“The serene, silent beauty of a holy life is the most powerful influence in the world, next to the might of the Spirit of God.” (Blaise Pascal)

God wants to make one thing perfectly clear—you and me! Our Creator commands us to live a radically holy life, morally superior to the unbelieving majority. Our Savior commissioned us to represent Him to the world. We belong to our heavenly Father, and He expects us to behave like it. Light charmed us out of darkness—transformed by His might, we are inspired to make a conscious effort to stay out of dark, dingy places.

Christlikeness is not optional—it is mandatory. If we expect the holy God to walk with us, we must abstain from sin’s filth. Righteousness and wickedness are diametrically opposed. Oil and water do not mix; nor do devotees of Christ and Satan’s fans. It is impossible to wear Jesus’ name and wallow in dirt—the incompatibility of two worlds demands holiness.

An anonymous writer reminds us, “It is a mistake to suppose that God does not want us to be holy until death … God does not want us to be unholy at any time.”

Holiness is not a game—deadly consequences follow unholy living. Sin is candy laced with poison, so downplaying sin’s seriousness flirts with disaster. Our thoughts, actions, and words boomerang sooner or later—with surprising accuracy. Uncleanness kills. Defilement is fatal. Ruin falls on anyone who corrupts God’s dwelling place.

Our character is more significant than our reputation. Our appearance may dazzle some, but it is inconsequential in the long run. Being good in God’s eyes is what matters. He sizes us up by our attitudes, and sees right through our holy façade.

God has made Himself at home in our heart, so we should keep it clean. He demands immaculate purity in all rooms of the palace of our inner being. The Holy Spirit is Resident Land Lord of our life—our personality is sacred space. So we should honor God by the way we use our body, including our sexuality. If we let the Spirit of Holiness control our mind, we can celebrate the victory of virtue.

Here are a few house rules for keeping our heart spiritually clean—watch out for dirt in thought life, refuse to let evil rent a room for the night, wash away lust, vacuum arrogance, mop clean materialism, sweep away slander, and dust deceit.

Christ is our Eternal House Guest—if we clean house often, we can enjoy the pleasure of His company and have greater influence on the world around us.

“You will keep the people of Israel separate from things that defile them, so they will not die as a result of defiling my Tabernacle that is right there among them.” (Leviticus 15:31 NLT)

Johnny R. Almond

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity

[This devotion based on Day 66 of Gentle Whispers]

Interim Pastor, Nomini Baptist Church; Montross, Virginia

Blog http://GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized.com/

“True joy is the earnest which we have of heaven, it is the treasure of the soul, and therefore should be laid in a safe place, and nothing in this world is safe to place it in.” (John Donne, Sermons, 1624)

God has given us a recipe for living joyfully. If we ignore heaven’s instructions, we pay an awful price in heartbreak coin. God frowns on haphazard living and smiles on conscientiousness. When we submit to Holy Spirit directions, joy floods our inner being.

Forgiveness precedes joy. A guilty conscience spoils life. Confession and repentance brings pardon, enabling us to get up off the floor and stand tall. Unburdened, we can run with a spring in our step.

Focus is an essential ingredient to experience joy. Without a goal, we are a tumbleweed in capricious winds. Ecstasy unknown on plains of egocentricity is found on heights of dedication. Aimlessness and apathy go together; so do purpose and enthusiasm.

Thankfulness is a third component essential to joy. When we are grumbly hateful, sourness clouds the day; when we are humbly grateful, good attitude brightens the day with sunshine.

Friendship with Jehovah is a fourth element critical to joy. Our eternal Friend sustains us every mile of our odyssey. Aware of His Presence, we can whistle in the dark, and sing through the storms.  “And He walks with me and He talks with Me, and He tells me I am His own; And the joy we share as we tarry there none other has ever known.” (C. Austin Miles)

“Fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fire on the altar. When the people saw all this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground.” (Leviticus 9:24 NLT)

Johnny R. Almond

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity

[This devotion based on Day 64 of Gentle Whispers]

Interim Pastor, Nomini Baptist Church; Montross, Virginia

Blog http://GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized.com/

“Rest and be thankful.” (Inscription on stone seat in the Scottish Highlands; title of one of Wordsworth’s poems)

“Present your peace offering as a thanksgiving offering.” (Leviticus 7:12)

Faith is the key that started the powerful grace engine in our life. God knows all about our egocentricity, judgmentalism, pessimism, and impatience—yet still loves us unconditionally. With our first toddling step of childlike faith, God made us everlastingly His. Marveling at grace, we will be eternally grateful.

