"But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge…" (Ps. 73:28). (See also Ps. 65:4).

What this passage is saying is that our satisfaction in life is our closeness with God, no matter what our occupation or position is. It is appropriate that we are called His "flock" because, like sheep (not intentionally or with deception but because of distraction) we sometimes stray from the Shepherd. And when we do, we become vulnerable to attack. Sheep don’t plan to wander into the midst of predators, and neither do we as Christians but sometimes we drift unknowingly until God brings us back.

An archer’s term for every step away from the bulls-eye is called a "sin". One sin, two sin, etc. The biblical word "sin" Bible comes from this archer’s term. For us, it is like every wandering step away from the closeness of God. We tend to drift farther and farther away from God when we "normalize" sin. In other words, when we sin, there is a gap between us and God; and, when we normalize that sin or accept that gap as okay, it's easy for us to take another step away from Him without even realizing it affects our holiness or closeness to God. On the other hand, if we recognize our dissatisfaction as God reaching out to us -- speaking to our hearts -- and respond accordingly, we can restore our holiness. However, if we don't restore that foundation or holiness, the Bible says this: "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Ps. 11:3).

Here is an example to illustrate what God is saying in Psalms 11 about foundations. In March 2004, CNN reported on sequoia trees in Yosemite Park, California. The report said: Two giant sequoia trees, each over 400 years old -- much longer than the existence of the United States -- had fallen. A park ranger said it was the foot-traffic of visitors and tourists around the base of those trees that had damaged the root system, which contributed to their collapse. These titan trees grow up to 150 feet tall with their bases being as large around as a bus but their roots are no more than 3 feet deep. What keeps those roots strong however is the fact that they grow out over a half a mile and the roots of other neighboring sequoia trees will intertwine with each other. But, the trampling of hundreds of thousands of tourists each year, year after year, affected the integrity of those trees' roots and as a result, the trees fell.

A FUTURE AND A HOPE

• Protect your future.

"…Jacob said, ‘First sell me your birthright.’ Esau said, ‘Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?’" (Gen. 25:31-32).

Esau couldn’t see that protecting his birthright would protect his future. When Jacob told Esau to sell him his birthright, Esau didn’t believe God protected his future because he thought he would die if he didn’t get any food from Jacob. God tells us that each of us has a birthright also, our root system or closeness to Him, but if we allow our root system to become trampled, we will lose that inheritance and ultimately lose our future, as Esau did.

FOUNDATIONS OF HOLINESS

1.  KEEP THE SABBATH, MAKING IT A HABIT.

2.  REINSTATE THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER.

"…He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart…" (Luke 18:1).

The Lord knew it was possible for people to lose their heart for prayer. When things are laid out for you -- as in your job where you know what you need to do from day-to-day -- there is the tendency to not feel the need to pray. It is nice to obey God in your job and your life by doing what is required but without feeling a need to pray (talk with God), we aren’t close anymore. Don’t get into the habit of acquiring things or goals on your own without praying about them. The successes we achieve without the closeness of God cause us to compromise our soul and exchange our families and our faith for our success. On the other hand, God can provide for our needs without compromising our lives. God tells us, "I'll take care of the destination. You just stay in close communion with me." Remember, success is not getting to your destination but rather what you become by getting to your destination: a person of mercy, a person of compassion, a person of faith. The Bible says, "What profits a man if he gains the world but forfeits his soul" (Matt. 16:26). The Lord wants us to reinstate the importance of prayer so that we will remain close to Him.

"…Could you not keep watch for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Mark 14:37-38).

As a diamond cutter cuts and polishes a diamond to shine, so God does the same for us. But, if a diamond refuses to remain polished, it is crushed and used for sand paper. We are like diamonds before our Lord with such great potential. There will be times God wants to polish out the hazes of our marriage, attitude, or the way we treat other people. Let Him polish out those hazes rather than crush us. Galatians 5 lists those hazes God wants us to be aware of and allow Him to polish them out.

"Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and … those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal. 5:19-21).

These are things, sins, God wants to wash away from us but when Jesus was washing His disciples' feet, at first Peter refused to let Jesus wash his feet. He did not feel that he had sinned and needed to be washed but Jesus replied, "Then you will have no part of me." What Jesus was telling Peter was that there would be no closeness between Peter and Himself if Peter refused Jesus’ offer to wash his feet. Sometimes, it's not an obvious sin for which Jesus wants to wash us; sometimes it's a hurt or woundedness that we carry because of someone else's sin against us. In any case, Jesus says, "Come. Let me wash you." If we don't, the devil can use that against us. But if we do, it'll bring healing, wholeness, and holiness.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way" (Ps. 139:23-24).

At this time of communion, take the time to protect your future and hope by pressing into God and restoring your closeness, holiness, with Him. Practice the foundations of holiness:

DISCUSSION TOPICS

Much mahalo to Debbie Chang who spends many of her Sundays drawing near to God and sharing the message of the gospel through her service as a volunteer writer.