I am doing this AMAZING Beth Moore Bible Study (on my own) on the book of Daniel. I am about halfway through, and this week's video message spoke to me so deeply.
One of her main points in this week's video is something that God has been trying so hard to drive home to me, but I have an extremely difficult time believing it and receiving it. I understand it in my head, but it has not reached my heart yet.
I was so moved and awed by one of the revelations God gave her.
Daniel Chapter 5 starts out with a very unholy bang, so to speak (vv. 1-4):
Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. 2 While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
She began by pointing out the obvious: Belshazzar sinned greatly by using holy vessels (because they had been reserved for use in the temple) in a most unholy manner. Not only did they profane the vessels by drinking from them, they used these consecrated vessels to toast their false gods. Major "oops."
This is the part I struggle with. She then compared those holy vessels to US, because the Bible says that when we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior, WE are holy. She used a couple of Scriptures to point this out--I don't remember all of them offhand, but I remember that she used 2 Tim. 2:20-21:
20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
It is so easy for me to believe this for anyone else on the planet. I have no problem looking at my friends and seeing them as holy, looking at people at work or church and seeing them as holy, but I do NOT see myself as holy. I think I see myself as so covered by sin that the stains of my sin cover the good that is underneath the sin. I cannot see the good because in my mind the sin obliterates it. My past sin completely dictates my perception of myself. When I have admitted this to a few close friends, they seem shocked because their perception of me differs so greatly from my own. I think they see me as good and holy because they DON'T see my past. My problem is that my perception of myself has not changed over the years as God has changed me on the inside. The changes are visible on the outside now (and I can see tremendous spiritual growth in myself over the past ten years or so), but I am unable to see it reflected in my day-to-day existence. What I still see is who I was.
But this is precisely her point--it doesn't matter to God what sins lie in our past--we can CHOOSE to CLEANSE OURSELVES (by accepting Christ, of course) and then we can be holy and He can use us for His good purposes. It doesn't matter how we see ourselves; what matters is how God sees us. It doesn't matter if we feel unworthy to something He has called us to do; what matters is the fact that we are good enough because He considers us good enough. He wouldn't use us if He did not consider us worthy of His calling.
Maybe, like me, you have "profaned" yourself. You have sins from your past that haunt you: regrets, shame, guilt, etc. Maybe other people have profaned you: made you feel unworthy, not good enough, ashamed, dishonorable, betrayed you, beaten you down verbally, mentally, physically, etc. You know what those circumstances are and who those people are--this paragraph triggered memories of those people and events in your mind as you were reading.
Satan is using these circumstances and people to keep us bound so that we feel unworthy to do God's purpose for us. When I allow Satan to convince me that I am unholy and unworthy, HE WINS. It frustrates and angers me so much that after so many years of being a Christian, I still let Satan win. I have been fighting this battle for several years now. I have definitely made some progress, but I know that God is pushing me to take the next step in resolving this issue.
I am regularly asking God to help me to see myself as He sees me.
I am going to include some Scriptures I found that demonstrate that we are holy. I hope this encourages you, holy one! :)
I Peter 1:15-16:
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
So it IS possible to be holy--He wouldn't command it if it were not possible!
II Cor. 7:1:
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
If we cleanse ourselves, we are clean; the stain of sin has been completely removed.
I Thess. 4:7:
7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives.
Ezekiel 18:1-3:
21 “But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live. 23 Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?
(So why do I choose to continue to remember these transgressions if the King of kings and Lord of lords does not??)
Psalm 103:12-14
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
14 For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.
*sigh* Even as I'm blogging, I am fighting thoughts that this is pointless, that no good can come of this and it's just a waste of my time. I will keep fighting, though. I will choose to believe that God has a purpose in it even if I don't see it .. YET!
If you're interested in learning more about the Daniel study, this is the format: Every week she has a video session (it lasts about an hour), and then she has a workbook, and there are five assignments for each week of the study in the workbook.
