Perfection and the Heart

Whenever we do something wrong or fall short, we love to say, "Well, I'm not perfect!" The truth is, if we aren't perfect, it's only because we choose not to be. Clearly the Bible tells us that we can be perfect. Remember what God told Abraham in Genesis 17:1"...walk before me, and be thou perfect."

It also states in Deuteronomy 18:13 "Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God."

Matthew 5:48 states: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

The problem, I think, is in the interpretation of perfect. Most of us think of perfect as never making a mistake and doing everything well. When The Father looks for perfection, He looks at the heart:

I Kings 8:61 says, "Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day."

God wants our hearts to be perfect. This is why Jesus spoke so much on the importance of us loving The Father and loving one another. The wonderful thing about loving God and His commandments and statutes is that it enables us to love one another even more. We must keep guard over our heart and make sure that it does not get polluted with predjudices, judgment, hate, envy, pride, strife covetousness, idolatry and the cares of this world. We should all strive to be perfect like Abraham, Job and Jesus. We can be perfect if our heart is perfect - at least in the eyes of The Father. Isn't that all that matters?

Much love, peace and blessings to you!

Should I Celebrate Christmas?

Most sons and daughters realize the gloomy roots of Christmas. For those who don't, it originated from the celebration of Saturnalia. It included many unholy things such as gluttony, filty lucre, debauchery and even torture. Early Christians in the Roman Empire seeked to blend this holiday with a celebration of our Lord's birth in an effort to win followers. Today, we say that when we celebrate this holiday it is for the express reason of celebrating the birth of Jesus, Christ, Yeshua, Yahshua (or whatever name you know Him as). I think those of us who know better say this to justify participating in the fabulous ceremonies and “glee” of the season. I’m not saying that there is no good there, because I know that God can make anything good, but why (if we choose to celebrate) can’t we celebrate the holiday in the spirit we profess it represents? Why must we go bankrupt giving extravagant gifts and break our backs putting up trees, decorations and lights? Why must we succumb year after year to gluttony and drunkenness? There is nothing holy about that. I believe we can celebrate our Lord during Christmas, but we need to reevaluate how we do it.

Personally, Christmas is a very important holiday in my extended family and it will take lots of prayer, and determination to go against the grain, but each year I am forced to come face to face with the reality of what this holiday is and how we hold to customs that are far from pure. I will not try to offend or disrespect anyone, but God is forcing me to see truth. I think this is a part of living in the Nazarite Spirit! Much peace, love and respect to you all!