How To Be Holy

Dear Sisters,

Your letters move me so. We must have some of the sweetest women in all the world on our list. I so often pray that God will only bring those He wants here. So I never push my writings on anyone. I trust God to do His work and to bring whomever He wants here. I want to help those that He wants me to help with the help that He has given me. I can claim nothing, but I can exalt Him in everything. And I pray that you find that so here.

This week I received so many heartfelt letters. I am so sorry for your pain. So many of you wrote of your pain. Physical pain. Emotional pain. Spiritual pain. My heart goes out to you. But having experienced physical, emotional, and spiritual pain myself; I can say with confidence that it is never for naught in the believer's life. As in Job's life, there is something more deeper going on here than first realized. God is drawing His Own to Himself. Pain is a tool in His Hand that does more than we could ever imagine. It is not meant to pound us down, but rather to build us up. Truly, there is hardly a day which goes by that I do not have some physical pain, emotional pain, or spiritual pain in my life for which I am not crying out to God my Father.

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power of God may be of God and not from ourselves." 2 Corinthians 4:7

What beautiful Words. What life giving Words. Oh, I will never get over the riches of the Word of God. Here is another wonderful set of Words that just moves me so:

"Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day." 2 Corinthians 4:16

"For we walk by faith and not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7

Perhaps you, like me years ago, are walking by sight. I can guarantee you are filled with fear and anxiousness. I cannot tell you how anxious and fearful I was. In fact, I still cannot get over the work He has done in my heart. To this day. It was all done so quietly, but so very efficiently. Do I still fear and become anxious at times? Oh, yes. But not like before. Now I run right away to Him. He stills my heart like no other and I find the fears and the anxious thoughts becoming less and less in my life. What changed?Those key Words above: " our inner man is being renewed day by day."

That is the one thing I used to overlook. Oh, I would take such good care of the outside even though, as the verse says above, it was decaying. Really faster than I could keep up with it. ~Smile~ The funny thing was the very good I thought I was doing for my "outer man" was really to my detriment.

When I very first began to get into God's Word I thought that holiness began from without. If I just dressed more holy, I would be holy. So I began wearing clothes that I felt were more holier looking. If I just ate the right foods, I would be holy. So I started grinding my own grain and baking homemade bread. If I just had more children for God, I would be holy. So I asked Art for more children. If I took off all forms of outward adornment, I would be holy. So I stopped wearing earrings and stopped painting my nails. If I grew my hair longer, I would be holy. So I stopped cutting my hair. If I set aside the Sabbath day, I would be holy. So I stopped doing any work on the Sabbath. If I worked harder and relied on less conveniences, I would be holy. So I worked harder and insisted I didn't need or want a dryer, a dish washer, or a computer. If I was just more submissive to my husband, I would be holy. So I tried keeping quiet and nodded in agreement whenever he would speak to me.

Now I know some of you are probably shaking your head in disbelief at all of this. You see, the LORD saved me out of a works related church when I was 10 years old. So much of that "religion" had been ingrained in my mind, rather than the Word of God. So when I came back to the LORD full heartedly, I read all kinds of books that espoused what holiness looked like and how I could have it for myself. Yet in the meantime I was also daily in the Word of God as well. Praise God, I was daily in His Word! Or I would have continued on this course of trying to please Him by the sacrifices of my outer man. Sacrifices that never satisfy. Let me tell you what happened instead.

I never could get the dressing holy quite right. Should I only wear purple or white? Should I wear subdued colors? Should I only wear dresses? But what length? Oh, there were so many views on that. I got confused just reading them. Should I be wearing a veil? I did that once in my church because I was sure that was what God wanted. But then I read that my veil wasn't long enough and probably my prayers weren't answered because of this oversight. Should I abstain from meat? How about dairy? Yet, it says He led them to a land "flowing with milk and honey." Milk is good, isn't it? I got so confused reading all the books that I was afraid to cook for awhile there many years ago. Yet the homemade bread was awfully good. ~Smile~ More children. That was it. But while I was trying to have more children my body kept breaking down. I would read Art the verses on children, trying to "give him eyes to see" that this is what God wanted. Art kept worrying about me because with each pregnancy I got weaker and weaker. He was sure I would keel over on the next pregnancy. Okay, if I just took off the earrings and nail polish. And if I grew my hair really long, which is my glory, isn't it? God would then be so pleased with me. Sometime later a woman at church came up and told me that my hair badly needed a trim on the ends. She said it was never going to continue to grow with all those split and brittle ends. She offered to trim it for me. Cut my glory?! Ah, what would God think? I remember the relief the day I cut those awful split ends off and could finally pull a comb all the way through the end of my hair. But should I braid it? Was it right to put it up or should I wear it down? Again, the books were contradicting. Then there was the Sabbath. I convinced my husband that we shouldn't do any work on the Sabbath. I would rest all day and pray to God. Yes, the dirty dishes piled up, and the beds went unmade. Then I read in a book that I was doing it on the wrong day and my husband shook his head and said he was going out to mow the lawn. I wanted so much to live a simple, godly life. Modern conveniences, that was my problem. I determined to hang out my clothes and feel the breeze on my face. But those rainy days really caused some problems for me, and my husband (who wanted to get me a dryer) was beside himself with all the wet clothes drying in disarray all over the house. I would nod my head in agreement and try to look submissive when he came home from work. I was sure this was the "quiet and gentle look". Why did he keep asking me if I was sick or something?

