We need both truth and
holiness (Zechariah 8:3). Truth is not just something to be believed.
Truth changes us. Truth leads us into the pathways of holiness. We need
both "truth and peace" (Zechariah 8:19). When truth changes us, it leads
us into the paths of peace. The holy life is not to be a life of pride.
That is Pharisaism. We think that holiness is all our own doing. The
way of true holiness is also the way of peace. We seek to show, by our
way of living, that we have been saved by the Lord and changed by Him.
We show that the Lord is working in us, when we learn to walk in the way
of peace. We are not to be like the Pharisee who looks down his nose at
other people. We are to reach out to them in peace. At the Cross, we
have learned that we are loved. At the Cross, we learn to hold out the
love of Christ to other people.
We read about Elijah in his high-points of strength - the triumph over the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:36-39) - and his low-points of weakness - he is ready to give up: “I’ve had enough now, Lord” (1 Kings 19:4). How did Elijah get into such a mess? He forgot this: “The Lord’s power was on Elijah” (1 Kings 18:46). In all life’s ups and downs, we must hold on to this: The Lord has sent His Spirit of power to live in us (2 Timothy 1:7). How are we to live in the power of the Spirit? We need to feed on the Word of God and drink in the Word of God (1 Kings 17:4). We need to pray that the Lord will send His showers of blessing (1 Kings 17:14). We are to live our life “according to the Word of the Lord” (1 Kings 17:16). For our life of faith to be strong in the Lord, we need to listen attentively to the preaching of God’s Word (1 Kings 17:24).
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