we are temptedto hate them and hurt them, we need to apply this golden rule. The Lordcan enable us to be understanding, patient and forgiving in everysituation and with every person. Life by this rule will be a life of love, but such love can issue onlyfrom hearts cleansed from sin, hearts transformed by grace. The Lordcan grant us such hearts. He gave \"the Law and the Prophets\" to explainand demand golden-rule existence. He followed them with his own wordsto enable golden-rule living. John Wesley was right when he calledholiness \"good old Bible religion.\" Lord, make us faithful practitioners of Golden Rule religion. 8

6. UPROOTING Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled upby the roots (Matthew 15:13). This radical uprooting of all the Father has not planted is referred,in context, to traditions of men and to sins of the heart. Not all religious traditions have their origin in God’s will. Some ofthem actually arose from deceptive efforts to escape the plain teaching ofhis word. They represent the cunning strategies of unclean hearts,attempting to preserve themselves from well-deserved destruction. Howtragic it is when religion becomes a way of protecting evil instead of a wayof expressing good! What is not of God has no permanence. Sin is not forever. Sooneror later it is doomed to extinction. We should open our hearts to the Lordfor this uprooting, asking him to strike dead the noxious source of all thesins of flesh and spirit he catalogues in verse 19. With the ancient psalmistwe should pray, \"Create in me a pure heart, O God,\" for the heart is \"thewellspring of life.\" A real and radical cleansing, not a mere ritualcleansing, is our need and his will. The Lord knows the difference between wheat and tares. We cantrust him alone to plant what is needed and to uproot what is threatening. 9

7. INFORMED, TRANSFORMED \"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your souland with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. Andthe second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and theProphets hang on these two commandments (Matthew 22:37-40). He was right who defined holiness as \"love-mastered life.\" And hewas right who affirmed that \"the moral drift of the Old Testament islove.\" All that we are taught in God’s word is intended to result in ourunstinted love for him and unselfish love for others. However, it is one thing to summarize the demands of Scriptureand quite another to practice them. The former calls for an informedmind; the latter calls for a transformed heart. We can easily know morethan we can readily do. Let us be glad that the Lord’s words effect what they demand.When he says, \"Be clean,\" our leprous hearts are cleansed and healed.The love commandment is not \"a counsel of perfection\" that producesfrustration and despair. It is a promise of cleansing that makes love apersonal experience by which speech and deeds are governed. Lord, let that be our experience today! 10

8. LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR Love your neighbor... (Matthew 22:39; Luke 10:27). When the Lord tells us to love our neighbors we are tempted toreply, “Have you been in our neighborhoods? Have you seen all ourneighbors?” We can understand the fellow who said, “In myneighborhood there are too few neighbors and too many hoods.” In the Good Samaritan parable Jesus teaches us some hard truths.He teaches us that our neighbors are given to us, not chosen by us. Theyare given in the circumstances--often unexpected--of life. They are ourneighbors who need the help that lies within our power to give. He teaches us also that being a neighbor is more important thanhaving a neighbor. We must be neighbors when faced with human needswhether others choose to be true neighbors or not. We are to \"go and do\"at his command, not at others' consent or example. To top it off, he teaches us that love means doing, not feeling. It’s amatter of service, not of sentiment. However we feel about persons, weare to address their needs with our resources. What should motivate us ishis will, not their worthiness. We are the products of undeserved love; itill-suits us to grant love only when we feel the grantee is deserving. Let us learn well, Lord, so that we may be like you. 11

9. SILENCED TRUTH I know who you are--the Holy One of God! (Mark 1:24). We realize how deceitful and degrading evil is when Jesus isdreaded, not welcomed, because of his holiness! The demons recognizedhim as one utterly opposed to evil and possessing power to destroy it.At his command the demons were evicted, slamming the door in violentfrustration as they reluctantly vacated their human habitat. What those demonic forces said about Jesus was true. He is “theHoly One of God” with power to destroy evil. Yet, he commanded themto be silent. Was that because people tend to identify truth with thosewho speak it? Does the truth become falsified in the minds of those whohear it spoken by false persons? Jesus’ cleansing power should be evidentin the lives of all who bear witness to him. Otherwise, the gospel messagewill be associated with the tainted messenger and hearts will be turnedagainst the message. The Holy One has called us to proclaim his word. Unless he makesand keeps us holy, we will prejudice our hearers against the truth byliving falsely. We need his forgiveness when our lives do not possess whatJ. B. Philips called \"the ring of truth.\" We need to pray that he willcleanse us so that we may both love him more purely and reflect himmore truly. To those who need to come to Jesus, we must be steppingstones and not stumbling blocks. 12

10. THE LORD WILLS CLEANSING If you are willing you can make me clean…. I am willing…Be clean(Mark 1:40, 41) We can certainly empathize with the leper’s plight. To loathe ouruncleanness while remaining powerless to effect cleansing is terriblyfrustrating and discouraging. We can also rejoice in the Lord’s power, for the same authoritythat commanded the leper’s cleansing provided our deliverance fromsin. The pleading leper knew that Jesus was able to cure him, but hewasn’t sure that Jesus was willing. If he had known as much about theLord’s mercy as he knew about his own malady, he would never havesaid “If…” How his blood must have raced to hear Jesus say, “I amwilling…Be clean!” To discover that Jesus’ will and power united forhis deliverance was a liberating moment. Leprosy was a terrible affliction in Jesus’ day. It made its victima social outcast while it slowly dragged him or her towards death.However, sin is a deeper and more disfiguring malady, and deliverancefrom sin is a greater miracle than a leper’s healing. Our struggles tosave ourselves could never produce cleansing. The Lord’s will,expressed in his words, brought our mighty deliverance. We bless the Lord for the day when, as pleading lepers, we heardhim say, “I am willing. Be clean.” Our touch only spread the diseasebut his touch brought the cure. Millions of lepers need to know that hewills their cleansing. Lord, use us to let them know. 13

