What's next for me? Here's a quick outline:
- Pursue holiness with greater effort.
- Learn more and pursue humility and giving.
- Continue to teach, write, encourage, uplift, and inspire others in their journey with Christ.
- Help more determined non-believers find Christ—because doing so is so rewarding.
- Continue my study of Scripture, commentaries, Hebrew, Greek, lexicons, and related topics.
Holiness
Holiness is a quality of God that refers to "separation" FROM all that is evil and UNTO all that is good. When the Scriptures teach Believers to pursue holiness, it refers to drawing closer to Him and becoming more like Him in speech, deed, thought, and behavior. When a person goes through the process of becoming a Christ-Follower, it's called Justification. After this is a process called, "Sanctification." Holiness is the part of your life where you (A) begin to give up certain things for the Lord and (B) where you add other things to your life for the sake of the Lord. An example for some might be (A) giving up drinking, the club, and other influences, and (B) attending a Bible study group to learn how to minimize certain behaviors (e.g., cutting out swearing, gossiping, wearing suggestive clothes, bragging, etc...).
Humility
Humility and giving should be a part of every Believer's repertoire. Many years ago, I learned that humility is the oil of life that can ease the friction and tension caused by frail and imperfect beings interacting with each other! I once heard a minister describe Christians as porcupines living around each other in a cold climate. The cold environment they live incauses them to get close to each other. But their quills (i.e., their culture, personalities, quirks, idiosyncrasies, and faults) prick each other and drive them apart. So, we need humility to bind us together!
Giving
Giving is one of the best ways we can emulate our Lord! When I speak of giving, I am referring to SACRIFICIAL GIVING — sensing a need and feeling led to empty one's bank account or wallet for a verified ministry, or ministering to someone knowing you'll be late for an important meeting. For example, putting a couple of dollars in the offering plate at church is one thing. Withdrawing everything from one of your bank accounts and giving it to a ministry or a person is need is quite another! Have you been taught how to give? Have you witnessed numerous examples of sacrificial giving? If no, and you'd like to learn more about it, please feel free to write to me. I have learned that giving money to the church is only one of many ways to give. My giving involves (A) giving money to a local church, (B) giving money to a misssionary or evangelist, (C) giving money to various ministries that make a difference in people's lives for the sake of His Kingdom [e.g., digging wells, providing digital bibles, providing chickens and other animals, etc.], and (D) giving money to homeless people.