A thirst for Holiness, not acts of Legalism

Greetings from Kona!! I'll just jump right into it since nobody really wants the small talk ;)

To say that coming to Kona was the right decision, would be an under statement of the century. It was the best decision, the only choice... and it's one heck of a blessed decision! I've been here not even 4 full days yet, and my Paradigm's are wrecking, my boxes are being destroyed, and my heart is like a broken city being rebuilt from the ground up with the most amazing architect. I don't fully know where to begin exactly or how to describe to you what the Lord is doing right now. This is the best I can do right now as I am still processing a lot of it.

I arrive in Kona, and I am greeted by Shea, Carissa, & Aaron (All Call2All Staff). We ride to the campus. And it's almost not believable, it hasn't fully sunk in that I'm BACK. Through out the week there have been a couple instances where it's hit me that I'm in Kona again... One was drinking a glass of tap water, one was walking downtown, and one was just a realization of not necessarily that I was in Kona, but an extreme overwhelming moment when it hit me how blessed I am and how insane it is that God has chosen me to fulfill this season. So good. So the next morning those of us who arrived this week had orientation, got a little bit of our schedule, we went to our leaders house for dinner, had staff meetings, got trained in Student Services. And things were lookin' pretty good. Nothing crazy, but all so good and peaceful. Like I said in one of my facebook status', a feeling of peace has made it's home in my heart like never before in my life - and as I sit here, 4 days in, it has done nothing but intensify. Peace that surpasses all understanding! Wooohoo!!

So this weekend we had "Relationship Weekend". Brian Brent & Andy Bird headed most of it up, and then Amy Sollars and Lindy Conant ending it. Everything in me has begun to shift. Revelations have been poured over my heart. I cannot tell you the last time I was this excited about Jesus in MY life. Not what He wanted to do in the future, but just the closeness of His spirit over me. So many things sunk into my heart this weekend. Here are just a couple bullet points that began to take root in my heart.

-Character of Honor
-Restoration of Chivalry
-Present Retrospect
-Purity
-Holiness
-Righteousness
-Renewal of our Minds
-Guarding our eyes
-Breaking off Legalism and Entering into Holiness
-Motives of our hearts

I want to go into one of these things... Just because it rocked me to the core.
Something that has really taken me alot of places today, is Breaking Off Legalism and Entering Into Holiness. Now, I just have to confess to anybody reading this, The Lord has really dealt with a lot of pride in my heart regarding this. So much is happening on campus, and so many people are going to the extremes for TRUE holiness, for TRUE purity, simply because their hunger and thirst for Jesus and Intimacy outweigh any other desire that they may have, or even in a way to shake off any other desire besides the one that should be leading us. A couple of times, already, situations have happened where somebody was taking a stand, and I became very judgmental and prideful in my heart. But I realized tonight, it was only out of a place of insecurity, out of a place of bitterness, and out of a place of jealousy for convictions the Lord was giving them that I myself wanted. Not necessarily the same conviction, but that closeness with Jesus that made me do extreme things for him. These are things that so easily ensnare us, and we don't even realize it because in our culture, it's "normal" and a lot easier to just label things as legalistic. I've done it so many times! We all do it! When I looked up "Legalism" in the dictionary, this is one definition that I found: "the doctrine that salvation is gained through good works". Now, if we take a stand on doing things because we want salvation, and we think the way we get it is through doing extreme things, by doing anything at all, then yes... we are walking in legalism. BUT! I have some very liberating secrets to let you in on. It is NOT legalism when we desire the Lord so much, when we realize there is nothing TOO great to sacrifice for more of Him, and we are hit with the revelation of 1) the value of Jesus & the cross, and 2) the value of ourselves. When we begin to tap in on this piece of heaven, this sliver of excitement, it will change your world. We don't give up things because it "seals the deal" we give up things because no other thing is better. We give it up because it's just another thing that we don't have to worry about being in the way for us to commune with Jesus. It's a process that allows the Revival of your Heart, to walk out as the Reformation of a Lifestyle.
Let me give you an example so you better understand what I am trying to say.