11. THE PRICE OF WHOLENESS Stand up in front of everyone.... Stretch out your hand (Mark 3:3, 5). Accepting the unpopular is part of the price of wholeness. Presentin the synagogue were men who watched Jesus like ravenous wolvesstalking their prey. They hated him and seized upon every possiblepretext to falsely accuse and brutally slay him. For this crippled man topublicly identify himself with Jesus was to invite persecution from Jesus’enemies. \"Stand up in front of everyone.\" Wholeness cannot be obtainedwithout courage. The world loves its own but not the Lord’s own. The price of wholeness also includes attempting the impossible.The crippled man had ached to stretch out that withered hand, but couldnot. Now he is commanded to do so, and when he acted upon Jesus’words he succeeded. At the Lord’s command drunkards have become sober, thieveshave become honest, liars have become truthful, gluttons have becometemperate, adulterers have become chaste, skinflints have becomegenerous, and leprous hearts have been cleansed. What is impossible tous becomes possible when he speaks and we obey. To be identified with him is to invite collision and conflict, but thewholeness he creates is worth the price. 14

12. FROM WITHIN COMES SIN For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexualimmorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy,slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from inside and make aman \"unclean\" (Mark 7:21-23). Our staining is from within. By nature, human hearts are depravedand corrupt. We blame society and environment for our sins, but theyare the outflow of our inner lives. The spring is polluted and the stream istherefore poisoned. Evil is real and ritual cannot cure it. No washing of our hands willchange our hearts. Our staining is from within but our cleansing is fromwithout. We cannot redeem ourselves; we await a Savior. We cannotpurify ourselves; we depend upon the atoning blood of Jesus to cleanse usfrom all sin. We praise him that human nature yields to divine grace. Hetriumphs where we have failed. He forgives our sins and purges ourhearts. He reshapes us from within by the Holy Spirit, who came to us ashis gift and remains in us as our cleanser and enabler. Our problem is deeply rooted; it is heart-deep. But his solution isjust as radical; he reforms our habits by cleansing our hearts. Make us clean within, Lord, and we can then resist the pressuresfrom without. 15

13. SAVING OURSELVES If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up hiscross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, andwhoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it (Mark 8:34-35). In the Lord’s kingdom we are not saved by sparing ourselves butby spending ourselves. Three elements mark kingdom life, and theycannot be separated: self-denial, cross bearing and following Jesus. Self-denial is not abstaining from \"goodies\" during limited periodsof time such as Lent. Self-denial is refusing ourselves the right to lordshipover our lives. Cross bearing is not literal in our culture but suffering is. Thesuffering that has life-saving value is suffering for Jesus’ sake and thegospel's. Unless suffering is kingdom related, it is wasted. To die toeverything except his will, that is true cross bearing. Following Jesus requires us to relate to God, people and things ashe did during his \"life on earth.\" We will adopt his attitudes andpriorities. This is a tall order, but his \"power and glory\" make possibleour obedience to his demands. We bless him for all he bestows. We bless him for all he withholds.We believe that his will is our highest welfare. We yield our wills to him. We choose his ways, not the world'sways. And we reaffirm that choice every time we are tempted to be anddo wrong. 16

14. ONE THING One thing you lack (Mark 10:21). This man who knelt before Jesus had many things. He had healthand wealth and youth. He had energy to run and authority to rule (Luke18:18). He must have been the envy of most who knew him, for he hadwhat most men most prize. He lacked one thing, the only thing that matters and satisfies--eternal life. He had no fellowship with God. There were no spiritualfoundations beneath his assets. He was keenly aware of an unsatisfiedhunger, but only vaguely identified it and wrongfully sought itssatisfaction. He thought he could attach the life he inquired about to hislist of possessions. He lost everything. He walked away from Jesus with a sad heart, aman unwilling to part with his wealth in order to follow Jesus and to serveothers. He was self-centered, a polar opposite to Jesus. He came to theLord for help but read the Lord as a threat. Unwilling to part withthings, he departed from Jesus. How infinitely sad! Loving and serving Jesus, following and emulating him--this is theone thing that finally matters. Let us not lack that one thing! Let us keepa loose grip on possessions but a tight grip on Jesus. Nothing is worthhaving that sends us from him with sad hearts. 17

15. SUFFERING AND HOLINESS Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possiblethe hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything ispossible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what youwill\" (Mark 14:35-36). Overhearing Jesus pray in Gethsemane gives us light on thequestion of suffering in relation to holiness. We know that in this worldthere cannot be holiness without suffering. Opposition brings suffering,and following Jesus puts us on a collision course with a godless society.Sympathy also brings suffering, and we cannot serve hurting peoplewithout being hurt ourselves. Suffering is an inescapable component oftrue discipleship. His prayer encourages us to escape whatever suffering is not aconsequence of obedience to the Father, and to endure whatever sufferingis a consequence of doing his will. Self-inflicted suffering has no redeeming value. We are cleansedand kept from sin by the wounds he bore for us, not by any that we mightinflict upon ourselves. To deliberately court suffering is the mark of an illmind, not of a healthy heart. But if we are caused to suffer because weare obedient to Jesus, that suffering becomes part of the discipline bywhich he fits us for living faithfully and fruitfully in this world. We mustecho his prayer: \"If possible,\" spare us, but \"your will\" be done at anycost. “I will.” “You will.” Unless the two are one, we will grieve him andruin ourselves. Over both his will and our wills, our love for him andfaith in him should write “MERGE.” 18

