Tag Archives: Jesus Christ

Understanding Holiness

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You ever been accused of acting holier than thou? Well, I have, maybe not quite in those words, but old friends have wondered why I don’t do what I used to do, go where I used to go and say what I used to say. “That’s just not what I do anymore. God has really changed me,” I say, playing it safe when really the response should be “I’m trying to live holy.” But that sounds so rigid, so legalistic, so holy. Nonetheless, holiness is what God calls us to. His call to holiness is not for us to think we’re better than others so we shun them, and it’s not to set us up for others to shun us. God says, “Be ye holy for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16) to indicate to us why holiness is important.

Holiness is important because when you set yourself apart from what others are doing so God can use you, others will know that there is a power at work in your life other than you. When people acknowledge this power, we can’t just stop at saying, “God has really changed me.” We must give details about this change, to be a witness of the power of Jesus Christ in our lives. Holiness is to point others to Jesus Christ—not to you—so they have a relationship with God and can, too, walk in holiness. You are not the focus of holiness; God is the focus of holiness. “Be ye holy, for I am holy” is like God is saying, “In order for you to represent me to a world that needs the hope that only I can give, you must be like me.” 2 Corinthians 5:20 bears this out: “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” Others will be reconciled to God when we are holy, when we are the salt and light He tells us to be to an unsavory and dark world. We must be holy for our sakes, for the world’s sake, for Christ’s sake.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Strong Black Woman Reengineered

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For the last few years, our world has heard a lot about genetic engineering, taking genes from people to control what features a baby has, thus creating designer children. The above video talks about this, particularly having a third person’s genes added to the normal two person mix; the genes of this third person would help to create a baby that would be able to pass the third person’s genes down to the next generation. The narrator’s outcry is that this genetic engineering (or reengineering, as I see it) hardly made news, though this type of engineering has been going on for years.

I understand his outcry because genetic engineering has been going on for years in the Christian community and this hardly makes news. See, when that third person of the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside a person, everyone should hear about this new life, this different life, for years after the change has come about. But for too many Christians we talk about the change for a brief season and then resume the behavior of our former, more familiar lives. Christians should make it consistently clear that we have been reengineered, not at the hands of man but by the hands of an all mighty God. We have the power to influence the next generation with our new lives. So shall it be for the reengineered strong black woman. This will be a woman who will unmistakably know that she has third party genes and will attribute all of her greatness to these genes. Her walk will be new, her talk will be new, she will look new, she will be new, and the next generation would want to be new because of her. Everyone will take notice of this good news, that her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has enabled her to be a strong black woman reengineered.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

An Extraordinary Life

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“You can’t achieve the extraordinary if you don’t attempt the extraordinary.”
—Pastor Phillip C. Carr

Yesterday at church, my leadership development pastor, Phillip Carr, challenged the congregation to be extraordinary Christians. He said many of us fight more for the ordinary life we lead instead of the extraordinary life that Jesus Christ means for us to have (1 Peter 1:3; John 10:10). I so related to this, with my recovering judgmental self. You know that trifling, lazy people bother me. And those of us who have the Spirit of Christ have no excuse. So as a high achiever, I was in the amen corner yesterday but felt myself shrinking a bit when he talked about those who are satisfied with our achievements just because they may be better than someone with low standards. Though I’m not prone to compare myself to a low achiever, I find myself—from the pressure of being a strong black woman—settling for that’ll do because what I’ve done is better than most and not so bad for me, and I have a whole bunch more to get done. I was going to do that today, by posting a piece that I really want you to read, but it’s not quite finished yet. But I decided to be extraordinary, better than average, and allow God to use me in that piece. So today I just want you to ponder “An extraordinary Christian is an ordinary Christian who has allowed God to have His way in (her) life” (Pastor Carr). And ask yourself (and tell me in the comments section), “Am I being an extraordinary Christian?”

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Remember the Dead

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He had the most perfect smile and a huge heart, big enough for the burdens and joys of addictions and teaching; naggings and yelps for help; counseling and cooking; providing and protecting; and just showing pure love. That was Curtis Anderson Sr. That was my dad.

As I remember my dad on this Memorial Day, I am reminded of the great love Jesus had for us and still has for us. He died for our sins. We must remember that. He rose again for our life. We must remember that. And to not shame His cross, we must remember all the old that has died in our lives that we might not reclaim the past again. Philippians 3:13 says, “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” So we shouldn’t dwell on the past, but we must forget the past in the sense of not caring for it anymore. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Even as you remember the past so you won’t reclaim it, let the dead in your life remain dead. The love of Jesus can give you the power and strength to keep looking forward even as you remember.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith