by Renée N. DeGroot

“A highway shall be there, and a way,
and it shall be called The way of holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it…
but the redeemed shall walk there.”
{Isaiah 35:8-9}

This verse is from one of my favorite passages of Scripture—it is beautifully poetic and it memorably illustrates a picture of the Christian life. The way of God’s children is a path characterized by holiness for that is an attribute of God, and it is what God has called His people to become.

The Scriptures that speak of holiness reveal that it is an attribute that God gives and a virtue that God requires.

Holiness from God

“The LORD is righteous in all his ways,
and holy in all his works.”
{Psalm 145:17}

It is a fundamental of our faith that the Lord we serve is a holy God, eternally holy and holy in all of His attributes and actions. This holy God has set His love upon His children; and, what sinful being could be touched by the pure, immortal Divine without being affected, even transformed? Salvation from the Lord shows us His holiness, uncovers our filthiness, and renews us in righteousness.

The Lord enables us to follow Him, giving us a new name and a new master so that we are not slaves to sin but are made lovers of righteousness. “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life” (Romans 6:22). And yet, the work is not complete. The ability is there, the desire is there, but there is need of the Lord’s command in 1 Peter 1:16:

“It is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

Jesus Christ is leading us to join Him one day in the heavenly places. He calls us His brethren, and we are to “be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). Pursuing holiness will not change our status in His eyes, because His children have been chosen by no merit of our own and graciously redeemed by His blood. However, we want to be holy because He makes us holy, He commands us to be holy, and He is glorified when we reflect His nature. God chastens us, punishes us for our sin “for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness” (Hebrews 12:10).

In God’s holiness, He saves us. We are instructed to be like Him, for we will see Him in His holiness at the end of our journey on the narrow way. Men and women who have been given much, have much required of them (Luke 12:48). God has given us His name, and in turn, we are required to live by that name and in honor of that name. God sent holiness man-ward through His Son; we must mirror His holiness and display it to the world.

Holiness for God

So, we are made holy and we want to be holy. God’s Word tells us why… “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24).

And how, for example… “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).

And to what end… “To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints” (1 Thessalonians 3:13).

Personal holiness will please the Lord, but as it influences other parts of our lives, our relationships, our community and environment, God will continue to be glorified. More of the earth will be transformed for His name and His kingdom.

Sanctification, or the process of being made pure and holy by the work of the Holy Spirit, is both a spiritual and physical process. We are physical and spiritual beings, and salvation saves our souls as well as our bodies—both are made to conform to the Lord’s will. This concept was seen in the above verses: to “present your bodies a living sacrifice” and “stablish your hearts in holiness.”

We must first be faithful in the primary level of holiness—personal communion with God—before reaching on to the next. The Christian’s purpose should be to show a testimony of holiness to others, shining as a reflection of God’s pure holiness in everything that we are involved in. God created the earth to bring glory to Him, and the salvation from the Lord Jesus makes it possible for sinful men and women, now His children and partakers of holiness, to once again bring glory and honor to His name.

~Renée N. DeGroot
{Guest Writer}

 

by Sarah Bryant & Mrs. Donna Morgan

“Glory ye in his holy name:
let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.”
{Psalm 105:3}

Dear Sisters in the Lord,

How are you doing this new year? It is amazing to think that one month of this year has already vanished. Time is a gift that cannot ever be recaptured – it is a gift that we must invest in, as it slips through our fingers. In just a few short days we will stand at the brink of this earthly life and will stand at the entrance of an eternity with Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. James 4:14 asks,

“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.
For what is your life? It is even a vapour,
that appeareth for a little time,
and then vanisheth away.”

The things of this world will vanish and fade, but Jesus will last forever. What a day that will be when we can see Him face to face! Our God is good and is worth seeking with all of our heart. Lamentations 3:25 beautifully says, “The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.”

What do you seek this new year? Psalm 84:11 promises,

“The LORD God is a sun and shield:
the LORD will give grace and glory:
no good thing will he withhold
from them that walk uprightly.”

The Lord choses to withhold no good thing to those who earnestly seek Him, and the rewards of knowing Him are untold. He is an incredibly good God, one that surpasses our highest imaginations. Last year, as I read through the Bible, I made a list of the character of God displayed through His dealings with His people. As I reread this list recently, my heart filled with wonder! Think of all the most incredible, wonderful traits you can imagine, and then multiply that by a million – and that is our God. He’s beyond imagination; His mercy is unspeakable, undeserved, and His love will never be separated from us (Romans 8:35)!

We can never exhaust the wonder of God, even if we were to spend a thousand lifetimes seeking out His depths. A wonderful Bible mentor recently shared with me a short study she wrote of the meaning of the “Name of the LORD.” It blessed me so much that I wanted to share it with you. Every name of our God is filled with beauty and lessons to behold. May your heart be blessed as you revel in the wisdom of God before the beginning of time.

Mrs. Donna Morgan

In Exodus 3:15, God revealed His name to Moses that He intended to go down in infamy in regard to who He is.