16. WHEN LIARS SPOKE THE TRUTH “He saved others,\" they said, \"but he can't save himself!\" (Mark15:32). Sometimes liars tell the truth without intending to, and sometimesfools say something wise inadvertently. This was the case when Jesus’taunting enemies threw this gibe at him when he was hanging on thecross. He could not save others by saving himself. He could only save usby giving himself. \"Spare yourself\" is the world's philosophy. \"Giveyourself\" is the philosophy of his kingdom. To be holy--wholly the Lord’s--we cannot indulge ourselves. Thosewho spare themselves lose themselves. Those who give themselves findthemselves. We've watched two \"me-first\" generations try in vain tosolve their identity crises. The self-sparing have more misery, conflict andfrustration than anybody. Those who follow Jesus have peace with God,with others and within themselves. Had Jesus saved himself there would be no salvation for us. Wewould all be helpless and hopeless forever. Paul identified our onlychannel of deliverance when he wrote, \"Grace and peace to you from Godthe Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins torescue us from the present evil age\" (Gal.1:3-4). Lord, help us to live in the spirit of Calvary! When we are temptedto spare ourselves rather than serve others, set your cross before us andcorrect our spirits. 19

17. REDEEMER, ENABLER, JUDGE ...Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: “Praise beto the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed hispeople.... to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us toserve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all ourdays\" (Luke 1:67-75). A Spirit-filled prophet / priest assures us that we can live holy liveshere and now--“all our days.” We believe him. God came in Jesus Christto redeem us from the worst and strongest of our enemies--sin and death.He came not only as a redeemer but as an enabler. He empowers hispeople to live holy lives in this unholy world. When we struggle to achieve holiness we fail. Our resolutions,efforts and tears are unavailing. The Lord teaches us that the source ofZechariah's prophecy is also the secret of holy living--“filled with the HolySpirit.\" The Holy Spirit, dwelling and working in us, is an inner powergreater than all the outward pressures. The words \"before him\" remind us that the source of our lives isalso the judge of our lives. When people misunderstand and misjudge us,we are comforted by remembering that God knows our hearts and judgesus by our intentions, not just our actions. We want more than special-day holiness. We want everydayholiness. The Holy Spirit is the source and strength of “all our days”holiness. 20

18. THE HEART'S OVERFLOW The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in hisheart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in hisheart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). In many places the Lord’s word reminds us that we live from theinside out. What is in our hearts will surface into our speech and actions.We will do what we are. The nature of the fruit is determined by thenature of tree. The quality of the fruit is determined by the health of thetree. We cannot be inwardly bad and outwardly good. We cannot beinwardly pure but outwardly corrupt. The heart! The heart! The heart!That is the spring of our total lives. When we read this passage, our minds flash back to Psalm 116:11:\"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.\"The psalmist knew that God’s law engraved upon stone or inscribed uponpaper would not keep him from sin. Laws on stone or paper could definesin but not prevent sin. The law written upon his heart was his only hopeof living purely. Placing God’s word at the control-center of our lives is the work ofthe Holy Spirit who inspired and illuminates that word. Do this for us, OSpirit of truth! From that store of inner good, good words and gooddeeds will mark our daily lives. 21

19. HERE OR THERE IS THE LORD'S CALL Master, it is good for us to be here (Luke 9:33). Peter \"didn't know what he was saying.\" As usual, when the crosswas discussed (v. 31), he wanted to change the subject. He thought, \"Ifdeath is waiting in Jerusalem, then let's stay on the mount oftransfiguration where there is glory and safety.\" But it's not good to stayon the mountain when we are needed in the valley. The valley is not somuch a location as a population. The valley is where those live whooppose us but need us. If Jesus is truly the \"Master,\" it is for him to decide what is \"goodfor us.\" Like Peter, we would prefer the comfortable place and thepleasant path, but we must not choose them at the cost of denying Jesus’lordship. Left to ourselves we can only self-destruct. Only as he decidesour places and paths can we be truly holy, happy and helpful. When Peter was silent, the Father spoke: \"This is my Son, whom Ihave chosen; listen to him.\" When we listen to the Lord we may becontradicted and even sacrificed. Even so, we will be in the best ofcompany for the best of reasons with the best of futures. The mountain orthe valley? That choice is the Lord’s to make. We yield to his will, fortherein lies our greatest good. 22

20. BEING A NEIGHBOR Do this and you will live (Luke 10:28). We will truly live only as we truly love. To love the Lordwholeheartedly, to love our neighbors unselfishly, is eternal life. Unlesswe love as Jesus defined love we merely exist, robbing ourselves of all thatgives the quality of eternity to life. Jesus teaches us that loving means doing and loving means giving.The robbers didn’t love--they were takers. The priest and Levite didn’tlove--they were keepers. But the Samaritan loved--he was a giver and asharer. Jesus doesn’t define \"neighbor\" by neighborhood, where folks ofthe same race or class or income level live. The neighbor is anyone weencounter in life who needs what we can give. Jesus’ love is truly catholic.He wants our love to mirror his. Jesus commended the man who \"was\" a neighbor, not the man whohad a neighbor. A man is a neighbor who lovingly shares God’s blessingswith victims of life's cruelties and conflicts. A real neighbor refuses to bedeterred by the prejudices and customs of the dominant society. What is ours is really the Lord’s. The donkey may be our \"own\"but the ride may belong to someone else. Lord, help us to love as did the\"good Samaritan.\" You are the good Samaritan! 23

