The sacred balance

"Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14 NIV

Εἰρήνην διώκετε μετὰ πάντων καὶ τὸν ἁγιασμόν, οὗ χωρὶς οὐδεὶς ὄψεται τὸν κύριον (original Greek)

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My translation: Pursue, chase after, peace with all and holiness, without which (holiness) no one—nobody, no matter how important or unimportant in the world's eyes—will see the Lord.

That's a tough balance, though. Being at peace with all is easy if you let holiness go, but how can you be holy without being a jerk about it? That's the sacred balance—and that's where love comes in. Not a mushy, anything goes, feel good love, but a love that genuinely cares and nurtures and hopes on behalf of others in a sacred holiness—as modeled in Jesus.

Did you know that the we have many times more ancient copies of the Gospels than we do of the rest of the New Testament? That says something about the early church and their priorities. They lived in an anti-Christian environment—far more anti-Christian than anything the U.S. has seen. Yet they lived a life of peace and holiness. May we recapture that!

Even so, come Lord Jesus! Not to "rapture away" your church, but to fill it with you that we might light the way to a better and restored world.

footnote: I'm still Premillennial, but I also believe that we can experience a good bit more of the Kingdom of God here than most either (a) believe or (b) have experienced so far!

Just an
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