A Physical for the Christian Soul

Thank you for this article. I serve as an Elder and Governing Board member at my church. As a Board, we have completed a seminar on these types of issues and concerns in the church. One interesting comment made during one of our seminars was that we are either a bucket of water or a bucket of gasoline. We can make the decision to either quench the sin of gossip or fuel the flames of this sin. We all have the choice to stop this by simply stating that we will not participate in the conversation because it is gossip, thus using our bucket of water, or we can participate, thus using our bucket of gas. I do believe that gossip is one of the most destructive things a church can experience and must be stopped immediately. Amazing how a simple, "I will not participate in this discussion because it is wrong" works. Try it and be amazed how the gossip stops.

Which is the next one: Phil. 4:13; I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Great post David! It reminds me of Concordia Publishing House's book "Marriage is Like Dancing" (http://bit.ly/3mjKD8) a great book by Richard Eyer that talks about how to support a good marriage. Keep posting!

I appreciate this article and thank you for your insight on God's holiness. I truly believe God's standard is perfection and nothing less than perfection is good enough. This is why He sent his Son Jesus Christ, the perfect sacrifice. We could not (cannot) in our efforts or strength be good or perfect enough. Only through Jesus Christ are we made righteous (perfect). With that said, God is perfect and holy and nothing can taint His Holiness. It's true, sin cannot enter his presence. He alone is the very essence of Holiness. It is who He is. Again, sin cannot enter His presence (there’s no "if" clause). Your analogy sounds as "if" somehow sin could sneak into God's presence it would taint His Holiness. This is impossible. Therefore, I don't suggest we give place to that which is impossible. IMO, to say He (God who is Holy) can be tainted is like saying He is fallible or somehow capable of being changed or influence by sin. Jesus dwelt amongst sinners and was yet without sin. Still, He was holy even though he walked and talked with sinners and even saw the hearts of a sinful people. And yet, He responded (responds) to the broken and contrite hearts’ of sinners. Amazing Grace! We should be extremely careful when using such analogies to depict God's nature and character. Nonetheless, your message regarding God’s standard being that of Holiness and perfection, and not based on our own goodness, was received. Thank you. Humbly submitted w/Love.

The book "Sacred Marriage" by Gary Thomas emphasizes this thought exactly. The theme for the book is "What if God designed marriage to make us more holy th an to make us happy?" This is one of the few books that, in my 25 years of marriage, I wish I had BEFORE I had married, along with "Love Life for Every Married Couple" by Dr. Ed Wheat. Thomas' related book "Sacred Parenting" discusses the same thing about parenting.

And if you can afford both, you should buy me a copy of systematic theology :-)

That being said, I have the ESV study Bible. It is worth EVERY penny. The online feature is awesome too!

This is a great approach to assessing the spiritual condition of the body of Christ. We need to be more concerned with what is in our minds so that we will know that everything we are doing is for the glory of the Most High God and not at all about us.
Thank you for sharing and for helping the body of Christ to grow in awareness.