LISTENING AND DOING Mary has chosen what is better (Luke 10:42). In the Lord’s parable of the Good Samaritan there is an accent ondoing. \"What must I do?\" \"Do this and you will live.\" \"Go and dolikewise.\" Then follows the Mary and Martha contrast. Martha was a doer,bustling about the kitchen, banging pots and pans, preparing an elaboratemeal for Jesus. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, listening to his words. WhereMartha is \"distracted,\" Mary is absorbed. And Jesus said to \"upset\"Martha, \"Mary has chosen what is better.\" We learn from this that doing needs to be informed and directed bylistening. Meditation and reflection should precede action. HearingJesus’ words, we learn what we must know about him, about others, andabout life--so that when we \"go and do\" we won’t be spinning our wheelsand wasting our time, but meeting real needs. Sitting and listeningprecedes going and doing. Had Martha known Jesus better, she would have realized that\"only one thing is needed.\" A simple, one-dish meal would have sufficed,allowing everyone the opportunity and privilege that Mary so eagerlyseized. Lord Jesus, keep us at your feet. Teach us your word. Then ourdoing will express your will and word to others. 24

22. THE SUPREME GIFT If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to yourchildren, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit tothose who ask him? (Luke 11:13). All hearts are radically evil until the Lord cleanses and controlsthem. Even the unconverted heart, though, is not graceless. God bestowsgrace upon every man that incites him to a measure of good. From this\"natural affection\" springs a father's good gifts to his children. How much more willing is the highest Father to give the choicestgift--the Holy Spirit! More than all else, we desire and need this best of gifts. We need theHoly Spirit, for he administers the benefits of Calvary as \"the executive ofthe Godhead.\" We need his sin-consuming, service-enabling presence inour hearts. We need his control and guidance for our daily walk. Weneed his illuminating, tutoring work as we read the Bible. In more waysthan we know, we need the Holy Spirit. This priceless gift does not come unsought. God gives the HolySpirit to those who ask. As we seek him and trust him, he is \"poured out\"upon us. In his power we triumph, for he is the \"finger of God\" to \"driveout demons\" (v. 20). Abide in us, Spirit of God! 25

23. FIRE, BAPTISM, DIVISIONS I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it werealready kindled (Luke 12:49). The fire Jesus came to bring is the baptism with the Holy Spirit.Knowing the immense changes this fire would make in his disciples,Jesus was eager to kindle the blaze in their hearts. The Spirit’spresence and power in their lives would enable ordinary men to achieveextraordinary feats. The change in them would come at great cost to Jesus. A\"baptism\" awaited--his atoning death on the cross. The fire comes fromthe altar, from the place of sacrifice, as in Isaiah's vision. Until Jesuswas glorified the Spirit could not be given, as John affirmed (John 7:39).To the church the Spirit is a gift, utterly gracious and free. To Jesus thegift was purchased at an enormous price. The free gift, however leads to costly lives. The changes wroughtin believers by the Spirit often result in division. Disciples would beopposed within their own family circles. The Spirit produces unity inthe church, but he sharply divides church and world. Lord, we have received the fire and we have endured thedivisions. You are worth following at any cost. What you were eager tobestow, we are eager to receive. Let the fire fall. Let the baptismcontinue. Let the divisions result. Anything you give us is of greatervalue than anything the world could substitute for it. 26

24. VALUE CONFLICTS What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight (Luke16:15). Jesus spoke these words to Pharisees \"who loved money.\" Guiltyof mammon-worship, they compounded that guilt by parading theirwealth as proof of divine favor. All disciples need to hear what Jesus said to the Pharisees.Earlier he warned his followers against hypocrisy and greed. We needthese warnings, for the temptation to adopt the world's value system isalways present. To be holy involves the rejection of whatever the world approvesbut the Lord condemns. Such rejection of the world may lead toconflict and suffering. It was these very money-loving religionists whohounded Jesus to death. We must be willing to adopt his values andplay by his rules at any cost. To be holy, we must earn money honestly and spend moneyunselfishly. The Lord’s service and people's needs must have priorityover our comfort and pleasure. Self-giving, not self-indulgence, is thelaw of Christ’s kingdom. When a man gets rich, the world applauds his \"success.\" Jesusmay brand him \"Fool\" (Luke 12:20). He warns us bluntly, \"Youcannot serve both God and Money\" (Matthew 6:24). Help us, O Lord,to make money our servant and not our master. 27

25. OBEDIENCE AND CLEANSING As they went they were healed (Luke 17:14). Ten lepers headed for temples and priests. Meeting othertravelers they lifted their hands and started to cry in warning,\"Unclean!\" To their amazement and joy, their once corrupt flesh wasnow whole and healthy. Jesus had commanded, \"Go, show yourselvesto the priests,\" and \"as they went they were healed.\" Cleansing from sin does not occur apart from obedience. Jesusdoes not heal the rebellious or the indifferent. In doing his will we arecleansed and kept clean. We have no power over our own corruption.We can only pray, as did these lepers, for his marvelous combination ofmastery and mercy. That mercy will be shown and that mastery will beexercised, however, only when we are obedient to his commands. Cleansing should issue in praise and thanksgiving. How sad thatonly one leper returned to fall at Jesus’ feet in grateful praise. We want to be like that one. Let our hearts be filled with praise toJesus, for his pity and power make possible our deliverance from sinand death. Let us never forget how helpless and desperate we were, andhow gracious and mighty he was and is. 28

26. INVOLUNTARY CROSSES As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was onhis way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carryit behind Jesus (Luke 23:26). Jesus called upon his disciples to carry their crosses and followhim. The cross we voluntarily accept identifies us as his followers(9:27). It shows that we love him more than life itself; that we love himenough to live for him when it means that we must also die for him. Thevoluntary acceptance of a cross is the personal Gethsemane-decision ofhis disciples. We say to him what he said to the Father: \"Not my willbut yours be done.\" But what of the crosses that we are compelled to bear? Simon didnot choose to carry the cross; he was forced to do it by brutal soldiers.There are occasions when we are compelled to do what we did notchoose to do, compelled by harsh men or cruel circumstances to carryburdens we had no intention of carrying. Perhaps nothing so tests and reveals character like thecompulsions of life. The attitude we adopt in such circumstances willeither enrich or embitter us. We know how Simon reacted, and wemust bear such crosses in uncomplaining love. The Lord will teach us toaccept without grumbling whatever he allows as well as what heimposes. He allows bad things to happen to his people, but in what hedoes and what he allows, our Lord has a wise and loving purpose. 29

