TIME TO CONSECRATE OURSELVES!

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

“Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the LORD. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you.” -Joshua 7:13

Years ago, I was talking with someone who said this, “Linda, I know I’m going to Hell. What is the point of me serving God when I want to do what I want to do? If I serve God, then I can’t do what I want.” I sat there in complete silence. “I know I’m going to Hell…If I serve God, then I can’t do what I want.” What could I have said? We had already talked about heaven and hell. We had already talked about what the Bible had to say about life of sin the person was in. Yet there was that statement, “If I serve God, then I can’t do what I want.” I left the person’s house that day shaking my head. There was nothing more I could say. The person chose misery over living for God. The person chose death and destruction over eternal life. That person to this day, years later, is still locked in a life of sin, believing their sin is okay in the eyes of God.

Sin of any kind is detestable in the eyes of God. Like the Israelites, until sin is removed from our life, we will be defeated. We cannot be steeped in sin and expect God to work on our behalf to give us victory.

The Lord had given a command to Joshua just before they went in to conquer Jericho, “Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury,” (Joshua 6:18-19). Achan, however, decided to disobey the command the LORD gave through Joshua. In chapter 7, the Israelites went to conquer the city of Ai and got defeated because sin was found in the camp. Achan had the things devoted for destruction including things that were to be brought into the Lord’s treasury. He hid them under his tent. His sin didn’t just affect him. The results of his sin cost the Israelites victory in conquering the city of Ai. Joshua and the elders fell on their face before God because they were defeated at the battle of Ai. That is when God said this, “Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this? Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings. That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction,” (Joshua 7:10-12).

What is in your camp (life, heart) that needs to be removed? When we speak about consecration to God, we are speaking about being set aside for His service. We are speaking about being made holy. We are talking about being sanctified. It is essential for us to understand God is absolute perfection. He is holy, and He says, “Be holy for I am holy.” He doesn’t command us to do the impossible. Apart from Christ, we can do nothing.  However, in Christ, we are given all we need to live holy lives for the Lord.

The Lord gave a specific command in Joshua 7:13, “Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the LORD. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you.” The Israelites needed to purge their encampment of sin. They needed to go before God and purify themselves. They needed to set themselves apart for service for God. Achan’s sin affected him, the nation, and his clan. Once the sin was confessed, the sin was purged from the camp. Achan and his family paid the consequences of Achan’s sin: death. His sin brought death and destruction to his family. After Achan and his family were put to death, Joshua and the Israelites went to battle the city of Ai again and were victorious. They conquered Ai.

We would do well to learn from Achan and not hide sin that may be in our life.

“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness,” (1 John 1:9). When we confess our sins before God, we can trust and know He will forgive us. We can know and trust that He is Yahweh M’Kaddesh, the Lord Who Sanctifies. Though God’s mercies are new every morning and His compassion never fails, we are never, never, never to take advantage of God’s mercy and grace.

When King David had repented before God, he stated this, “Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me—now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me,” (Psalm 51:7-11). God doesn’t reject a broken spirit or a contrite heart that comes before Him in genuine repentance and humility. When we consecrate ourselves before God, we are coming out from amongst them. We are separating ourselves apart for His service. Before God, we must make a decision.

Will we consecrate ourselves before Him? Will we rend our hearts before Him? Will we live for Him in wholehearted devotion and in service to Him? Will we allow ourselves to be used by Him in whatever capacity He chooses? Choose you this day whom you will serve.

We are a Royal Priesthood. First Peter 2:9 states, “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” Since we are a royal priesthood, we must go before God and consecrate ourselves before Him. When we consecrate ourselves before God, we empty ourselves before Him; in other words, we pour ourselves out before Him.

I cannot stress this enough: holiness and worldliness do NOT mix. You cannot be a friend of God and a friend of the world. The foundation of our lives must be built on Christ. He is the Solid Rock, and there is no other. We cannot escape from Him. He is the Fountain of Living Water. He is the Manna (Bread) of Heaven. And He is more than enough. We cannot speak about being consecrated to God without discussing holiness. When we consecrate ourselves to God, we are literally giving ourselves over to His service. We are pouring ourselves out before God just as the woman with the alabaster jar did when she broke the bottle of nard over Jesus. We consecrate ourselves to God in complete abandonment.

