About
There are days when I think I’m doing okay in my pursuit of holiness. Other days, I find myself in the dirt, grit between my teeth, and the mud and crud of life all over my less-than-saintly face.
It makes me wonder if Peter, the impulsive prophet, engaged in wishful thinking when he restated God’s call from Leviticus, that we’re to be holy, just as our heavenly Father is holy (1 Peter 1:16). Yet, Ian Thomas, a sweet-spirited, obedient man of God, says this call to holiness is a perfectly reasonable request.
It’s perfectly reasonable because God makes us holy; none of our efforts, no matter how well-intentioned, make us holy. It is from God, through God, and by God alone.
The wise and ancient prophet, Isaiah, explains how this works through his vision of heaven, where an angel-seraph sings out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; his glory fills the whole earth.”
Isaiah responds, “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, [and] because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts” (Isaiah 6:3, 5 HCSB).
This response is from one of the greatest among Israel’s prophets, yet, when Isaiah steps closer toward God’s holy light, he sees the pitiful and filthy condition of all the good he’s ever done. His righteous acts, done in the name of God, look like filthy rags compared to God’s holy wardrobe. (Isaiah 64:6).
Isaiah cries, in effect, “I am ruined; I cannot match your holiness, Lord.”
Just then, one of the angel-seraphs flies to Isaiah with a glowing hot coal from heaven’s altar. He touches it to Isaiah’s lips and says, “Now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, and your sin is atoned for.” (Isaiah 6:7 HCSB)
The thing to remember today – and forever – is that God initiates your cleansing; God does the cleansing; and God will complete the cleansing as you submit to the work of the Holy Spirit.
All this to say – GraceCreates is our simple venue for teaching the Good News that we were created to let God work through us, not for us to work, or live, independent of him. We can’t reach God’s standards by cleaning ourselves up, or by serving 24/7. Only God can do the work for us that will re-create us holy. Our sufficiency is in Christ, and nothing else. We can’t, but God can.
No doubt you’re wondering about us – As the resident writer at GraceCreates, I wrote “The Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotionals.” Over the past decade, I’ve worked with Rick Warren, through Saddleback Church, Purpose Driven Ministries, and Pastors.com. I was the founding editor for “Rick Warren’s Ministry ToolBox,” and a very few of you may know me as the former editor-in-chief of HomeLife magazine, published by LifeWay Christian Resources.
But this site wouldn’t exist without a team, and ours includes my wife, Sherry, and two good friends who served with me at Purpose Driven Ministries: Katie Persinger and Mark Kelly.
By God’s Grace,
Jon Walker