27. RESPONSE TO INJURY Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing(Luke 23:34). The Lord’s prayer from the cross is the noblest expression ofholiness we can imagine. He so loved his heartless tormentors that heprayed, not for their well-deserved judgment, but for their undeservedpardon. Perhaps nothing tests holiness like the cruelties deliberatelyinflicted by taunting foes. Sometimes people are inadvertently cruel,and that is hard to forgive. Forgiveness is much harder when they areintentionally cruel. The Lord teaches us by precept and example that hatred can beanswered with love. Our response to injury is not dictated by thenature or degree or cause of the injury. It is determined by the qualityof our inner lives, not by the quality of our outward circumstances. TheLord enables us to love and bless and pray for those who inflict thedeepest and cruelest hurts upon us. The cross of Christ was our condemnation, but that cross is alsoour transformation. His love took captive our lives. Those who hurt us may never know how great his love is untilthey see it reflected in our patient and pardoning love. This day may bring insult and injury to us because we followJesus. If so, he will help us to answer meanness with kindness as he didwhen he voiced this gracious prayer from a bloody cross. 30

28. SATISFACTION AND SERVICE ...Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, \"If a man is thirsty, let himcome to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said,streams of living water will flow from within him.\" By this he meant theSpirit... (John 7:37-39). Jesus teaches us that the Spirit satisfies. He slakes our thirst forJesus. Jesus cannot come any closer to us than to live in us by theperson and power of the Spirit. He dwells in us as \"streams of livingwater\"--not occasional, refreshing \"showers of blessing,\" but as asteady, ceaseless flow of life-giving, thirst-quenching water. It is the Spirit who satisfies not his gifts and blessings. We thirstfor him, not for them. They are \"the icing on the cake,\" but he is thecake. We want the giver, not just the gifts. We want the blesser, notjust the blessings. We do not disparage the value of his gifts andblessings but they do not quench our thirst. He does. As Jesus also teaches, the Spirit-filled life is service-oriented. TheSpirit not only flows within, he flows from within. He fills us to gobeyond ourselves, to reach others that he may be their life too. TheSpirit-filled cannot be selfish. Where he flows he overflows. And wherehe overflows, healing and cleansing and usefulness result. May your Spirit flow to us and from us, O Lord! What youpromised \"in a loud voice\" let us possess in quiet faith. 31

29. MADE MORE FRUITFUL He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while everybranch that does bear fruit he trims clean so that it will be even morefruitful (John 15:2). We were grafted into Jesus as branches into the vine when wewere \"born of the Spirit.\" From that moment we began to bear \"thefruit of the Spirit\" which is love, a love like that of Jesus. As we abide in him the fruitage increases, but growing in love ishindered by our inner corruption. We deplore the corruption but wecan not rid ourselves of it. We want to love Jesus as he has commanded.We want to love our brothers and sisters and neighbors; we want to loveeven our enemies, but above all we want to love Jesus with all ourhearts. The sin that has polluted and poisoned us frustrates our effortsto translate his commands into our deeds. We look to \"the gardener.\" We call upon the Father in Jesus’name for inner cleansing. He responds in love and with power. Hebaptizes us with the Spirit, purging us from sin and enabling us to serve.He holds us steady and keeps us true. Pure love slowly becomes maturelove. For the victory wrought by God’s grace we give him our praise. 32

30. \"SANCTIFY THEM\"\ Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth (John 17:17). The Lord’s people are in the world but not of the world. They arein the world to serve the world, not because the world wants them butbecause the world needs them. To protect them from \"the evil one,\"and to empower them for mission, Jesus prayed that the Father would\"sanctify them\" by his word and truth. Jesus does not will to take us out of the world but to take theworld out of us. He does not will to isolate us from the world but toinsulate us against the world. We are to possess an inward power thatexceeds our outward pressures. So far from collapsing, we are toconquer. The Father makes us holy \"by the truth.\" By the word he spokein Jesus, by the word he inspired as Scripture, by the word proclaimedas gospel, he makes his people holy. Thus they overcome the world;thus they achieve their mission. Holiness is not self-produced or self-contained. It is wrought byGod’s word so \"that the world may believe\" and \"that the world mayknow\" of his salvation. The apostle Paul echoed Jesus’ prayer for the sanctifying of hispeople. We add our feeble but earnest intercession today. 33

31. IN GOD’S HANDS Jesus answered, \"You would have no power over me if it were notgiven to you from above\" (John 19:11). Pilate boasted of power to free or to kill Jesus but the Lord wasunimpressed. Jesus knew that he was in the hands of the Father, not inthe hands of blind fate or capricious rulers. We need to learn this lesson if we are to be his holy servants in anunholy society. On a collision course with the world's maxims andvalues, we can expect trouble and suffering. We cannot escape injustice.At times it will seem that we are helpless victims of evil persons andsystems. If we are doing his work, however, the Lord Jesus is in chargeof our lives. He may demand ultimate sacrifice of us while sparing others. Hemay allow terrible things to happen that we cannot understand. Evenso, we do not stand before evil forces abandoned. He is with us and forus, whatever is happening to us. Only by his permission and within hisrestrictions can wicked powers operate. We belong to the highest kingdom and the mightiest king. Amidsttumbling walls and collapsing dreams we can trust his wisdom, powerand love. Jesus, and not the Pilates of this world, will determine ourdestiny. Our allegiance is to him and our security is in him. We havepeace when the storms are raging and our lives are threatened. Amen. 34