Linda A. Knowles

EXACTLY WHAT CONSEQUENCES ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY FOR YOU TO DO IT YOUR WAY?

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

“Jesus continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not. That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins,” (John 8:23-24). The Religious Leaders and Pharisees were committing the sin of unbelief.  They did not believe Jesus was the Messiah. They did not trust in Jesus. Belief in Jesus is not just believing Jesus is who He says He is. Belief in Jesus also means trusting in Him. It means hoping in Him. It is believing with all our hearts that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. It is believing that Jesus is the only means of salvation.

Unbelief is a sin just like lying or stealing or anything else that goes contrary to what God says. When there is unbelief, rebellion and hostility are present. When there is rebellion and hostility, darkness overtakes.  When darkness overtakes, there is absence of light. When there is absence of light, only ego and self are left.  When ego and self are left, man is his own god.  When man is his own god, then idolatry consumes.  When idolatry consumes, other lawless activities exist and thrive. When lawlessness exists and thrives, destruction is its wages.

What is sin? Sin is anything that goes completely contrary to the law of God. “Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God,” (1 John 3:4). Sin is lawlessness. Lawlessness is iniquity and disobedience. Lawlessness is sin. If God says something is evil, it’s evil. When God says something is evil, we are not to do it. “What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever,” (Isaiah 5:20-21).

What does sin do? “Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him,” (Numbers 15:31). Sin cuts us off from God, separating us from Him. Sin will have us living in darkness. Sin will have us traveling down the broad road to destruction. It causes us to trample the Word of God and the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross.

What happens when we sin? When we sin, we grieve the Holy Spirit. We need to understand that the Holy Spirit dwelling within us (the very presence of Almighty God) is so holy, that He (the Holy Spirit) cannot tolerate sin in any degree. The Holy Spirit will only reside in a clean temple. “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God with your body,” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). It is imperative that we understand the spiritual fatality of sin.  Those who practice sin are defiled. If we call evil good and good evil, sorrow awaits us.  If we call light dark and dark light, sorrow awaits us. When we submit and surrender to the culture and world we live in rather than submitting and surrendering to God, sorrow awaits us. Sin only brings death and destruction.

“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God,’” (Matthew 15:7-9). GOD REQUIRES OUR HEART. We have the tendency to look at someone’s outer appearance, but God does not look at the outer appearance. The Scriptures states, “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart,’” (1 Samuel 16:7). The condition of our heart matters to God. The motives and intentions of one’s heart must be right in the eyes of God. The applause of men is all we will get if that is what we seek. All that matters is that we are seeking the Lord’s approval. If we don’t have God’s approval, nothing else will matter. We must have an undivided, unwavering heart in walking with the Lord. Walking with God and living for God is not for the faint of heart. Are we worshiping God in spirit and in truth? Are we loyal and faithful to God? Do we walk before God with an undivided heart? Are we in right relationship with God? When no one is looking, how are we living?

Previously I stated that we cannot be holy and worldly at the same time. Holiness and worldliness are in direct opposition to each other. If we are a friend of the world, then we make ourselves an enemy of God (James 4:4).  The Word declares, “You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” (James 4:4-7). Do you we want to be an enemy of God or a friend of God? To be a friend of God, we cannot be a friend of the world. We cannot be practicing a life of sin. Each of us has one life to live. We either live for God or we do not. How we live is a matter of spiritual life or death. Are we living for the Lord? Do we know where we will spend eternity? There is only one life to live. So, how are we living this one life?

The Psalmist declared, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” To line up our thoughts with God’s thoughts, we need to study the Scriptures. To know how to live a pure and holy life, we need to study the Scriptures. It is within its pages we see the promises of God. Within its pages, we see the nature and character of God unfold before us. Within its pages, we receive encouragement, reproof, instruction, and hope. In the Scriptures, we find comfort. 

