Which Describes God Better: Love or Holiness??

The Bible tells us about God:

• God is love. (1 John 4:8)
• God is holy. (Leviticus 11:44)

What do you think when you read those words?

I think people are comfortable talking about “God is love.” After all, love is good; love is sweet. Unfortunately, some people have watered down God’s love to fit their own personal preferences. God’s holiness, I think, is not as easily manipulated.

It is important to understand both of these statements about the character of God. After all, God expects His people to love as He loves and to be holy as He is holy.

We should first recognize that we are thinking about God’s nature. To say that God is love means that the very nature of God is love. So, God does not have to think about loving someone or try to love. There is no internal struggle within God when it comes to love. Love describes of the very essence of God’s being.

Holiness is similar. God is holy by nature. He does not have to think about being holy or try to be holy. For God, there is no internal struggle to be holy. Holiness describes the very essence of God’s being.

We should also recognize that God does not balance love and holiness. Balance implies tension, as if love and holiness pull in different directions. Yet, in every thought, in every word and in every action, God is both loving and holy.

We are called to love as God loves!

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
—1 John 4:7-8

So what does it take to love as God loves?

God not only communicated His love through creation and through His interaction with ancient Israel; He ultimately communicated His love through Jesus Christ.

On which day did Jesus live for Himself? When did He tell everyone to back off because He was tired of helping people? His alone time was spent in prayer to His Father, not vacationing. The rare moments in which Jesus appeared to refuse someone’s request, He was focused on God’s will...and yet still stopped and helped when He observed genuine faith and humility.

Of course, Jesus’ ultimate act of love was far from soft and fuzzy; it involved beating, mocking, spitting, splinters, thorns, nails and blood.

God is love demands sacrifice!

But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 

—1 Peter 1:15-16

Holiness doesn’t get as much press as love. Holiness has to do with morality, purity, devotion and goodness. The Son of God, just like His Father, was holy. He saturated His mind with the word of God. He was completely given over to the accomplishment of God’s will. To be an acceptable sacrifice to God, He had to be pure in His motives and sinless in word and action.

When tempted, He did not indulge Himself. His desire to do God’s will overruled His personal desires. He gave everything to be holy.

God is holy demands sacrifice!

To love as God loves, we must sacrifice.
To be holy as God is holy, we must sacrifice.

Only in sacrifice are we truly like our God.

Mark Stinnett

May 30, 2021

The Regret Club

Do you belong to the Regret Club?

I don’t really know of a Regret Club. (I made it up.) Yet, if there was one, most of us would qualify for membership, regardless of age.

Regret is a consuming creature. It keeps our minds locked in the past. We may regret missed opportunities. That is especially true at mid-life and beyond. We reflect back on life and wonder how the years passed so quickly. Younger people might not have that many years behind them, but they still have regrets. We think about goals never met, important events missed, relationships never developed, opportunities missed because of fear.

In general, regret exists because lost opportunities cannot be reclaimed. You might say, “That ship has sailed.” The bite of regret is sharp because it is a loss of hope.

We may also feel regret over things we wish we had not done. We ought to feel regret over sin. Yet, not all regret is connected to sin. Because of a foolish decision, we might have done something that tarnished our reputation, destroyed a friendship, resulted in an injury with long-term effects, or caused a significant financial debt.

A friend of regret is if-only thinking:

• If only I had not said that.
• If only I had not done that.
• If only things were different.

The destructive force of regret is not just that it keeps our minds focused on the past; it keeps our minds focused on self.

When writing to the Christians at Philippi, the Apostle Paul looked at his past accomplishments and his personal credentials. He said that it was all rubbish (trash) when he considered the “surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” He went on to say that he was in pursuit of “the power of His resurrection.” Then he wrote...

13Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; 16however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. 

—Philippians 3:13–16 (NASB95)

After reading what Paul wrote, do you think he was eaten up with regret? Do you think he qualified for membership in the Regret Club?

I think we all have regrets. However, the key is in not living in the past. There is no such thing as ‘undo.’ Paul encouraged Christians to keep their focus on “the prize of the upward call of God.” He said that he let the past stay in the past by “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead.”

THAT is how you deal with regret.

• Did Paul have regrets? Absolutely!
• Do I have regrets? Yes! And it’s a burden.
• Do you have regrets? Of course!

However, living in the past is just another way of living in selfishness. Do you want to be rid of regret? The first step is in obtaining God’s forgiveness. Once your sin debt is cleared, then you must keep your focus forward on the promises of God. For all the things which you may regret, the one regret you cannot afford is to miss out on the resurrection from the dead.

Set your focus. Embrace hope.

Mark Stinnett

May 23, 2021

Why Are You Unhappy?

It’s no surprise; people are often unhappy.

I don’t always know specifically what makes people unhappy. Yet, I think we all know, at least in general, what causes unhappiness.

Think about the last time you felt unhappy. Stop. Think. Why?

I cannot read your mind, but the thing that came to your mind was something for which you sensed a lack of fulfillment. You had an expectation that was not fulfilled, something you desired that you did not receive. Even if your unhappiness was not specifically about you, it was about your lack of fulfillment. For example, it might be that you desired for your child to be successful in something. So, when they did not succeed as you expected, you feel a sense of unhappiness. Do you see that the unhappiness was still tied to your desire, your lack of fulfillment?

Unhappiness occurs when your desires are not satisfied and you are not content. Said another way, happiness is dependent on a person’s circumstances, and it is always dependent on the present...here and now.

Have you ever looked up the word happy in the dictionary? I know that we don’t need a dictionary to tell us if we’re happy. Yet, the most common range of meaning for the word happy is favored by circumstances; lucky; or fortunate.

The word happy is related to the word happen, both having the same root, hap, which means chance or luck. (Look it up if you wish.)

Do you know why it is so difficult to sustain a life of happiness? No one is lucky all the time. No one enjoys good fortune all the time. No one is favored by circumstances all the time.

Solomon said it this way:

I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. 

—Ecclesiastes 9:11 (NIV)

To be clear, Solomon did not intend for us to curl up in a ball and sob over our unfortunate plight of unluckiness. This is not the moment at which we cry to heaven, “Woe is me! I’m a victim. It’s not my fault. Where is happiness?”

The point is this: 

We live in a broken world where there are many disappointments. Happiness is a matter of time and chance and simply cannot be sustained. Unhappiness is a condition experienced when we focus on ourselves, or at least, focus on what we want.

The Apostle Paul reviewed his life and his credentials as a prominent Jew. Then he said:

I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.

-Philippians 3:8 (NASB95)

Paul then described suffering for Christ so that he could “attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Now, what if you knew that you would be raised from the dead to live eternally?

Paul shows the wisdom in reflecting on future resurrection, not current circumstances. His focus was not happiness. So, it is no surprise that he then wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord!”

Happiness is rooted in current circumstances and chance. Joy is rooted in divine promise.

Choose joy. Look with anticipation to your resurrection from the dead. Pursue Christ!


Mark Stinnett

May 16, 2021

How Can You Know You Are Accepted By God?

Acceptance is important to everyone. Most people love family because families are usually a little more tolerant and understanding, a little more accepting. Yet, when that is not the case, we associate with a circle of friends who accept us for who we are, warts and all.

Acceptance comes through positive affirmation: tangible rewards, special favors, verbal affirmation, overlooking mistakes, ignoring personal weaknesses, etc. We know when we are accepted because of quantifiable affirmations. What I mean is that we can actually refer to something said or done to us or done for us that validates our acceptance. For example:

• A person pays you a compliment.
• A grandparent sends you a birthday gift.
• A friend invites you to a party.
• Coworkers laugh at your witty remark.
• You receive a firm handshake that goes beyond a casual, “Hey, how ya doin’?”
• You get a genuine pat on the back for your efforts.
• Someone goes out of their way to do a favor for you, whether you need it or not.
• Someone stands up for you and supports you when you are at a disadvantage.

