Pursuit of Holiness

My summer at Kaleo (a Greek word, meaning 'to be called') is nearly half way over! It seems like yesterday that I flew in, met my roommates, and settled into ‘fake’ home here in Niceville. This last week I think that it has started sinking in that I’m actually in Florida, that I’m actually surrounded by these incredible people, and that I actually get to live this life!

This last Tuesday one of the staff members, Brandon, gave an incredible, rather convicting, talk on holiness. The definition given for holy was to be set aside, comparable to the fine china in our homes that are set aside in beautiful china cabinets.

Brandon pointed out that the word holy is the only word repeated three times in a row to describe our Lord. “…Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty-the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” ~Revelation 4:8

Obviously, God has called us to be holy beings; He longs for us to be set apart and allow Him to use us the way He desires.

When holiness consumes us, we want nothing
more than to serve God.

Reading in the book Velvet Elvis, Rob Bell offers up some awesome thoughts on the holiness that surrounds us. The one that has stuck with me, especially at work these last few days, has been that everywhere is holy ground. Because if God created it, it’s holy. It is not a matter of us as humans creating holiness, but rather a matter of us opening our eyes and acknowledging that we continuously walk on holy ground.

God’s holy creation is already established, but we show up.

It traces back to the Old Testament when Moses is asked to take off his shoes on top of the mountain because God tells Moses he is on holy ground. Since reading this book, each night before going to bed I capture the ‘holy moments’ of the day. Conversations, people, prayers, blessings, or trials that help me to acknowledge God’s presence are written down in my journal. It’s so awesome to go back through and read these and just revel in how God moves in our lives, sometimes nearly unnoticed and sometimes in the most drastic of ways!

In all Brandon gave 7 reasons why Holiness in our Media Matters:

1.) Entertaining unholy thoughts is sinful
2.) When you sow to the flesh, you reap corruption
3.) It undermines God’s #1 method of sanctification-renew the mind
4.) A lack of Holiness limits our usability
5.) A lack of Holiness hurts our influence with God in prayer
6.) Worldly ‘Mindness’ hurts our intimacy with God
7.) The Fear of the Lord should drive our pursuit of holiness

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of the world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is. ~Romans 12:2

Essentials of a Student

Earlier this week I had the afternoon off from work and spent it by the swimming pool reading the book “Brown Like Coffee” by The List Guy. (Awesome book; I’d highly recommend it!) The biggest take away that I had from the book was this.

10 Essentials for Every Student

*Choose a Life Purpose
*Develop a Biblical Worldview
*Seek Out the Right Friends
*Join a Good Church
*Form Study Habits
*Initiate Personal Ministry
*Set Up Dating Standard
*Maintain Balance
*Appreciate Your Parents
*Keep Graduation in Mind

During the day I kept going back to this list over and over again. As I read I continously reflected on how these essentials have or have not been expressed in my life thus far.

Seek Out the Right Friends

Let us consider how we may spur one another onto
Love and good deeds. ~ Hebrews 10:24

So far these last two weeks have landed me right in the middle of living with seven absolutely amazing girls. Each of them are seeking to become more Christ-like each day; when I come home from work, I appreciate nothing more than sitting down and listening to these girls and their stories. One night in particular we sat around the table and laughed and laughed about nothing more than how unique laughs are. We literally were falling out of our chairs with tears in our eyes as we pointed out our uniqueness! This lead to a game of ‘What If.’ A personal favorite, what if God made us so that our knees bent backwards instead of forward…how would chairs be made differently, what about cars.
This ridiculous game then lead to us talking about how awesome it is that God did it perfect the first time around. He made the human body so intricate, so complicated, yet so perfect when He made the first humans, Adam and Eve.
These girls are awesome because what could have been a normal evening resulted in the resounding promise that God is perfect!

