In his book Out of the Whirlwind, Mark Tabb writes, “Yet the bottom line is this: God’s promises have more to do with getting us ready for heaven than alleviating our suffering today. He does not care nearly as much about our comfort as he does our holiness and dependence upon him. Yes, God will cause everything to work together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose, just as Romans 8:28 promises. That doesn’t mean everything will work out for the best in this life. Far from it. But that doesn’t matter. God works on the scale of the world to come.”

Romans 8:28 NIV “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

For more information on “Out of the Whirlwind” by Mark Tabb, go to http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/080542721X/fm082-20

In his book, The Way of Holiness, Stephen Olford writes, “we cannot personally reveal Christ until we have received Christ, but if there is a genuine experience of the indwelling Savior, then we have a supreme responsibility to reveal Christ consciously, conspicuously, and continually in every area of life.”

Christians must do more than talk about Jesus; we must reveal Him in our lifestyles. If our actions muffle our words, nobody will hear our message.

For more information on The Way of Holiness, go to: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0891079777/fm082-20

Norway and Russia have argued for years about Norway's 1920 sovereign claim of the Svalbard Islands located 500 miles north of the Mainland. In 1977, Norway set up a 200 mile zone around them as a part of their territorial claim, something Russia doesn't recognize. This region in the Barents Sea is rich with fish and is estimated to hold 40 million barrels of oil. Norway allows fishing in the area, but does not allow fishing vessels to use fine-mesh nets that catch undersized fish.

On October 15, 2005, Norwegian Coastguard officials boarded the Elektron, a Russian fishing vessel and placed them under arrest for fishing with illegal equipment. With two Coastguard officials aboard the vessel, the Klektron was following the Coastguard ship towards a Norwegian port when the Russian vessel broke away and began heading toward Russia.

Immediately, the Coastguard Ship changed course and began a two-day hot pursuit of the vessel that now held its officers captive. Before long, the Norwegian Navy and the Russian Navy were involved in the dispute and all the loose ends will probably be tied up in court or some diplomats' office in the future.

—http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1832166,00.html Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

What do you think was going through the Coastguard Captain's mind when he learned that the Russian Vessel was breaking toward Russia with two of his personnel aboard? Do you think it took him long to give the orders to change course and began pursuing the Russian vessel? I don't think it even took a split second. Undoubtedly there was no question in his mind, he gave the orders and the Coastguard was in hot pursuit of the renegade vessel.

With the same determination—the determination of a hot pursuit, we are to pursue peace and holiness.

Hebrews 12:14 (HCSB) "Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord.

A new study by the Barna organization shows that though the Bible talks a lot about holiness, most adults are confused and even daunted by the concept. The study found overall, three out of four adults believe it is possible for someone to become holy regardless of their past. While 50 percent of adults said they know someone they consider to be holy, only one in four, or 21 percent, considers themselves to be holy. Results showed very little difference between people who call themselves born again Christians, and the population in general.

The adults most likely to say they knew someone they considered holy described holiness primarily as possessing a positive attitude toward God and life. Respondents who defined holiness as spiritual condition were less likely to identify anyone they knew as holy. When asked to describe what it meant to be holy, adults gave a wide variety of answers. The most common reply was "I don't know."

Other responses included making faith your top priority in life, living a pure or sinless lifestyle, having a good attitude toward other people, or focusing completely on God. The study revealed the responses of born again and non-born again adults were almost identical.

The survey's director George Barna says, "Realize the results portray a body of Christians who attend church and read the Bible, but do not understand the concept or significance or holiness, do not personally desire to be holy, and therefore do little, if anything to pursue it." Barna says other recent survey results on spiritual maturity, indicate the need to teach the importance of holiness. He adds, "To align their hearts with the notion of being holy, we must move them away from a 'cheap grace' theology and replace people's self-absorption with focus on God and His ways."

—http://www.barna.org, The Concept of Holiness Baffles most Americans, February 20, 2006. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Ephesians 4:22-24 (NLT) "throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. [23] Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. [24] Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy."

A study at a Kansas University found almost no difference in the sex practices of atheists and highly religious people. Adultery, masturbation, and other sex acts are as prevalent among the religious as the irreligious. The only difference investigators found was that the religious feel guilty about doing them. “The guilt ‘does not stop them,’ said researcher Darrel Rey. ‘It just makes them feel bad.’”

--The Week, June 10, 2011 p. 6. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

1 Thessalonians 3:13 (ESV) so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

Broadcast TV is getting tougher for a Christian to watch. The Parents Television council found 76 incidents of full nudity on prime-time network TV in 2011, an increase of 407 percent from 2010. Using pixilation of the key body parts they are broadcasting fully naked characters.
It is harder for families to watch television together. It can even be embarrassing watching commercials. How can a Christ follower have the mind of Christ with these images floating through them? --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Philippians 4:8 (CEV) Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don't ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise.

When Clay Lein began studying electrical engineering in college, he decided that he didn’t need his faith in God anymore. He believed his training told him to be skeptical and to demand evidence. Without evidence, Clay knew could find no reason to include God in his busy life. He would go to church to appease his wife, but told everyone that he was an atheist. Then Clay volunteered at a youth camp and everything changed. He was asked to pray publicly. Not knowing what to say, he tried to draw on his childhood experience, but the prayer took on a life of its own and lasted 15 minutes. When he finished, one young woman shared something about her life that she had never been able to tell anyone. At that moment Clay realized that God was both real and relevant and that he wanted to do things in his life. He became a Christian that day and began to wonder what would happen if he gave God more than 15 minutes. From that point Clay’s life took a new direction. He went to seminary and became an ordained minister. Today he serves a 4,000 member church in Houston. Clay says the sign outside the church reads ‘Changing lives for Christ.’ Clay says, ”I’m a poster child for that declaration. If God can change me, he can change anybody.”—Jim L. Wilson & Jim Sandell.