When there has been no inward transformation that results in living a life of righteousness and holiness before God, outward displays of sacrificial praise mean absolutely nothing. In other words, we could stand in church shouting “Praise the Lord!  Glory to God!” However, if we are not living pure and upright before the Lord, then our praise and worship is meaningless. God has made it very clear what He requires, “No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God,” (Micah 6:8). There is no break from walking in purity and holiness before God. If there is any sin in our life, we are to confess our sin before the Lord and repent with a contrite heart.  We are to turn from our wicked ways and never go back to those wicked ways. The Lord has told us what He requires. He is not impressed with shows of pomposity, pretense, and hypocrisy. Remember this:  “Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed,” (Proverbs 12:19). 

Linda A. Knowles

SO YOU WANT TO CONCEAL YOUR SECRET SINS, YOUR SECRET LIFE?

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity.  Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.” -Matthew 23: 27-28

The word “whitewash” absolutely fascinates me.  It means to cover up, to camouflage, to gloss over, and to sugarcoat.  Whitewash is also a form of paint that is made up of slaked lime powder, chalk, water, and other ingredients.  The ornate buildings found in a cemetery are whitewashed tombs.  The whitewashed tombs are filled the bones of those who have passed on.

In this passage of Scripture, Jesus likens the Religious Leaders and the Pharisees to whitewashed tombs.  In other words, they looked wonderful in the outer appearance. They followed the law in the presence of people. They were dressed beautifully in their long flowing robes. They followed all the religious ceremonial laws, and yet they were practicing a life of sin behind closed doors. They had hidden sins, and Jesus was calling them out on their hidden sins. So whatever sins they believed they had concealed were exposed by Jesus.

Isaiah 29:15 states, “‘Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the LORD, And their works are in the dark; They say, ‘Who sees us?’ and, ‘Who knows us?’” The people of Jerusalem were concealing their evil behavior. Having to conceal their wicked behavior clearly indicated they knew they had sinned. They kept continuing to practice a life of sin. They convinced themselves to believe that God did not see or know what they were doing. The people of Jerusalem also were trying to conceal their true intentions and motives from the Lord. Before we are harsh in our thinking towards the people of Jerusalem, we are not that much different in today’s churches.

“Those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the LORD” is a description of one who attempts to cover and conceal his or her actual intentions for evil.  Outwardly, they come across as sincere. Their appearance may look good.  Their speech may be influential and convincing.  They may even sound credible. The problem is that those who conceal their sins or their double life are filled with dead men bones.  Their fake displays of piety, going through the motions, and presenting themselves as men or women of God are the whitewashing of the tombs that contain the bones of dead men. Inwardly, the foulness of pretense and hypocrisy is the stench behind the doors of the whitewashed tombs (evildoers, hypocrites, deceivers, liars, and the like). We have the capability of deceiving ourselves that God does not see or know what we are doing in secret when no one is looking. When we try to conceal sin of any kind, we are nothing but whitewashed tombs filled with a stench that rises up to the nostrils of God who sees and knows the sins we commit.

It is essential to understand that we cannot conceal sin. God is El Roi (The God Who Sees Me). Proverbs 8:13 states this, “The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.” Before God, everything is laid out. Nothing is hidden.  Everything is stripped bare. We should never be so foolish to believe we can conceal any sin from God. 

Linda A. Knowles

Did You Say Good Fire?

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

Yesterday, I wrote about God who is a consuming fire. Just like we escape from a building on fire, we try to escape the fire of God. There is a fire that is exceptionally good for us. Specifically, the Refiner’s Fire.


We must understand one of the basic fundamental beliefs of the Christian faith. It is an inescapable truth we must always keep at the front of our minds. That undeniable truth is that EACH OF US WILL STAND BEFORE GOD ONE DAY. We will answer for how we lived, what we did, and for every idle word spoken. The good fire is a cleansing fire that cleans up the child of God to shape his or her character. We call this the Refiner’s Fire. Our God is a consuming fire. He is also the Refiner who purifies and polishes those who are godly (those who belong to Him).


“Yet He knows the way I have taken, when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.My feet have followed His tracks; I have kept His ways without turning aside,” (Job 23:10-11).

Job was going through his own personal hell on earth. Job was being refined. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. Yet while his wife said, “Curse God and die,” Job maintained his integrity. Job clung to God, and he longed for God. Job went through one trial after another. Those trials shaped his character. It was after he was tested, he came out like gold from the furnace of affliction. “Then Job replied to the Lord: ‘I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance? ’It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. ’I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said,and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance,’” (Job 42:2-6). At the end of it all, God restored twice as much to him than what he had before all the trials began (Job 42:10-15).


