Fight, my brothers and sisters, for your purity!!!!!

Joel 2:13 and 14 says this, "Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing—grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God."

These verses were talking about Israel right before it was taken into captivity. Israel was in a state of religiosity. The people would say they believed and followed God with their mouth but not honor Him with their words or actions or most importantly with their hearts. America and many other countries are doing the same thing. We proclaim that we are Christians but we live sinful lives! Sin is gross, nasty, disgusting. God is not ok with it.

Why did Israel go in to captivity? It was because of sin. I ask you if God sent the Israelites out of the land because of sin what might happen to American or any other country because of their sin? America or anywhere else is not more important that their sins would be over looked.
Even as believers we will still be punished for the nasty sins in our life. Do not become passive about the sins in your life my brothers and sisters. We have to do something about the sin in our life.

This passage of scripture, is to a church, the people of God that already believed in Jesus as their messiah. Put aside the theology for a moment, the puzzling idea of whether we can or cannot lose our salvation. Read this:

Revelation 3:14-16
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

Webster defines lukewarm as “1 : moderately warm : tepid; 2 : lacking conviction : halfhearted.
God will weed out those who are lukewarm. DO not be lukewarm

Also found in revelation written to another church, body of believers is Revelation 3:1-2
"To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.”

Are you asleep? Are you ignoring your God? Are you allowing the sin that are in you life to rule? It does not matter how small there are get rid of them.

What are sins? What does God hate? These are a few verses that give the idea.

Corinthians 6:9-11. It reads as such: “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offender’s nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

Galatians 5: 19-21 which states, “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God,” then that person is in a place that requires correction."

If there is any sin in our life to any degree, get rid of it! We serve a Holy, sinless God. He can not stand Sin! Fight, my brothers and sisters, for your purity!!!!!

"lukewarm." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010.
Merriam-Webster Online. 8 May 2010

Hineni

Daniel 1:8-9 “But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king's choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials…”

What does it mean that “Daniel made up his mind”? In another version of this verse it says, “Daniel purposed in his heart…” Daniel decided, Daniel selected; are all phrases of want and choice. In my life I wish I could say that when I make up my mind to do something then I am not moving. In daily life however I realize that is just not the case. I make up my mind to finish a book but two years later I still have not finished it. Why? Because other things have become more important so I changed my mind in reading the book. I say to people “I will help you; I will give up some of my time, but then substitute it with another activity.

And how many times have I done that with God? I made up my mind to do devotionals every day, but in reality I do not do them every day because I selected to replace devotional time with something else. How many times have I skipped going to congregation every week to sleep in; even though I determined as a young person to “go to church?”

Ok so I change my mind a bunch not only with people but also with God. I have termed that as unpredictable. Why is that such a problem? I find that unpredictable is also understood as halfhearted, fickle, and lukewarm. I do not want those words coupled with my relationship with people or especially God. Particularly because God has some pretty tough words given to believers that are lukewarm in Revelation 3:16 “So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.”

I was recently confronted with a word in Hebrew that real fits with this idea of purposing my heart to follow God. The word is “הִנְנִי.” It means, “Here I am.” Now when I first read this word I thought, “Self, here I am means physical presents.” "Hineni" means so much more than that. What it really means is "I am here with all of my being, physically and spiritually, ready to do what I need to do and fully present in the moment." Do I mean that when I talk to God?

What would it look like if I said hineni? What would it look like if I acted Hineni?

Daniel made up his mind to follow the ways of God. He said, “Hineni” Even in the worst circumstances. He was in the middle of an enemy country. He could have been killed for going against the enemy. God however knew his heart and He gave him favor. “Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials…” It seems that it is always a positive outcome when you give all of yourself to God. When I write this my response is like “self, it does not always have a positive outcome what about the people that die for their faith? They died because they gave all they had to God. They died for their faith.” Daniel could have died, but wait if Daniel died it would have been a positive outcome too. He would have been with yeshua instantly and forever. That is really positive.

When I say “Hineni”, it will have a positive outcome. If I say “Hineni” to God, He can use me mighty just like in the story of Daniel. I would rather be used in a might way in God’s plan whatever the outcome then be lukewarm.