Appreciate Your Parents

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ~Ephesians 6:1

While spending some time at a Starbucks in Destin, I realized that I was sitting next to a son who was sharing the Gospel with his mother for the first time. I was extremely touched by this scene, as I began to think of my own parents. Immediately, I called my mom up and told her that I had just realized how difficult it was for them to send me down here to Florida for the summer.
Placing myself in my parents' shoes for even just a few moments reminded me of how blessed I am to have the parents I do. A friend of mine told me that I could never respect my parents too much. They were absolutely right…I can never show my parents too much appreciation or respect.

Form Study Habits

All scripture is useful for teaching, correcting, rebuking, and training in righteousness so that man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

One of my goals for my time here at Kaleo is to become self-feeder off of the Word. Scheduling time each day to become consumed by the Word, memorizing scripture, completing inductive, attending training, etc. has proven to create a much busier schedule than I had anticipated.
Yesterday morning I realized that if I don’t form solid study habits now, then there is no way that I will be able to be as bound by scripture, during the school year when I do have other classes, homework, or test to study for, as I want to be.

I could keep going as to how these essentials continue to be revealed in my life. I ask myself, in which of these areas am I the strongest in? Which am I the weakest in? In order for a person to be the most strategic college student that they can be, I truly believe that each of these essentials must be evident in their lifestyle.

If I'm at college for any other reason than to spread the gospel, then I'm only here for selfish reasons." ~Brown Like Coffee

I love God....I love HIm very much! To Him I shall serve.

True Changes

We spend so much on making the outdoors look good!

Have you really stopped and thought about how much time we spend landscaping and maintaining the outside of our houses? How many people make their livelihood from making sure that the outdoors looks beautiful? Or how big the industry is that feeds into these jobs and our desires to have manicured lawns and blooming flowers?

Earlier this week, during “The Great Job Hunt” I got started really early and had some down time between interviews to get some breakfast and do some reading at a park. (I’m officially employed part time at both Banana Republic and Abercrombie!) While I was doing my work, I couldn’t help but notice how many people were working hard to make this park, the shops surrounding it and the parking lot look seemingly perfect. They didn’t want a piece of trash, misplaced woodchip, or a smudged front window to give away how many people had trodden through here the previous day.

Destin, FL is a tourist town; people come here to lie on the beaches and to shop. Obviously, there had been hundreds, if not thousands of people walk on these sidewalks or even sit on the very bench that I now occupied the day before. But these workers wanted to erase any sign of their presence from the day before.

I was really startled to realize that I actually try to do the same exact thing. I try to present myself to the world without signs of weakness, without any visual signs of trials I face, or the struggles that challenge me. Asking those close to me, you would find out that I strive to be somewhat of a perfectionist. I want life to be ‘perfect.’ I strive for perfection in all aspects of my life.

But where is all of this focus on the outside really getting me?

No Where.

This summer I really want to take time to focus on how I can grow from the inside out. Now don’t get me wrong personal hygiene is essential…lol. But how much of the time do I spend trying to hide something? Are the circles under my eyes trying to tell a story? Is a fake laugh really covering up something deeper? What's trying to distract from the ‘real’ me?

What is it that you’re hiding from?

We all have past trials that have added to the people that we are.
God has placed trials before us so that we may trust in Him. Studying James right now I’m just simply reminded that we’re to take joy in the trials that come before us.

Dear brothers and sisters, whenever
trouble comes your way,
let it be an opportunity for joy.

For when your faith is tested, your
endurance has a chance to grow.

So let it grow, for when your
endurance is fully developed,

you will be strong in character and
ready for anything.

~James 1:2-4

We shouldn’t be trying to overcome these trials or hardships on our own means. No amount of earthly care can truly mend a hurting hurt; only Christ can fill that void. Let Him in; allow Him to be the laborer that cares for your heart. No matter the amount of traffic that come through your life, no matter how hard the struggle, or deep the pain; God can renew you in the same way that the gardeners worked to bring every flower bed and landscaping back to perfection after a long day of being trampled through.

True changes don't come from surface cover ups,

but deep convictions within.