Now some of those things are very good things for many people. But you see, they were not good for me. They were really to my detriment. Why? Because I was doing them to be acceptable to God. I was putting on my own holiness. Oh, I didn't do it overnight. But I would go from one thing to another trying to find out just what God wanted from me. Just what "looked holy" to Him.

Imagine my surprise to find out that all along I was holy. I was already "set apart for God." I was already accepted by Him! Why? Because of this:

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

Can I repeat that? Oh, it just makes my heart sing!

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

In Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus.

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:2

In Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus.

"For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace." Romans 8:6

You see, my mind had been constantly on my flesh. First, it was on what I wanted to do. The prodigal son. Then God turned me around and rather than accepting the beautiful robe, the beautiful ring, and the new sandals from my Father (in Christ Jesus), I went to work to see what I might do to satisfy Him. Do you see? My mind was still on my flesh. No wonder I felt guilt, rather than grace, when I was not measuring up to another believer who I felt looked so holy. No wonder I felt pride, rather than prayer, for another woman who I felt did not measure up to what I had acquired in my own holiness. Believe me, both are pitiful places to be. They describe well the two sons, don't they? We often focus on the prodigal son, but the father had another son who reveals his true character when his brother comes home. I am afraid I can identify with both hearts.

Whenever anything that I do supercedes the cross of Christ in my life, then I know I am in trouble.

"Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith but as though it were by works. They stumbled over The Stumbling Stone." Romans 9:30

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." Romans 10:4

And how do I know if something is superseding the cross of Christ in my life? Well, it is what my mind is dwelling on. Is my mind dwelling on my Savior, or is my mind dwelling on what I am doing for Him? One is Spirit, and one is flesh. One is covered in Christ, and one needs to add to what He has already accomplished at the cross to fulfill holiness.

But you might say to me, "Laine, without works faith is dead." Yes, this is so. But here is what changed in my life. Once I realized that I was fully loved and fully covered in Christ Jesus and His finished work at the cross for me, I became His bondslave. I gave Him my all. I stopped trying and asked to be filled. Filled with what you ask? Filled with His awesome Holy Spirit.

"For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace." Romans 8:6

I began to have "faith eyes." Eyes that walk by faith and not by sight. Eyes focused on His Word every day. Eyes looking to Him for daily direction. I began to know His incredible peace and His incredible joy. I finally knew what it meant to be content in His great love. I stopped relying on myself and began to know that "I can do all things through Christ Jesus Who gives me strength" and "apart from Him I can do nothing." The mind set on the Spirit is indeed life and it is indeed peace. He never intended for works to be apart from faith, and He never intended faith to be apart from works. They both go beautifully hand in hand.

In Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus.

"Oh, wretched 'woman' that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

"Thanks be to God through Christ Jesus our LORD!" Romans 7:25-25a

Jesus has set me free! I walk in His Spirit now. And you know what? Some of those good things that I mentioned above are not to my detriment anymore. On the contrary. For my all is for His glory. And I am not clothed with anything but His Great Grace poured out for me on the cross. So each day I look to Him to see what He would have me to do, what He would have me to wear, what He would have me to cook, and what He would have me to say. I am so in love with Jesus my LORD, and I want to bring glory to our Father in Heaven through Him.

"Without faith it is impossible to please Him." Ahh, I finally have it. Faith eyes. Eyes that are constantly looking up, constantly looking to His Hand, constantly looking to His grace and His great, great love. They are the eyes of a bondslave looking constantly to the Hand of Her Master. I have never been more free or more at rest. Because it is all in Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus.

May I kiss His Feet with my life. May my prayers be an incense rising up to His Throne of Grace. And may Jesus be remembered as my first and foremost love.

I love you, LORD, my strength!" Psalm 18:1

Love,