“And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.”

He is the One who is ready to fulfill his promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:13-14  to deliver the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt. He would bring about that deliverance in the face of many obstacles by His mighty power. He would defeat every false god of Egypt along with the governing power of Egypt and its vast army.

Psalm 83 calls for God, the LORD, to conquer His enemies for one purpose. “That they may know that Thou alone, whose name is The LORD, art the Most High over all the earth” (verse 18). This word that is rendered as “LORD” in the Scriptures means “I AM” (Exodus 3:13-14). This word is derived from the Hebrew verb “to be.” This means He is the self-existing One. He, alone, is God. He, alone, has always existed and will always exist.

In Hebrew, each letter has a word-picture associated with it. The Hebrew letters for the name are transliterated into English as: “YHVH”, from the letters: “Yod, Hei, Vav, Hei.” When you look at the meaning of each letter within the name, the memorial is revealed:

Yod = Hand
Hei = Behold
Vav = Nail
Hei = Behold

“Behold the hand, behold the nail.”

The wounds of the cross had been revealed in the LORD’s Memorial Name long before the nails pierced His hands and feet. His Name is a memorial to the suffering He endured to set us free. His memorial name will stand forever in the person of Jesus Christ.*

Note: Walk Through The Bible, Aaron Robin

“And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”
(John 20:26-29)

This one look at the name of our LORD is unspeakably beautiful! To know that God, in the very title He gave Himself, fortold the Gospel – the sacrificial Lamb Who would be given as a sacrifice, Jesus Christ – this is so amazing! It is my desire to encourage you to seek the Lord, to delve into His truths, and to know His innumerable character traits through the Word this year. Stand in awe of His glory and His wisdom and His love. Be enraptured by Christ. This alone will transform your life, for 2 Corinthians 3:18 says that as we do, “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” You shall be transformed by His glory as you gaze into His face!

Seeking the Faithful One,

Editor of The King’s Blooming Rose

by Christina Book

“One thing is needful:
and Mary hath chosen that good part,
which shall not be taken away from her.”
{Luke 10:42}

Mary was sweeping the front step, humming a sweet tune. She looked up when she heard voices and shielded her eyes from the blazing sun in order to see who was approaching their house.

“Martha,” she called as she stepped inside, “there are travelers coming to our home.”

Martha pushed a few stray curls out of her face with a little “humph”. “We don’t need visitors right now,” she thought, thinking of all the tasks at hand. But she took off her apron and went to welcome their visitors at the door. “Come in, you must be tired–” Martha’s voice trailed away as she looked into the face of the man leading the group.

“Martha, do you know me?” He asked.

“Yes, Lord,” she answered, realizing that this was Jesus, the Messiah she had heard so much about. No one could look into His face without knowing Him. A thousand thoughts raced through Martha’s mind in a moment. “Everything must be perfect. I’ll clean, cook, bake…Oh, there is much to be done.”

While Martha’s mind was racing, Mary was bowing at the feet of Jesus. “My Lord and Master,” she said, love and admiration apparent in her voice.

Jesus and His followers entered the house and were soon comfortably seated in the front room. Martha hurried away, thinking of the marvelous dinner she would serve to Jesus. Mary sat at His feet, her thoughts only of Him.

Jesus’ teaching, as usual, encouraged all who heard His precious voice speak truths to their hearts. Mary basked in His presence, for there was nothing she would rather do. She listened intently to every word that came from His lips and treasured up His teachings in her heart. Martha, on the other hand, was busily slamming pots and pans on the stove, filling cups with cool water, baking bread, and washing vegetables. She glanced into the front room several times, muttering under her breath about her inconsiderate sister who forgot all about making dinner for their guests.

As Martha grew tired and hot, she lost her temper. She was fuming when she entered the room. “Lord,” she addressed Jesus, “do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”

Jesus looked tenderly into the faces of both Mary and Martha. He knew they each loved Him, but had shown their love for Him in different ways. “Martha, Martha,” He began, “you are troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Martha moved slowly to sit beside her sister, never taking her eyes off that wonderful face.

(Adapted from Luke 10:38-42)

 The story of Mary and Martha is a beautiful reminder of what it means to be still before the Lord and how important it is to sit at His feet, listening, loving, and learning from Him. It’s easy to be like Martha, working so eagerly serve the Lord that we forget the importance of sitting quietly and learning from Him. We are called to be faithful servants of the Lord, but when we fail to spend time being filled by the Lord and His Word, our vessels of living water will run dry. “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37b-38) We are unable to bless and serve others when our hearts are not delighting in Jesus and His precious presence. Psalm 46:10 says: “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” God is honored when we quiet our hearts before Him, like Mary did, by His grace. Two simple, yet important aspects of being still before the Lord are resting in Him and delighting in His presence.