32. PEACE, PURPOSE, POWER ...Jesus said, \"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I amsending you.\" And with that he breathed on them and said, \"Receive theHoly Spirit\" (John 20:21-22), Peace is wholeness and our wholeness came at the cost of theLord’s brokenness. His cross-scarred hands and side will foreverremind us that our peace with God, with others and with ourselvescame at the cost of his atoning death. The scars that he bears areeternal witnesses to the stupendous events of incarnation, crucifixionand resurrection, the mighty acts of God on behalf of lost humanity. With his gift of peace comes also a gift of purpose. We are sent byhim as he was sent by the Father. \"The Father has sent his Son to bethe Savior of the world.\" The Son has sent the church to herald thatsalvation. We are sent to share the grand mission of telling others ofhim and the peace he gives. For that purpose we need power, and he also gives power. Hesaid, \"Receive the Holy Spirit.\" We hear that as personal address. Wehear that as promise. We know from Acts 2:17 that his gift of power isfor men and women, for old and young. We claim that promise anewtoday. In his power we will share his purpose and enjoy his peace. 35

33. LOVE’S VALIDATION Jesus said to Simon Peter, \"Simon, son of John, do you truly loveme more than these?\" \"Yes, Lord, he said, \"you know that I love you\"(John 21:15). We learn what it means to “truly love” the Lord from hisconversation with Peter at their historic lakeshore breakfast. True love means service to the Lord’s people. Each time Peteraffirmed his love Jesus told him to tend and feed his sheep. Jesus needsnothing from us but his people do. In loving and serving them we areloving and serving him. True love means suffering for the Lord’s cause. Peter was toldthat in his old age he would be put to death for Jesus. We do not seeksuffering for its own sake. That would be a sickness. Loving Jesusenough to bear the cross, enough to live and die for him, that is holiness. True love means submission to the Lord’s will in life's apparentinequities. Peter would be martyred, John would not, but in the face ofthat difference Jesus commanded Peter, \"Follow me.\" Our onebusiness is to follow him whether or not we can understand what ishappening to us and to others. True love is more than intense feeling. It is commitment to Jesusin the face of whatever work and hurt we are called to endure. 36

34. THE PROMISE SUPREME But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; andyou will be my witnesses... (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit empowers the witness of Jesus’ disciples. Hesupplies the caring and daring energy that allows them to speak whenfacing hostile opposition or passive indifference. Only the Spirit-filledwill persist as witnesses when confronted with the world's heat or cold. The Spirit is positive power for a good news mission. His messageis the gospel, an event-centered message capable of delivering from sinand uniting to God all who believe. He tells the world through thechurch that Jesus has provided a breakout for those trapped in a cycleof sin, guilt and death. He is continual power for ongoing, wide-spreading global mission.There are no power outages where he is concerned. The broadcast ofthe gospel is never interrupted or discontinued for lack of energy. The Lord never made a more important promise, for the Spirit isindispensable to the life and work of Jesus’ followers. Without him wecan speak, but not convincingly. Without him churches can grow, butonly cancerously. Without him we would have no life, no health, nomission and no success. Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of the Holy Spirit. 37

35. \"ALL OF THEM\" All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). \"All of them\" included the twelve disciples who headed thechurch, the mother and brothers of Jesus, and scores of unnamed menand women of various ages. This tells us that everyone can and mustshare the mission of Jesus’ church. There is work for all to do andpower for all to receive. The urgency and scope of the task demands thecontribution of each believer. One Lord, one church, one mission, but a huge variety of workersand talents are employed by that one Lord, enlisted in that one missionand energized by the Spirit. Such is the meaning, essentially, of thePentecostal experience. The Spirit teaches Christians to live as Jesus’ servants and as thechurch's fellow-servants. He enables them to rejoice in each other'ssuccesses and to sympathize with each other's defeats. They serve themission as brothers and sisters, not competitors. By him they are eachunited with Christ and with one another. The signs that attended the Spirit's coming at Pentecost--the wind,fire and tongues--we do not need and do not seek. The reality of hiscleansing and energizing fullness, this we must always have. This theLord delights to bestow and we rejoice to accept. 38

36. THE SPIRIT AS GIFT We are witnesses of these things, and so the Holy Spirit, whom Godhas given to those who obey him (Acts 5:32). The Holy Spirit is God’s gift. In giving him, God gives himself.He is the eternal and gracious giver. He gave his only Son for us. Hegave his Holy Spirit to us. Having given them, it is evident that he willgive all else necessary for our salvation and service. The greaterincludes the lesser. The Holy Spirit is a practical gift. God gives him, not to producean emotional binge, but to empower a vital mission. He is our power forwitnessing. He testifies of God’s saving acts in Jesus. This is thechurch's witness also. The witness of the Spirit and the witness of thechurch are one. He witnesses through us. If we are silent the witnessingdoesn't get done. We are commissioned to speak of Jesus in the Spirit'spower. The Holy Spirit is a conditioned gift. He is given to those whoobey God. When the world commanded the apostles to be silent theyrefused. They were under higher orders to speak. Only by obeyingGod could they continue to be Spirit-filled and Spirit-led. Do we desireto live and work always in the Spirit's power? Then we must obeyJesus, whatever the world’s reaction to our mission. God’s gifts are abundant, and all of them are good. The best of allis his gift of the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote, “Now the Lord is the Spirit.”In giving the Spirit, God gives himself. 39