Jesus asked me if I was willing to give up movies for the next 8 months of my life (along with a couple of other things). Now, are movies bad? No. Is entertainment bad? No. Is God upset with us watching movies? I don't think so. So whats the big deal? Let me share my heart...
in Matthew 6:22-23 we read, "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is the darkness,how great is that darkness!" We gather a couple of things from this scripture. 1) Our eyes are a MAJOR gateway into every aspect of our body. Our mind, Our heart, Our soul, Our Spirit... every aspect. And 2) It says light, and it says darkness. There is no "in between" no "gray area" that society so embraces now to allow us to sin without conviction, without the fear of the Lord.
So if my eyes are the gateway to my whole being, what I choose to look at, will essentially become who I am... right? What we watch is what becomes our reality on the inside, and what is on the inside cannot help but overflow into the reality of what we do, what we say, etc. etc.
So... some may say that it's "legalistic" to go on a movie fast for 8 months. But, I truly believe that in this season of laying down that thing will radically begin to shift my heart, my mind, my soul, my spirit... into a place where the Holy Spirit is strengthened inside of me... where I not only am honoring MYSELF, but I am honoring the Holy Spirit. Because I trust the Holy Spirit. And it is a practical act of GUARDING the things that the Lord has placed inside of me. It is a step I'm taking that, for me, says "I am willing to lay down this one thing for a season for the fullness of what Jesus has for me. So that I may be renewed. So that what use to be "normal" for me to intake (all the sins of the world), would begin to disturb me and bring me closer to the heart of Purity, to the heart of Jesus." I, myself, want to stop using Grace as an excuse to sin, and stop using Legalism as an excuse to not be extreme for the Lord. I've done it for too long, I've seen my friends & family do it, and I've seen the damage it has on a generation who is actually thirsty and hungry for truth, but isn't willing to lay down little choices for it. I am hungry, I am thirsty... and if I do not go after this, I will die. I want to live. I want life.

I believe the Lord is raising up a generation of purity. Young men and women who crave righteousness, who seek after holiness. This doesn't have to be over spiritualized. It doesn't have to be some intense thing. It's what we were created for! We have to stop making things such a big deal, because it's easy. It's a CHOICE. Sure, there definitely is a process in things. There is a process in the renewing of our minds and purifying of the soul and spirit. BUT, there is no process of choice. We have a choice. And we either choose light - life, the ability to allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse us, to renew us, to strength us and edify us. Or we choose darkness - death, allowing the enemy space inside of our hearts to root himself so gradually and silently but quickly. Each choice leads to the next, and the next and the next. Whether it is good or bad. It's goes somewhere, it doesn't just stay in one place. We have to stop allowing society to de-sensitize our spirits, we have to stop ignoring the moving of the Holy Spirit inside of us. EMBRACE Righteousness, EMBRACE Purity, EMBRACE Holiness. I guarantee you won't look back 10 years from now and think to yourself "man, I wish I would have done more of those 'border line' or 'gray area' things." It's not about legalism. It's not about being better than anybody else. It all comes down to how much do you want Jesus, how much do you long for purity? And is he worth you giving up something to allow more space for Him to reside in your life? It can look different for every person, but we all have places that deserve the Lord to reside there instead of what we've allowed to reside there in the past.
I just want to encourage you, in everything I say it's never for condemnation or anything other than just to encourage you, to challenge you. I do not believe there is anything too extreme to do for God. Society probably has a lot of things that are, but in my book... and I believe in Jesus' book, there isn't. Because when we come to Him with a heart hungry for Truth, hungry for Himself... He loves our sacrifice, and He promises His fire. He honors us as we honor Him, with the little things & with the big things. So don't be afraid. Just go after Him. Now is the best time. It's not too early. It's not too late. It's the PERFECT time to surrender it all to Him and go after Him with every single piece of who you are. And why not? We have nothing to loose. Only everything to gain!

I'll probably be going deeper into detail with some of the other things we learned about. I could probably write a book about all the revelation the Lord poured out this weekend. So much beautiful conviction, freedom I haven't experienced in YEARS. It' so amazing when you let the Lord take the reigns of your life. He'll definitely take you up on your prayers!!

I love you all. I miss you. Please respond, thoughts? questions? I'd love to hear from you. Love Love Love & loads of Peace over you!