We go through the refining fire when trials and testing come our way. It is a good kind of fire. It is the kind of fire that keeps us on track. It is the kind of fire that removes the impurity (sin) from our life and drives us to repentance before the God we serve. It is the kind of fire that sharpens our character. It is the kind of fire that doesn’t leave us in the muck and mire. It is kind that doesn’t leave us in despair or feeling hopeless. It is the kind of fire that drives us before the face of God to commune with Him. It is the kind of fire that draws us deeper in our relationship with God. It is the Refiner’s Fire.


“…when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” God never leaves us alone when we are going through the fire. His Holy Spirit guides us and teaches us through whatever it is that comes our way. Through these times, we progress further in our walk with God. We don’t look back; we continue to press forward. With assurance, we can know we are made overwhelmingly victorious because He loves us.
We must be in right relationship with God, rooted in Jesus Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit, and grounded in the Word of God. There is no neutral ground when it comes to serving the Lord. We cannot have one foot in the world and one foot in God. The foundation of our life MUST BE Jesus Christ. He is the only Sure Foundation, the Chief Cornerstone, which cannot be moved (Isaiah 28:26, Ephesians 2:20, 1 Peter 2:4). He is the One who we can fully trust and put our hope in.


Jesus Christ is the One who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and with fire. “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire,” (Matthew 3:11). For the godly, this fire is the fire that will burn away sin out of the lives of the godly. If the ungodly cling and hold on tightly to their sin, this fire is the fire that devours them, the fire that brings devastation.


Remember this: Absolutely nothing is hidden from God. Everything is exposed before Him.


Linda A. Knowles

JEALOUS? GOD?

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

“For our God is a consuming fire.”

Hebrews 12:29

“For the LORD your God is a consuming fire,

a jealous God.”

Deuteronomy 4:24

When we see verses stated more than one time in the Scriptures, it should make us stop and reflect.

In Deuteronomy 4:24, we see God is called a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:29 echoes the same words as Deuteronomy 4:24. In Deuteronomy 4:24, the word “consuming” comes from the transliteration of the Hebrew word “akal.” The word “consuming” means to devour, burn up, devastate, ravage. In Hebrews 12:29, the transliteration of the Greek word is “katanaliskō” which means to be consumed, to burn up. Sin, wickedness, evil, and all those who are defiant against God will be burned up. He will show forth His glory like a consuming fire. These verses cannot be ignored as they are somber warnings against idolatry and the judgment soon to come.

What God showed me is not an image I can easily forget. When God had revealed to me Himself as a consuming fire, He showed me He is purging evil and wickedness and cleansing everything with His fire. He showed me destruction awaits those who oppose and rebel against Him.

It is a horrifying thought to be ravaged by fire or burned up. Yet, while the words of these verses are comforting to those who are believers, these words are downright terrifying to those who are practicing a life of sin. There is no comfort or peace for those who are not living a life surrendered to God.

“For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” Yes, God is jealous for us, and He burns with passion and zeal for His children. He desires to communicate and have a relationship with us. He is the consuming fire who loves His children far more than we could ever imagine. The problem is when we are not serving Him, we are serving and living for self. Serving and living for self is pushing God out of His rightful place in our lives. When we push God out of His rightful place in our lives, we break the first commandment. “You must not have any other God but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any king or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods…” Exodus 20:3-5.

The nature and character of God is HOLINESS. The God we see in the Old Testament is the same God we see in the New Testament. God has not changed. His commands have not changed. We are commanded to be holy, and “…He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’” 1 Peter 1:15-16. We are called to holiness. Therefore, as His children, we follow God’s instructions on how to be holy. We cannot be holy and take on the beliefs and philosophies of the world. Being holy and being worldly do not mix. We are either holy or worldly; we cannot be both.

God is the fire that refines. He is the One who is able to cleanse the stains of sin and shame. He is able to make a person complete. Because He is holy, He calls for repentance. If we do not have a holy fear of God and who He is, no act of worship will be acceptable to Him. If we do not have reverence for God, then we will not treat God with honor.

Linda A. Knowles