When it comes to living a God honouring life which is joyful, the world is happy to place hinderances in your way. It will attempt to lure your biblical values and passions away from obedient faithfulness to Christ. So often, we believers fail to recognise the seduction by God’s enemy to mix worldly ideology with biblical truth. The writer of Hebrews exhorts us to …throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV).

Notice that the things which hinder are not the sins which stop us. There are many things in life which hinder and restrain our walk with the Lord. Hinderance is anything which slows us down, interfering in a way which holds us back from advancing in our relationship with Christ. They are often things which are not evil in themselves, but simply distract and side-tract us from an undivided commitment to an unwavering and obedient walk with Christ as Lord. However, these hindrances can become temptations, then, if followed, they become sin. These can be appetising seductions which our enemy slips into our lives using the most delicious means possible.

The types of the hindrances will vary from Christian to Christian, but the goal is always the same. The enemy also loves to gather people together who share a common love for the same hindrances, this creates agreement and emotional comfort while stunting the Lord’s work in their lives. Believers are called to wake up to these distracting friendships and activities by throwing off everything that hinders. This requires determined love for Christ as the chief love of our lives. We choose Christ as Prime over all hinderances.

Attention-grabbing thoughts and activities that seduce our affections are not only to be rejected but replaced by thoughts and activities which fix our eyes on Jesus. This requires intentional and ongoing evaluation of the treasures of our hearts (Mt 6:21). This calls for critical thinking and surrender to Christ through the reassignment of our affections to Him as the target of our passions.

The world presents us with friendships, ambitions, ideologies, media, hobby and sport activities which all call for increasing affection and time commitments at the expense of higher priorities. Anything which detracts your spiritual vision and ambitions from being Christ-centred requires reallocation to a lower priority, or removal. This discipline even applies to church activities and Christian friendships. Christ is to be first and central in all. The world will fiercely compete for this position. Your own human fleshliness will challenge this position. And deceitful heart affections will object to Christ reigning in this position as absolute Lord.

Jesus Christ demands our primary love as creator God (Heb 1:2), as Sovereign Saviour and ascended Lord (Jude :25), and as the First in rank and priority over our lives (Col 1:15-20). Jesus is the One of whom God the Father instructed, “Let all God’s angels worship him” (Hebrews 1:6).

The world loves distractions, and it loves to establish spiritual hinderances in our lives, anything to practically dethrone Christ as your Lord. Let’s make Paul’s prayer our prayer today; that our love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:9-11).

God reveals Himself as unequivocally HOLY (1 Peter 1:16). The seraphim affirm this from heaven’s throne room, declaring God to be “Holy, holy, holy” (Isaiah 6:3). As God, He is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy (Isaiah 57:15). The biblical holiness of God is to be understood as pure blamelessness and intrinsic perfection that sets Him apart from all else. His holiness is so extreme by our way of thinking, that the writer of Hebrews says that our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29).

The Lord being separate from everything that is less than holy, challenged Isaiah, “to whom then will you compare me?” (Isaiah 40:25). The answer is obvious, NO-ONE. Yahweh stands apart from all others as not only the standard of holiness, but the very definition of holiness. The Lord does not simply possess holiness as an attribute, holiness is uniquely His transcendent quality which permeates every one of His character attributes. God’s holiness is more than His sinless purity, it is His otherness from all else that exists. It is His holy otherness that causes Him to stand out as awesome, as majestic, and worthy of all worship (Psalm 18:3). For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe (Deuteronomy 10:17).

In His supernal holiness, God says, “I the LORD do not change” (Malachi 3:6). James, Jesus’ younger half-brother explained that God is the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change (James 1:17). The Lord is dependable in His holiness and we can rely on His consistency of character and His righteous judgements.

God’s holiness is absolute and trustworthy truth, to which all other thoughts are to bow.

The world, however, has quite a different view on holiness. For them, holiness is nothing but an annoying and inconvenient restriction that holds humanity back from being all that they want to be. The world kicks back at boundaries, at restraints, or at any redirection of desires towards a higher standard demanding eternal answerability. Worldly wisdom is content with constantly changing values that are floating and inconsistent. The world is happy with different standards for different people, and with commitments that have an out clause. In every way imaginable, the world is opposite to, and opposed to God’s ultimate holiness. Whether consciously or not, the world views holiness as it’s enemy, and constantly leans against it.

Even though mankind was created in the image of God, mankind is NOT inherently holy as God is. The only hope of human holiness is found in a relationship with God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Only in Christ are we able to “become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21), and this is because Christ became our sin on the Cross as our substitute. Paul tells us that this righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe (Romans 3:22). Dependent belief in Jesus’ work on the cross is mankind’s only access to sharing in the righteousness of God.

