Everything

I have been having these thoughts as of late, on the greatness of God. What I have been thinking about more specifically is that I can't even really wrap my mind around Him and His character, who He is, and all that He does.

"ironically" My pastor taught on this subject today. The passage He spoke from was Isaiah 6:5-13...and at first, I thought to myself, "what an odd passage to find things about God in, wouldn't you rather look to some of His power in the Old Testament first?"

But these verses hold a glimpse, just a glimpse (because that is really all we can behold) of His power and greatness.

This is what Isaiah tells us, he, caught a glimpse of the tail of God's robe, and just the greatness that this picture beheld for him, he fell to the ground and says, "woe is me, I am a man of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, The Lord Almighty.."vs 5

His response was one of fear because he, Isaiah in the sight of God knew and recognized his desperate state of sin and was fearful for his life because he knew God saw his sin too. So at the first sight of God, he was not jumping up and down like at a rock concert or silently whispering praises as we often do in church...No. He was afraid because he saw himself as he truly was before God in all of His greatness, and that was unclean.

You see, clean begins from the inside. It's the motives, it's the thoughts, it's that tiny little attitude in our heart...and why did Isaiah exclaim he was unclean on his lips? Because the lips (i learned today) are the doorway for those sins to escape. Its the slander, it's the mean spirited feelings we have towards another, it's jealousy...it's discontent.

And I was humbled. I was humbled because one can look so very good on the outside but if I am honest with myself, there is ugliness within that does occasionally escape through my lips, in that brief second, that I have my moment of sin, I disconnect myself from the path of truth, from the heart of the Savior and I too, must join Isaiah in his fearful cry.

You see, it puts us back to where we really are...no, this is not a biblical smack down, it's a warning that we all are given. That if we are "real" with ourselves, then we must be honest about what's on the inside door of the those lips. What is it that wants to come out, but we won't let it because we are "Christians?" Lots of things. Lots and lots of things.

That is where we start. Those things. We tell the Lord to cleanse our lips as Isaiah had done for him, only the angels did it for him by touching a coal to his lips. Isaiah was too weak to even ask for this purification, but knew he needed it.

Do you feel that way too? Are you too weak to even ask the Lord for what you need? To weak to say, "where do I begin?" Trust me, I've been there, and it's so overwhelming...

but when we round the corner of God's forgiveness and we let out whats been inside, (but in a God honoring way) the truth comes out, we can be real, and we can be forgiven.

I find, each time I divorce a little bit more of me, I hear the Lord's calling the next time a little sooner and it sounds a little louder. The best way to tune out the Lord, is to ignore Him so long that we forget the very sound of His voice.

Today we sang the song "Holy is the Lord God Almighty" and I was stolen away by the lyrics.. one of the lines said this.. "You are my everything, and I will adore you."

Is He my everything, I thought? Do I adore Him? Not the way I should. Anytime I hold "pieces of me" from Him, and hold things in my heart that are sinful, that I am not able to truly adore Him and He is not truly my everything.

This is not a works based relationship, and even though I know that, I still act as if it is just that. I act good. I talk good. I pretend. And that is ugly.

If I truly want to worship God, have Him cleans me of my unclean lips, than I need to depend upon Him moment by moment...because that is how often we need His forgiveness.

It is what it is, I recognize who I am in the sight of God and it's not pretty. The only way I am seen as beautiful before the King is because He had grace and mercy upon my helpless state of sin I just acknowledged, and I accept the Lord's forgiveness...all that He did for me on the cross...and I daily give Him my everything. It's not work though...it's actually the best place to be because here in this place friends, there is no fear, (accept the due fear of His mightiness) There is no discontent in the mind, there is nothing that poisons our joy.

Peace is what resides here...and once your there, you will never want to leave. And you don't have too! Staying in the will of God is not always easy, because it requires us to lay down things that our sinful self really likes and has grown quite attached too, but when we do forfeit those things, we are filled with better, more pure, and life giving things.

And once those those poisons are gone from our mind, don't you believe you'd be able to do just about anything in a more joy filled, life-filled way? I have experienced moments of such freedom and it's amazing.

So take Isaiah's warning to heart...heed his words from personal experience, he saw God, and then he saw himself the way God saw him, and the result was fear. We cannot stand before God with all our sin in our life and peacefully worship...first the sin must go, and then we can adore Him with our everything. I pray you are challenged now and I was this morning to examine your hearts, and I did mine and see what God sees, so that we can be clean.