Here is the link to the video sessions (they are available as individual downloads for $5 each):
Here is the link to the workbook:
One of her main points in this week's video is something that God has been trying so hard to drive home to me, but I have an extremely difficult time believing it and receiving it. I understand it in my head, but it has not reached my heart yet.
I was so moved and awed by one of the revelations God gave her.
Daniel Chapter 5 starts out with a very unholy bang, so to speak (vv. 1-4):
Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. 2 While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
She began by pointing out the obvious: Belshazzar sinned greatly by using holy vessels (because they had been reserved for use in the temple) in a most unholy manner. Not only did they profane the vessels by drinking from them, they used these consecrated vessels to toast their false gods. Major "oops."
This is the part I struggle with. She then compared those holy vessels to US, because the Bible says that when we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior, WE are holy. She used a couple of Scriptures to point this out--I don't remember all of them offhand, but I remember that she used 2 Tim. 2:20-21:
20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
It is so easy for me to believe this for anyone else on the planet. I have no problem looking at my friends and seeing them as holy, looking at people at work or church and seeing them as holy, but I do NOT see myself as holy. I think I see myself as so covered by sin that the stains of my sin cover the good that is underneath the sin. I cannot see the good because in my mind the sin obliterates it. My past sin completely dictates my perception of myself. When I have admitted this to a few close friends, they seem shocked because their perception of me differs so greatly from my own. I think they see me as good and holy because they DON'T see my past. My problem is that my perception of myself has not changed over the years as God has changed me on the inside. The changes are visible on the outside now (and I can see tremendous spiritual growth in myself over the past ten years or so), but I am unable to see it reflected in my day-to-day existence. What I still see is who I was.
But this is precisely her point--it doesn't matter to God what sins lie in our past--we can CHOOSE to CLEANSE OURSELVES (by accepting Christ, of course) and then we can be holy and He can use us for His good purposes. It doesn't matter how we see ourselves; what matters is how God sees us. It doesn't matter if we feel unworthy to something He has called us to do; what matters is the fact that we are good enough because He considers us good enough. He wouldn't use us if He did not consider us worthy of His calling.
Maybe, like me, you have "profaned" yourself. You have sins from your past that haunt you: regrets, shame, guilt, etc. Maybe other people have profaned you: made you feel unworthy, not good enough, ashamed, dishonorable, betrayed you, beaten you down verbally, mentally, physically, etc. You know what those circumstances are and who those people are--this paragraph triggered memories of those people and events in your mind as you were reading.
Satan is using these circumstances and people to keep us bound so that we feel unworthy to do God's purpose for us. When I allow Satan to convince me that I am unholy and unworthy, HE WINS. It frustrates and angers me so much that after so many years of being a Christian, I still let Satan win. I have been fighting this battle for several years now. I have definitely made some progress, but I know that God is pushing me to take the next step in resolving this issue.
I am regularly asking God to help me to see myself as He sees me.
I am going to include some Scriptures I found that demonstrate that we are holy. I hope this encourages you, holy one! :)
I Peter 1:15-16:
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
So it IS possible to be holy--He wouldn't command it if it were not possible!
II Cor. 7:1:
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
If we cleanse ourselves, we are clean; the stain of sin has been completely removed.
I Thess. 4:7:
7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives.
Ezekiel 18:1-3:
21 “But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live. 23 Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?
(So why do I choose to continue to remember these transgressions if the King of kings and Lord of lords does not??)
Psalm 103:12-14
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
14 For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.
*sigh* Even as I'm blogging, I am fighting thoughts that this is pointless, that no good can come of this and it's just a waste of my time. I will keep fighting, though. I will choose to believe that God has a purpose in it even if I don't see it .. YET!
If you're interested in learning more about the Daniel study, this is the format: Every week she has a video session (it lasts about an hour), and then she has a workbook, and there are five assignments for each week of the study in the workbook.
Here is the link to the video sessions (they are available as individual downloads for $5 each):
Here is the link to the workbook:
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