The Hole in Our Holiness - Week 6

Well, if I wasn’t late on getting the recap posted a couple of weeks ago, I’m definitely late this week.  After getting hit by “Snowmaggedon” (and consequently being stuck in a hotel for a couple of days without my notebook), I didn’t really get around to posting the recap until today.  Sorry about that fail on my part.  As it’s been almost a week since we studied this chapter, I’ll try to recap it as best as I can.  We’ll see how it goes.  Ok, ready?  Take a deep breath in and out.  In and out.  In and out.

First of all, props to TT because he weekly comes in with something that he learned in his quiet times with God that week and it corresponds back to what he’s been learning and has been challenged by in the reading of the book.  His point this week was during his time in 1 Thessalonians, he’s been convicted by the questions of “Are we holy enough?” and “Do we trust enough?”  We need to continue to be growing and need to keep working on it.  We also see how we can question what needs to happen in our lives in order to examine our own lives and ourselves more.  

The first part of our discussion this week based around the concept of why we tend to resist the movement of the Spirit in our lives.  We discovered that our major reason for ignoring or resisting the Spirit is because we are in sin.  The Spirit exists to reveal sin in our lives, reveal truth, and reveal God’s glory.  Hence, whenever we sin, we are ignoring the Spirit.  We need to ask ourselves if we enjoy that temporary sin more than our fellowship with God.  We need to be gracious of the Gospel that God has provided us with and that should imbed us with a desire to be more Holy.  Only through that communion with the Holy Spirit can we be strengthened and realize that we can pursue holiness.  Also, when we’re accepting the Spirit, we’re reminding ourselves of who we are in Christ.  All relationships take work to keep from wilting.  If we’re not in prayer or in the Word, then our walk and our love for Christ could decline.  Through that time in the Word, we can continue to grow and develop.  As Chase said, we can definitely take on Godly traits through a type of Osmosis from being in the Word.  

We also discussed how the concept of “Let Go and Let God” has a strong appeal.  The major reason is because it’s just the easier approach.  That means that we’re not exerting ourselves or taking the necessary steps for growth.  We’re more likely just being content where we’re at in our faith and think that God’s got every covered.  This is a detriment to our faith though.  We need to continue pushing ourselves and exerting ourselves in order to properly grow and stretch ourselves.  At least, that was the thought that we all shared.

Verses discussed during study this week include:

• ·         1 John 2:17
• ·         Jeremiah 29:11
• ·         Isaiah 26:3
• ·         Isaiah 60:22
• ·         Galatians 2:20
• ·         Romans 3:28
• ·         1 Corinithians 1:18 – 21
• ·         Galatians 5:24

And now for our moment of reflection...