Crosswalk.com

The Weekly Focal Point - September 22, 2016

The Pursuit of Holiness

“The pursuit of happiness” is certainly our heart’s default position. Every day we, by nature, want to experience feelings of pleasure, gladness and enjoyment. Unfortunately, at the present time, we live in a corrupted world, encased in corrupted bodies, pitted against a very powerful corrupted enemy who is bent on luring us with “harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9). If we thoughtlessly follow our natural appetites we will undoubtedly fall into a snare which will lead to multiplied pain and misery (Proverbs 7:21-27). While Christians should obviously value happiness and pleasure, we must recognize that most of it will need to be deferred to a more appropriate time and place. For now, the focus of our daily pursuit must be holiness not happiness. We should wake up each morning and say, “how can I be more holy today?” instead of asking “what can I do today that will make me happy?” This should also be our hope and prayer for others. We would be wise to say, “I want my kids to grow up to be holy” instead of saying “I just want them to be happy”. “The pursuit of holiness” ought to be our Christian “Declaration” and resolve. So let’s consciously recalibrate and pursue holiness this week.

-- Pastor Mike


  SEPTEMBER GIFT

July

For your generous donation this month:

When tough times come, life gets a lot harder to navigate. So why does God allow difficult storms in our lives? Mike Fabarez, who has faced great pain himself, grapples with the questions that arise when the wind and waves just won't stop. He takes us to the only source of real peace in the middle of it all-God Himself.

Request ​Lifelines for Tough Times Mike Fabarez with your donation this month.

Click Here to visit Focal Point Ministries' website