To counteract loneliness, God gives us a home. Husband, wife, son, daughter, mother, father, brother, sister—all are heaven’s idea. Unique personalities enrich life. Celebrating God’s love, we will be more loving.

All around us are reasons for gratitude—creation’s beauty, God’s eternal Word, human voices, delicious food, the wake-up smell of coffee, friendly hugs of love, the Holy Spirit prompting our conscience. Pondering God’s goodness, our heart will sing for joy.

God gives us purpose for living. We are His work of art. Focusing on honoring our Master, we will experience life’s highest significance.

God sets our table with daily bread. He gives us all we need from day to day as we prioritize His kingdom. Realizing heaven’s help, we will bow our head and give thanks.

God gives us forever. The Power that raised Jesus from the grave guarantees our bright destiny. No artist can paint heaven; no composer can write its lovely symphony. God gives us hints of glory—sunrises, flowers, butterflies, and springs. If a dove feather-brushed Earth on round trips to the nearest star until the planet wore away to nothing, eternity would just be dawning—so would our carol of praise.

God engineers circumstances in our best interest. We can count on His Invariable Presence. If we pray about everything, tell our Father what we need, and thank Him for His blessings, peace will flood our mind and heart. “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) is literally, “Come to rest.” Thankful, we can truly rest.

Johnny R. Almond

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity

[This devotion based on Day 63 of Gentle Whispers]

                                                   Interim Pastor, Nomini Baptist Church; Montross, Virginia       

“The man who finds his homeland sweet is still a tender beginner; he to whom every soil is as his native one is already strong; but he is perfect to whom the entire world is a foreign place.” (Hugo of St. Victor)

To be civic-minded is good—we naturally love our native land. To be cosmopolitan is better—we should know and care about all nations. To be Christian is best—we’re “citizens of heaven” and “temporary residents and foreigners in this world” (Philippians 3:20; 1 Peter 2:11 NLT).

Everybody else may be worried about earthly things; but we who follow Christ are not like everybody else, so we “let heaven fill our thoughts”  (Colossians 3:2 TLB). We’re different, because our heart is Christ’s throne and heaven is our eternal home.

The idea that Christians can create a permanent home in this world is a mistake. The gospel song gets it right—“This world is not my home, I’m just passing through; my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me to heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.”  (Albert E. Brumley)

At the tomb on Easter morning, the angels asked Mary, “Woman, why are you weeping?” And Jesus asked her the same question. Perhaps it’s still His question for us. Why is there still such anguish in the world? Why are we burdened so, living as though there has been no resurrection? Could it be that we’re so preoccupied with the mundane, that we think infrequently of the Messiah?

We’re wayfaring strangers in this world—listening hopefully for God’s future melody, dancing joyfully here and now by faith. Exactly what that future will look like is mysterious; but we rest assured believing that when Christ appears again, “we will be like him and see him as he is” (1 John 3:2 NLT). “God weeps with us so that we may someday laugh with him.” (Jurgen Moltmann)

At the end of the movie, Patton, the general, having commanded armies winning many battles, reflects inwardly about Roman generals returning from victory—greeted by a great procession lining the streets and cheering, vanquished troops marching in chains, strange animals brought from subjugated lands, musicians and singers celebrating his conquests, his children robed in white riding trace horses, and a slave riding with him in his chariot holding a crown for him and whispering in his ear, ”All glory is fleeting.” And so it is. The one exception is Christ’s glory awaiting us—not too good to last, an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

“When, by the gift of His infinite grace, I am accorded in heaven a place, Just to be there and to look on His face, Will through the ages be glory for me." (Charles H. Gabriel) “To dwell in that celestial land, where joys immortal flow” (John H. Stockton) will be ecstasy beyond any experience this side of heaven.

Politicians cannot fix social inequities. Philosophers cannot bring peace of mind to troubled souls. Doctors cannot find an antidote to death. Lawyers cannot legislate a preventative to crime. Warriors cannot establish lasting international peace. There’s only one hope for earth’s heartaches—the restoration of paradise by the returning, reigning Lord Jesus Christ. Heaven on earth is more than wishful thinking or a fairy tale—it is the promise of God that ultimately all will be well.

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27 NLT)

Johnny R. Almond

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity

Interim Pastor, Nomini Baptist Church; Montross, Virginia

Blog http://GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized.com/

Heaven is more than wishful thinking; it is God's promise that ultimately all will be well. Read “The Pilgrim’s Fondest Hope” on my blog at http://GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized.com/