37. WORTH SUFFERING FOR The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had beencounted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in thetemple and from house to house, they never stopped teaching andproclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ (Acts 5:41). We are impressed by the number of times suffering is paired withjoy in God’s word. He doesn't exempt Jesus’ followers from suffering,but he does inspire them with joy in the midst of pain. Jesus is a master worthy of our suffering. The \"Name\" for whichthe apostles suffered is \"Jesus,\" and he first suffered for them, leavingthem an example to follow. When we place our sufferings in the light ofthe cross, how few and minor they have been! To suffer for Jesus is anhonor for us. The gospel is a message worth suffering for. The \"good news\" theapostles proclaimed identifies Jesus as the savior of the world. He aloneis the answer to sin and death. To share that good news with aperishing world is worth any measure of suffering. The apostles never stopped preaching and teaching the gospel.They had a \"cease and desist\" order to muzzle their witness, but theyrefused to obey the court. They had a prior and higher order to speak,and they had a message too good to keep to themselves. Keep us busy under the same order, Lord, whatever theconsequences. 40

38. EXEMPLAR AND MARTYR While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, \"Lord Jesus, receivemy spirit.\" Then he fell on his knees and cried out, \"Lord, do not holdthis sin against them\" (Acts 7:59-60). The church’s first martyr was an example of genuine holiness. Hespoke the truth in love at the cost of his life. A discreet silence couldhave protected him, but divine love was stronger than human fear in hisheart. Heedless of the cost to himself, he witnessed to Jesus. When he was dying he prayed for his merciless tormentors. Heasked for their pardon, not their punishment. His prayer that theymight not be charged with his murder recalls Jesus’ prayer from thecross: \"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing\"(Luke 23:24). He lived and died for Jesus, not grudgingly but gladly. The secretof his fidelity and heroism is found in the words, \"Stephen, full of theHoly Spirit\" (v. 56). A man filled with the Spirit can live without hateand die without fear. He can answer abuse with love and meet deathwithout whining. Christ is his life and hope. We want to live and die in the same spirit that Stephen did. Wecannot do this of our own will. The Lord must fill us with his Spirit ifwe are to be like him in life and in death. 41

39. HEART CLEANSING ...he purified their hearts by faith (Acts 15:9). The heart's impurity is sin--a disposition to rebel against God, tobe its own god. From that sin, native to all mankind, God has provideda cleansing. This cleansing is \"through the grace of our Lord Jesus\" (v. 11). Itis his gift and not our wage. We cannot earn it; we can only receive it. The cleansing is wrought, therefore, \"by faith.\" It is received inthe moment we believe, not across a lifetime of faithfulness. Indeed,what we receive by faith makes our faithfulness possible. The Lord accomplishes this cleansing \"by giving the Holy Spirit\"(v. 8). The Spirit’s presence expels sin as light expels darkness. Hisfullness produces a love that submits and serves, a love that honorsJesus as Lord. This cleansing is mediated through \"the message of the gospel\" (v.7). The word God sent is what we believe in order to be purified inheart. A message that does not proclaim the possibility of suchcleansing is a defective gospel. We praise the Lord, for this heart cleansing. We praise him formaking us messengers of his provision, promise and power to cleansefrom all sin. We pray that he will keep us faithful to this truth, to thistrust, to this task and to this triumph. 42

40. A VITAL QUESTION Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? (Acts 19:2). All believers are born of the Spirit, but all who are born of theSpirit are not filled with the Spirit. Luke does not question theauthentic Christian faith of these men accosted by Paul. He calls them\"disciples,\" his uniform designation for Christians. Nor does Paulquestion the reality of their faith in Christ. His question assumes it. All the Lord’s people need to be Spirit-filled. They are called to alife and a task for which he is the only adequate resource. Apart fromhis abiding fullness they cannot be effective and fruitful. Paul prayed, God answered, and those Ephesian disciples receivedthe Spirit in Pentecostal fullness. The consequences of that experience,both individually and corporately, are not related. We can be sure thatthese men were never the same again, for they now possessed a measureof spiritual energy and integrity otherwise impossible. The kind ofboldness and faithfulness that Paul evidenced was now characteristic ofthem also. In our work, we need to keep asking Paul's question and echoingPaul's prayer. We believe that the Lord will keep answering andempowering. 43

41. THE HIGHEST COMPULSION And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, notknowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city theHoly Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me (Acts20:22-23). The Spirit compels, and not always to pleasant places andapproved tasks. He often compels reluctant flesh to service that issuesin suffering. No sane person wants rejection and pain, but the followersof Jesus must risk them for the sake of someone and something greaterthan their very lives. For Paul that someone was Jesus and that something was\"testifying to the gospel of God's grace.\" To \"complete the task\" hecounted his life \"worth nothing.\" His life was to be given, not spared. We have that same task. We cannot allow life to be just \"sunshineand shuffleboard.\" We cannot live for ourselves. We must live forJesus, and living for him means living for those for whom he gave hislife. The Spirit compels us to serve them even when service bringssuffering. Wherever our mission takes us and whatever it costs us, let us befaithful. The world tries to compel us to self-indulgence. The Spiritcompels us to self-investment. By God’s grace we will yield to hiscompulsion, not to theirs. 44

42. THE WORD OF GRACE Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which canbuild you up and give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified(Acts 20:32). Committed to God! That is the secret of every holy life. Otherscan commit us to Jesus as a pious wish, as Paul did the Ephesian elders.Commitment to him is actualized only when we choose to be committed.By his grace, we do. To be committed to God is to be informed and reformed by the\"word of his grace.\" His word shapes the thoughts and actions of allwho study it with full intention of obeying it. The \"word of his grace\" is our means of growth. It builds us up.The wisdom of the world would tear us down. Our choice is betweenconstruction and destruction. The ‘word of his grace\" is our passport to glory. It reveals aglorious inheritance for all who follow Jesus. This can be nothing lessthan heaven, a holy place prepared for a holy people. The \"word of grace\" makes us gracious. Governed by it, we donot covet another's wealth or exploit another’s labor. Instead, we workhonestly and share generously. His word is the death knell of selfishliving. 45