Atheist startled when God spoke through his prayer, By Michael Ashcraft and Mark Ellis, http://blog.godreports.com/2015/03/atheist-startled-when-god-spoke-through-his-prayer, Accessed March 5, 2105

2 Corinthians 5:17 (HCSB) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, ?he is? a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.

The word ‘holiday’ comes from the Old English word meaning holy day. However, times are a changin’. A recent CNN news article says that Kraft Heinz Co. is suggesting that its U.S. employees get the day off following the Super Bowl as a holiday, saying, “Millions of people call in sick or don't show up for work the day after the most-watched football game of the year, and Heinz suggests making that day "SMUNDAY" -- a work holiday for all Americans.”

They circulated a petition online and said, "We can all agree that going to work the Monday after the 'Big Game' on Sunday is awful. So as far as we’re concerned at Heinz, we as a nation should stop settling for it being the worst workday of the year."

Kraft Heinz said it hopes Congress will take the idea and run with it."We wanted to get behind an initiative that we know people feel strongly about," —Jim L. Wilson & Ed Pincusoff

1 Peter 1:15 (HCSB)“But as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct;”

In a graduation address at Wake Forest University, comedian and talk show host Stephen Colbert urges the graduates “to have your own standards so you can judge yourself as successful even if other people think you are a failure. Set the bar for yourself, and if you fall short, you can ‘be an easy grader.’” His challenge to the graduating students was to “find the courage to decide for yourself what is right and what is wrong” and then to “make the world good according to your standards,” no matter what others might think.

This is not a new thought. It is as old as humankind. The wise writer of Proverbs warns us of that very philosophy. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Stephen Colbert address to graduates of Wake Forest University, May 18, 2015, “Stephen Colbert to Grads: You Are Your Own Professor Now,” Time, accessed October 22, 2016, http:// time.com/ 3883513/ stephen-colbert-graduation-speech-wfu.

Quoted in Wax, Trevin . This Is Our Time: Everyday Myths in Light of the Gospel (Kindle Locations 1284-1288). B&H Books. Kindle Edition.

Federal regulators say at least 465,000 Americans have pacemakers that are vulnerable to cyber hackers. A pacemaker is a small device doctors surgically implant in a patient’s chest to control abnormal heart rhythms. To avoid repeated surgeries for maintenance, many pacemakers rely on radio frequency technology to make needed adjustments. This is the same technology that opens your garage door when you use a remote. The concern among officials at the FDA is that security loopholes could let hackers gain access to pacemakers, possibly allowing them to change the settings, or worse, turn the devices off altogether.

In the book of Proverbs, God likewise urges believers to guard our hearts from outside influences. We are to guard our heart, listen to instruction, and receive wisdom that we may live. We update our computers and our smart phones regularly to protect them from malicious hackers who would do us harm. A regular quiet time, where we meditate on God’s word and read His instruction can guard our spiritual hearts from evil. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

El Capitan is a legendary mountain in Yosemite National Park. It boasts a 3,000 foot vertical granite wall that attracts elite climbers from around the world. It was first climbed in 1958, and it took 46 days of climbing spread over 16 months. Today the average climber takes several days to complete the climb. Elite climbers can do it in 24 hours. The world record is 2 hours and 19 minutes, but none of those feats compares to the recent achievement of Alex Honnold who free soloed El Capitan. Free Soloing is rock climbing without ropes or any other support: just you and the mountain. When a person solos, Alex says you "accept the fact that if anything goes wrong you're going to die," and to put that reality in the context of El Capitan, this summer one mountaineer who had climbed El Capitan 106 times with ropes fell to his death on an easy route.

Alex--who survived his solo climb--reflected "free soloing is as close to perfection as rock climbing gets. For a few hours on El Capt I got to experience perfection." —Jim L. Wilson and Eric Laudenslager

- Free Solo, National Geographic, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/films/free-solo/

- Ask A Climber: FAQ's, Yosemite Conservancy, May 2, 2016, https://www.yosemiteconservancy.org/blog/ask-a-climber

- Best friends and master climbers fall to their deaths while scaling Yosemite's El Capitan, Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, June 4, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/06/04/best-friends-and-master-climbers-fall-to-their-death-while-scaling-yosemites-el-capitan/?utm_term=.9e501d46cc33

Ponder a moment the holiness required for Christ to climb mount Calvary and offer himself without blemish on the cross. One sin in thought, word, or deed in his 33 year life and He would completely fail His mission. How steadfast is the perfection of Christ.

Hebrews 9:11–14 (CSB)^“But Christ has appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come. In the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation), he entered the most holy place once for all time, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow, sprinkling those who are defiled, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works so that we can serve the living God?”

Remopita Pongi was abandoned 50 miles from home by his brother. The 29-year-old New Zealand man decided to just walk home. Checking Google Maps he found what appeared to be a simple shortcut: he could cut 15 miles off his trip if only he swam across a tidal estuary. A short swim seemed a small price to pay to save 15 miles. What the map didn’t show was the riptide in the water. Once in the middle of the estuary, a strong riptide dragged him out to sea. Finding himself 1 ½ miles offshore, he grabbed hold of a piece of driftwood that helped him float and he waited. After three hours, a water scooter rider spotted him and called rescuers.

Sometimes there just isn’t a shortcut to get from where we are to where we want to be. It is that way with holiness. There are no shortcuts to becoming a man or woman of God. There is nothing that can make you instantly holy. Only God can make you holy. It is the Holy Spirit that will make you more like Jesus, and It is a daily process. It is a divine transformation that takes time. Don’t settle for substitutes. –Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

1 Peter 1:15–16 (CSB)“But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.”