WHAT'S YOUR BOTTOM LINE?

The subject of holiness came up in discussion at a life group Bible study many years ago, and one of the questions asked was, "what does it mean to you to be holy?"

Why not stop and think about that for a moment?  What does it mean to you?

It's almost embarrassing for me to remember how I spent many of my early years as a follower of Christ trying to be holy.  For one period, I would not wear jeans - ever!  I don't know why; maybe it was this pursuit of holiness.  I'll never forget the evening I came home and put a pair of jeans on for the first time in months... they were so comfortable, but even more comfortable was the sense of freedom I felt in my soul.

This was one of my many attempts, to be frank, all quite embarrassing when I look back!  The fear of stepping outside of God's favour was crippling.  

More recently, while in a time of recovery from bad health and exhaustion, I was relaxing with a magazine and heard the whisper of His voice.  "Do I love you any less in this moment than when you are working, praying, preaching, studying or serving?"

Of course, the answer was, "No".  I am loved as His dear child. 

And so are you.

So in answer to that first question, "What does it mean to be holy?" someone in the group said, "I don't wake up thinking, I'm going to be a holy man today!"

But we can wake up saying, "I want to be His today." 

If our bottom line is, "My heart belongs to Jesus." we need never fear that we are living unholy lives, as this bottom line will inform every decision and every temptation that comes our way.

And that's living a holy life!

Until next time,

Lynda x

FILL YOUR SPACE

 

"MYOB"... before it was a bookkeeping app, it was simply short for "Mind Your Own Business".  

It was something mean other kids said to me if I wanted to be in on what was going on!  

In a time when we literally have the world in the palm of our hands, it can be hard to stay focused on our own business.  Somehow it doesn't seem as critical, exciting or fulfilling as our own business.

Or, we find constant background anxiety hanging over us because there is so much going on and we feel overwhelmed by all the need, suffering and just plain evil.

Do you know that YOUR space matters?  It may not seem significant enough, but it really is.  I love the words of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12, where he tells us to live quiet lives, minding our own business!

"But concerning brotherly love, you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more;  that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing."

• Your home matters.
• Your job matters.
• Your family matters.
• Your health matters.
• Your friends' matter
• You matter.

I recently removed all the news apps off my phone because I constantly sensed that background anxiety.  It was invading my sleep and my capacity to mind my own business properly.  It's no use if we are so distracted by what is going on in someone else's world if we are not PRESENT in our own.  

Do a little stocktake.  Are you fully present in your world, or are you constantly off somewhere else?

Do the people in your world know that you are there for them, or do they feel like a side hustle while you do the 'important stuff' elsewhere?

These questions can confront us, but they can also release us from pressure we were never meant to carry.

Imagine if all of us attended to our own business, fully present and fully engaged. The ripple effect that would have on our communities.

Perhaps minding our own business is part of the solution to the world's problems after all.

Fill your space.... because it matters, and as you fill it beautifully as only you can, your space and your influence will grow.

With love,

Lynda x