"Rent in Twain"

"Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul." (Psalms 69:1) In a quest for some sort of ability to stay true to my calling, I have measured my portion and noticed that there is something that I am lacking; mostly holiness, I am sad to say, is what I lack, mostly holiness is what has gone missing! I would have thought by now that I would have things better under control, or at least be able to better manage these things that I choose to hold onto; but that's not how things work in God's economy of justification: we are justified when we do what God has asked us to do, not by doing what we want to do. My mom always said, "It's either my way or the highway!" To be perfectly honest, she never really meant that she would kick me out of the house; it was more about having difficulty enjoying the ride, then it was about hitting the road. It is pretty much that way with our Heavenly Father; He is not going to kick us to the curb, but He will kick us in the butt, if that is what it takes to get us to listen; and it's kind of hard to enjoy the ride when your butt is sore. (Sorry if I offended anyone, but.) I was listening to Pastor Matt yesterday, and I really wish I could have seen his expression while he was straining to make apples. He was using an illustration about what it is like to walk through a apple orchard, and how there is one thing that you don't hear as you are walking there: you don't hear the apple trees straining to produce apples! Point being, that we should not have to strain to produce the fruit of the Spirit, because it is not our ability that produces the fruit, it is God's doing that makes the fruit appear; just as it is God's doing that the apple trees produce apples (Genesis 1:11-13). If we are finding it hard to show forth the fruit in our lives, then it most likely is due to the fact that we are trying to make it happen in our own power. It is the same with holiness, and whether or not we have it; because if we are looking to ourselves, we are dead in the water. Our holiness is in Christ, and not in ourselves! Look to yourself, not holy; look to Jesus, holy; that's how God makes it happen... "And then He told them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in My name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won't hurt them. They will be able to place their hand on the sick, and they will be healed." When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God's right hand. And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs." (Mark 16:15-20) NLT