43. A TOUGH ASSIGNMENT When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, \"The Lord'swill be done\" (Acts 21:14). The tears of his friends broke Paul's heart but could not break hiswill. He was committed to the Lord’s will, though it would cost aprisoner’s cell and a martyr's death. Unable to dissuade him, thefriends joined him in an unshakable commitment to the Lord’s will. Such “giving up” is one of the severest trials of the consecratedlife. We can more readily accept suffering for ourselves than for ourloved ones. To consent to distance from them and to danger for them ishard. However, if we and they are to maintain allegiance to Jesus,human affections must yield to divine purposes. Our love would too quickly spare loved ones from the service theyshould render because of the suffering that service might impose. Weneed to believe that what God wills for our families and friends is rightand best. He loves them more than we can, and his love is more clear-eyed than ours. Jesus is Lord and the only acceptable response to hislordship is, \"The Lord's will be done.\" In our lives and in the lives of our loved ones, may the Lord’s willbe done at all times, in all places and in all events. Amen. 46

44. TROUBLEMAKERS We have found this man to be a troublemaker... a ringleader of theNazarene sect (Acts 24:5). The church of Jesus Christ has often been regarded as apestiferous sect, to be ignored when possible, to be swatted when itcannot be ignored, as are mosquitoes. We sincerely hope that we havebeen, and will continue to be, troublemakers in the eyes of those whoreject Christ and contend for evil. With our faces set againstwrongdoing, to be called troublemakers is not an insult but acompliment. We want to live as opponents of all who oppose Jesus. Whereverthe devil’s business is being done, and by whomever it is being done, wewant to be bad for the business. We want to oppose the deeds of wickedpersons with the words of a holy God. Drugs, liquor, murder,pornography, prostitution, gambling, embezzlement, burglary--we wantto stand and speak against them all. We must oppose idolatry andimmorality. We must object to all crimes and lend support to all whoseek justice. Holy persons cannot stand idly by when evil is rampant andmartyrs are numerous. We must be voices for the downtrodden anddefenseless. We must support reform movements when they are trueand righteous. We cannot afford moral compromise for the sake ofdodging persecution. Lord, help us to always be troublemakers for mischief makers. 47

45. CALLED AND CALLER Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apartfor the gospel of God…. And you are among those who are called tobelong to Jesus Christ…. To all in Rome who are loved by God and calledto be saints (Romans 1:1, 6, 7). “Called to be an apostle.” “Called to belong to Jesus.” “Called tobe saints.” Obviously, calling was a major concept in Paul’s experienceand ministry. It should be important to us also. The Lord has called us to be his, to be his servants in the spread ofthe gospel. We live in a world filled with pain, grief and violencebecause of sin, greed and hatred. It is the world Jesus loved and forwhich he died. It is the world into which he sends his servants with thegood news of his saving purpose and power. He has sent us into the world with the gospel. While we must be“in the world,” we must not be “of the world.” He calls his servants “tobe saints,” to be holy persons, to be “set apart for the gospel.” Called tobelong to Jesus, we are also called to be like Jesus. We are called and therefore we are callers. Like Paul we “callpeople…to the obedience that comes from faith.” Each day, as weengage a lost world, we must remember that we are called to holinessand to helpfulness because we belong to Jesus. Before we are anyoneelse or do anything else, we are his servants. 48

46. DEAD AND ALIVE In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God inChrist Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that youobey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, asinstruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as thosewho have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your bodyto him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master,because you are not under law, but under grace (Romans 6:11-14). We are not autonomous persons. Such persons do not exist.Everyone has a master, either sin or the savior. We choose our master.We will offer our bodies to Christ or to sin, and the choice is not oncefor all. It doesn’t operate magically or mechanically. It must bereaffirmed each time we are tempted to sin and each time we are tappedfor Christ’s service. What Paul writes about here is a continuingprocess. If we are “under law,” sin will master us, for law can define sinbut cannot deliver from sin. Law conveys no power for our obedienceto Christ. If we are “under grace,” Christ will master us, for his graceprovides our justification and sanctification. Paul writes elsewhere of“the grace of God that brings salvation.” Grace conquers sin and inspires service to the giver of grace. We do not know what persons and situations we may meet today.At each day’s threshold, therefore, we should count ourselves “dead tosin but alive to God.” To the world’s allure we must choose to be non-responsive corpses. To Jesus’ commands we must choose to beresponsive, obedient servants. Those choices we must reaffirm as oftenas necessary throughout the day. 49

47. A LIVING SACRIFICE Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offeryour bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is yourspiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of thisworld, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will beable to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfectwill (Romans 12:1-2). Because Jesus died for us, we can live for God. We can be livingsacrifices because he has given life to us. We have been reborn. Ourlives can now be offered to God for service to others. We are urged to offer ourselves, and because we can do it we mustdo it. We are compelled by the mercy God has shown us to spend andbe spent in lives of service. We must seek ways and means of makinghis mercy known to others. We once conformed to “the pattern of this world.” We weredeliverance from that pattern by the transformation of our minds. Godchanged us inwardly and outwardly. Now we can do his “good, pleasingand perfect will,” and he wills our service to human needs. Today, let us offer our bodies as living sacrifices for the mission ofmaking Jesus known to others. Let us deny the world and obey the Lord.Let us be shaped by his inward work and not by our outward events. Letus approve his will though it cost us society’s disapproval. This is holinessin action “where the rubber meets the road.” 50