Before any discussion can be had concerning a believer’s living, there needs to be unequivocal acceptance and celebration of the all-consuming holiness of Jehovah – WORSHIP. This God, the only wise and sovereign God, chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him (Ephesians 1:4). May we aspire in both understanding and living to run the race of life towards an ever-increasing accuracy (2Co 3:18) of the holiness of our God, for His pleasure and His glory alone.

God’s love is never half-hearted or compromised by weak or questionable motives. All expressions of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are a perfectly synchronised outpouring of His holy character. God’s passionate nature runs red hot with affection for His people. Yahweh is not capable of stoic, dry, or lifeless emotion. Lukewarm affection is never on His agenda. Redemption and forgiveness according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight (Ephesians 1:7-8) gives evidence that His love is a lavish love.

Paul prayed that believers, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend… the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge… (Ephesians 3:17-19). This is to be the lifelong exploration of every Christian, searching out the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:7) which fuels our worship.

David told Gad that the Lord’s mercy is great (2 Samuel 24:14), so great, that Paul says God is rich in mercy (Eph. 2:4). God is wealthy beyond compare with loving mercy. It can never get outspent, there is more than enough for every sinner who comes to Him in faith. Nehemiah spoke the same sentiment, you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Nehemiah 9:17). The love of God is a sacrificial love that gives at great personal cost, for God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3: 16).

The Lord is full of compassion (James 5: 11), and His steadfast love never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23). God’s love never tires, nor does He hide or mask Himself from His people. Access to His heart is always wide open.

In Jeremiah 32:41, the Lord says of His people, I will rejoice in doing them good… with all my heart and all my soul. The Lord your God… He will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing (Zephaniah 3:17). God’s love celebrates His children, I will… be glad in My people (Isaiah 65:19). God does NOT simply tolerate us; He celebrates us in His Son Jesus Christ.

Take note of God’s kindness to you (Romans 11:22). When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Saviour appeared, He saved us… according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-5). There is nothing timid, weak, or indecisive about our God. He consistently implements His love into our lives fully and without restraint, keeping us pure in His sight despite our many stumblings. He is never distant or detached from His people, but proactive and assertive with His undetachable love. Even when we are faithless, He remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:13).

Moses proclaimed that the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14). His love is possessive and protective over all those He attaches His affection to. God will never love someone only to later change His mind or withdraw His affection. Once loved by God, that believer is forever loved by Him. We are forever immersed in Christ, in the strongest and most passionate relationship imaginable. Knowing this, lets us unitedly do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

The Bible tells us that anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love (1 John 4:8), which is confronting at two levels. First, this verse tests our understanding of God’s love nature. Second, this challenges how God’s love is, or is not, expressed in our behaviour as Christians.

John declares that God does not simply possess love, His very essence of being has always been love from eternity past. God’s love has never been added to, it has never changed or been modified, and can never vary or diminish. God’s intrinsic holiness perfectly permeates all facets of His nature, including His love. More than anything else, holiness sets God apart as God.

The six-winged Seraphim who hover the throne of God continuously call to one another declaring, “holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6:2-3). His holiness is formed through all His other Godly attributes, defining, and amplifying His unchangeable pure awesomeness. Holiness elevates His love far above emotion only. Nowhere are the perfections of divine holiness radiated more brilliantly than through His love.

It is God’s uncompromising holiness that distinguishes His love from human emotions and affections in every way imaginable. Therefore, with Jesus being God in human flesh (John 1:1-14), we see out-of-this-world love manifested throughout His life. Jesus’ selfless love is not only humble, patient, kind and affectionate, but continuously maintains perfect holiness without any imperfections.

Jesus’ love was one of obedience, I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father (John 14:31). Jesus explained to a group of argumentative Pharisees, for this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again (John 10:17). We do not see the extremity of obedient and sacrificial love anywhere as profoundly as on the Cross of Calvary and Jesus’ resurrection. The Cross displays a degree of holy love which transcends our human rationale.

Love this pure is the initiator, God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Christ and His Heavenly Father did not wait for us to come to them, because they knew that could never happen due to our sinfulness and spiritual deadness (Ephesians 2:1). So, they acted first.  This is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10). God initiated His love toward us long before we were even born. God the Father and Son took our guilt, our sin, to the Cross of divine judgement. There, justice was served for our sin upon the sinless Son of God and the judge was appeased, fully satisfied that the full penalty had been paid.

God’s holiness in love knows no limits. It is never constrained by selfishness or distorted by corrupt desires. We see His persevering and sanctifying love in that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6). Because God’s love is holy, it will never disappoint or fail us. Our end is as secure as our beginning was because Holy Sovereign God is in control of all the things we are not.

God’s holiness and love comforts, affirms, and encourages us, especially when we are broken hearted and in the darkest times of life. I encourage you to worship your God for His holiness seen so amazingly through His love.