Being still before the Lord isn’t merely sitting quietly, but it is also resting our hearts completely in Him, by His grace working in us. As Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, she had no other thought but of her Lord. He was the One who drew her heart into perfect worship of Himself. Mary couldn’t do this on her own, but God did this work in her heart. “I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5) As Mary abided in Christ and He worked through her, she was undistracted and completely one-minded. We have much to think about, much to complete, and many ways to serve the Lord, but there comes a time when we must simply rest in Jesus Christ, just as Mary did. Jesus tells us, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) Jesus is the only one who can give us true rest and it is only God’s peace that brings us the sweetest stillness of heart: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (Isaiah 26:3) Perfect peace comes from being like Mary, whose one thought was to be with the Lord. Her mind was fully set on Him and His words. Resting in the Lord is something that comes from knowing, trusting and waiting on Him. He is faithful to guide us to find His peace. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Another encompassing aspect of being still is delighting the presence of the Lord. Psalm 16:11 says, “Thou wilt shew me the path of life; in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” Jesus’ presence was the “completeness” of Mary’s delight. Just to be with Him was her joy and we can imagine that there was such a happy light in her eyes as He spoke. There is nothing more precious or heavenly than spending time with the Lord through reading His Word and praying. It’s easy to get caught up with life, like Martha, and forget that being in His presence is pure bliss. But the Lord guides us ever closer to Him, as He did with Mary. David had a heart that loved being in the presence Lord as much as Mary: “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple.” (Psalm 27:4) David’s main goal and desire was to be with the Lord and to seek Him. It will be so wonderful to be in heaven with Jesus one day, but for now, we can have a taste of that precious communion with Him through just being still before Him. Only Christ’s grace upon our lives can cause us to truly enjoy and delight in time with Him, but as we wait on Him and seek Him, He will satisfy us in His presence. “Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (Psalm 37:4) Just as Jesus fulfilled Mary’s heart and made her content in Him, He will also fulfill every desire of our hearts in His presence as we are quiet and still before His throne.

Mary’s and Martha’s examples have much to teach us about the joy of being still before the Lord. By resting fully in Him and delighting in the joy of His presence, we honor and worship the Lord, find the rest and peace we need, and God gives us the strength to press on to serve Him more. By grace alone through faith, let us listen and obey this call from the Lord: “Be still and know that I am God.”

~Christina Book
{Guest Writer}

NOTE from the Editors: As we enter 2013, we would like to invite you to contribute an article for our monthly forum. You can contact us here for more information.

by Maggie Ree

“As he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
{Proverbs 23:7} 

The heart. A simple little drawing of a heart is so powerful because it conveys the meaning of love toward others. In fact, when I was a little girl I was indeed very disappointed when I found out that a real heart didn’t look anything like it did when I drew one! The real human heart is one of the body’s most important organs and it is the heart that is responsible for keeping our blood moving through the body regularly.

All through the Bible the “heart” is referred to, but is it referring to our physical heart? After all, how could one of our body’s physical organs do any wrong? The heart that the Scriptures refer to is our spiritual heart…and our spiritual heart really makes up who we are inside. Just as our bodily heart pumps precious life blood through our whole being, our spiritual heart pumps its contents all through us and through our mind. This is why it is so important to have a clean heart – our whole outlook on life will be directed by what it contains.

It is so important that we examine ourselves and take a close look at our hearts to see what they contain. In 1 Corinthians 11:28 it says, “let a man examine himself,” and though this verse is expressly talking of the Lord’s Supper, it would be a wonderful thing if each of us determines to examine ourselves on a regular basis. Do you see anger or love in your heart? Gentleness or an unkind spirit? The contents of our spiritual heart don’t just stay locked up inside us, but they are responsible for our actions, our thoughts, our speech. Thus, by looking at our actions, thoughts and speech, the contents of our heart is quickly discovered. Jesus says in Matthew 15, verses 18-20, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man.” After such an assessment, it may be that we need to cry out to Him with the words of the Psalmist:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God.”

As we ask His forgiveness and seek a clean heart, don’t stop there. Seek to fill your heart again, only this time with Him. In Matthew 13, verses 43-45, Jesus tells the story of an unclean spirit that is cast out of a man and goes into dry places, seeking rest, but finding none. Finally he says, “I will return to my house from which I came.” He returns to that same man and finds him swept clean and in order, but…empty. So the spirit reenters the man with seven other spirits more wicked than himself, so that poor man is much worse off than he was to start. It isn’t just important to ask the Lord to give you a clean heart, but a heart filled with Him. So full that it can make room for nothing else.

It is also important that we clear our hearts of any grudges toward other people. If someone makes you upset or if you wrong someone, do your best to make quick amends. Don’t give sin a place to root in your heart, because, just like a nasty weed in your garden, one angry thought or word can lead to another until your whole heart is filled up. Rooting these things out speedily and healing your friendship will put your heart at peace again.

“For the Lord does not see as man sees;
for man looks at the outward appearance,
but the Lord looks at the heart.”
{1 Samuel 16:7}

Would the Lord be welcome to see everything that is in your heart? If not, don’t waste another second, but come to Him now, casting yourself at His throne. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). May the Lord bless you!

~Maggie Bullington
{Guest Writer}

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