And the list goes on and on.

Are you accepted by God? How can you know? How does God give you positive affirmations? Some people live by the thinking that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. Yet…

He [God] causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 

—Matthew 5:45

And don’t forget Job. He was a blameless man, yet he suffered catastrophic loss.

I think we need a different way of thinking…

• God gave His only begotten Son as a sacrifice to pay your sin debt. (John 3:16)
• Jesus said that He was leaving to prepare a place for His followers and that He would return to take them home. (John 14:3)

Those are amazing promises of acceptance. Yet, they deal more with the future. What about now? Can I know that God accepts me now?

• Faith: “He who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
• Character: The beatitudes of Jesus describe godly character and behaviors for which we are assured divine acceptance and blessings. (Matthew 5:3-12)
• Pursuit of God: By putting God first in life, He has promised to take care of our physical needs in this life. (Matthew 6:25-34)
• Service: When a disciple of Jesus looks after the needs of a fellow believer, he is actually serving the Lord and is assured a reward. (Matthew 25:31-40; Mark 9:41)
• Sacrifice: Those who have sacrificed possessions and even family for God are promised blessing in this life and in the life to come. (Luke 18:29-30)
• Godliness: “Godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8)

God has made promises. We can respond by adjusting our attitudes and behaviors to conform to His instruction. When we do, we can know by divine promise that we are accepted.

But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word. 

—Isaiah 66:2

Mark Stinnett

May 9, 2021

Do You Have a Complaint Against God?

Korah, Dathan and Abiram challenged Moses’ leadership. They were instructed to take firepans and put incense in them and bring them before the Lord. They, along with 250 of their supporters, did so. Moses then declared that if they died a natural death, the Lord had not chosen him. Yet, if the earth opened up and swallowed them, then Moses was God’s chosen.

God caused the earth to open up and swallow Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their families with all their possessions. Then fire from heaven destroyed their 250 supporters. Aaron’s son was then instructed to collect the censers (firepans for incense) and hammer them into sheets “for a plating of the altar, since they did present them before the Lord and they are holy.” The plating on the altar was declared a sign.

Think about the symbolism. Whenever the plating on the altar was seen, it carried a message. I want to share some things we can learn from this event, all of which would have been represented in the censers that were hammered into sheets for a covering for the altar.

First, things that are presented to God belong to God, even if ungodly men present them.

Second, the censers that were made into plating were held by men who risked their lives for what they believed. However, the thing they believed was wrong. So they forfeited their lives for a false belief, for nothing.

Third, it is unwise to challenge those whom the Lord has chosen. Though Moses was a reluctant leader, he was God’s choice, and he knew God had chosen him. So, when God chooses someone, man should accept it and not challenge God, even if he does not agree or understand.

Fourth, the 250 men did not merely lose their lives; their loss was far greater.

As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered sheets….

—Numbers 16:38

The word lives in the verse above is literally souls. It is not that their sin resulted only in their bodies dying on that day; they lost their souls, the very essence of their being.

The soul is that aspect of the human being that has intent, will and desire. It is the part of one’s being that makes choices and that comes to know and understand things based on personal experience. It is that unique aspect of your being that makes YOU who you are.

By choosing to follow Korah, Dathan and Abiram, the 250 souls placed their entire beings into the hands of the three men they followed. They trusted in their leadership and in their perception of justice. Their point of failure is contrasted by the actions of Moses.

Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and all your company and put fire in them and lay incense upon them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow; and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy. 

—Numbers 16:6-7

Moses relied on God to answer the question. Instead of challenging leadership, Korah and those who made their stand with him should have consulted God. They were not merely jealous of Moses; they didn’t like God’s choice.

Leadership in God’s church is by God’s design. It does not mirror leadership in the secular world. Moses was not a perfect leader, but he was God’s choice. So are elders in the church today.

What do you think is the best way to handle your complaint against God and His design?

Mark Stinnett

May 2, 2021