The holiness of God. An amazing subject, and one that is often neglected from the pulpit and from worship leaders. Why? Is God's holiness not talked about in Scripture? Is it covered in metaphorical language that is difficult to understand?

Leviticus 11:44 and 1 Peter 1:16 are fairly clear: "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

So what is it then? Why, as Christians, is the thought of God's holiness being abandoned? The reason I believe that it is being forgotten and brushed aside is because that holiness of God, requires something from us...if we claim Christ. Just as the verse said, "You shall be holy, for I am holy," God requires holiness from His creatures. It is not optional. We MUST be holy because our God is holy. And we MUST proclaim the holiness of God as one of His many attributes because of two reasons:

1) God must receive glory from us for being holy. We cannot fully praise God without recognizing His holiness. We would not be proclaiming the whole counsel of God by ignoring that important fact.

2) To encourage, exhort, and admonish people to know how high the calling is to be a follower of Christ. We must count the cost and be willing to lay everything bare at the foot of the cross.

Understanding the thought of God and His holiness will bring you to your knees. Not SHOULD bring you, but WILL bring you. The fact will always be that we fall short of God and His holy standard. It isn't enough to be better than the rest, or as most of us live, be better than some of the rest. The thought of God being holy will allow us to recognize our own sin in our life and hopefully, prod us to rid our lives of that sin and praise God for how great and mighty He is.

Humility and brokenness over my sin is all I can think of when pondering the holiness of God. And to think, that same God crushed His Son for me?! This just makes the words in 1 Corinthians 6:20 that much more powerful to me..."You have been bought with a price, you are not your own, therefore, glorify God in your body." Sometimes we try and close the gap in our minds between us and God thinking that we aren't as far apart as we are...but we kid ourselves. His holiness and our wretchedness are infinitely and eternally opposed...which makes the cross that much more lovely.

And Oh...the glory of the cross...

It's a new year, new decade, new blog post...blah blah blah. So HOW is 2010 different so far for me? Well...I've spent more time watching Blue's Clues and Yo Gabba Gabba then I have watching football. Oh, and I just got finished watching Confessions of a Shopaholic with my wife. I feel my manhood slipping right through my fingers. Maybe I should go get some beef jerky...

There, that's better.

Ok, so today was a new day for Veritas (Calvary Bible Church College Ministry)...at least for the music ministry...we added drums a la Calderon. Sounds special huh? They are. It was our first Sunday playing with drums and it was such a great kickoff to a new year. The song set seemed to tie in perfectly with what Pastor Jack Hughes was preaching on in "Big Church". Pastor Jack is beginning a 3 month series on faith from Hebrews 11. Today was the first message and it blew my mind. The line that stuck in my head was "It is smart and wise to trust in a faith that cannot fail because it comes from the God who cannot fail." The songs we highlighted this morning (below) are all about the great and awesome nature of our great God and how He is worthy to be praised. What a joy and pleasure it is to sing to and for him.

Lord I Lift Your Name On High

Lord Most High (Be Magnified)

Our Great God

How Great Is Our God

All these songs place God on a pedestal where he belongs...magnified, lifted up, glorified...placing us in our rightful place...humbled, prostrate, and broken.

I am so thankful to serve with a group of people in Veritas and the band (Corio 2 shout out). It is a joy to sing...of course...but it is a joy to serve with people who love Jesus...and that's why we're here. So, to Greg, Angel, Steve and Tony...Danny, Ryan and Charlie...and of course, my gracious wife...thank you for serving and loving Jesus.

In 2010...love Jesus while expecting Jesus. He's coming back. Heaven awaits.