Road To Holiness

Christians searching for meaningful spiritual formation often find themselves walking a spiritual path of winding roads and confusing intersections. Fortunately, there is a pathway with no dead-ends that leads to a life of living and serving like Jesus. In his powerful book, The Way of Holiness, author Steve DeNeff guides you to a full understanding of life as Jesus intended. Along the way, he: -Exposes false assumptions and detours to holiness; -Examines stages of spiritual growth and decisions in holiness; and -Encourages living an authentic and practical life of holiness.

You were born on earth in holiness but as you walk along life's road and become buffeted with life's trials you lose the knowledge of the holiness with which you were born. Join Judith Lawrence along her soul journey as she considers God's grace, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the abundance of Christ's love, and many other blessings received along life's road. Discover your soul's qualities, discern your soul's voice, and follow your soul's leading along your spiritual pilgrimage. Become a contemplative without a cloister, keep God at the center of your life, and find God's open doors along your pilgrim way. This book will take you through paths of prayer and assist you to become aware of your soul's presence within; it will guide you towards a unique relationship with God, take you along your path to spiritual maturity, and give you a realization of your holiness and oneness with God. The spiritual journey is one of awakening to your soul's presence, rediscovering the holiness with which you were born, and being transformed into spiritual beings.

This book was written to help people grow closer to, and participate more fully in, their personal relationship with God. The road to spiritual maturity is often a long and involved process, which I believe is outlined for us in John’s Gospel. John says at the end of his Gospel in 20:21: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” The life he is talking about is our spiritual life. Our spiritual life starts when we begin to truly believe in Jesus and accept him as our lord and Saviour. It comes to ultimate fulfillment when we cross over from physical death into eternal life in Heaven. In between, is a long and often difficult but rich and involved journey. On this Road to Holiness we learn many things. We learn to give up old ways that are not life-giving, and to adopt a more deeply true spiritual outlook. I believe we go through various stages, that I have outlined in this book and as found in the Gospel. We learn to recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, as wonderful new opportunities present themselves. As we grow in our spiritual maturity, we develop new spiritual strength that helps us to overcome a whole variety of obstacles and difficulties that would have previously sent us running for cover. Our ability to love deepens and is enriched so that we can appreciate and enjoy all of God’s creation and creatures in a new way. Spiritual growth may take a lot of work at times, but the rewards are definitely worth the effort. As we gain a solid faith in our own worth in the sight of God, we also begin to participate in the unfolding of the Kingdom of God in our midst. This helps us to discover new ways to prepare for our eventual arrival into the Kingdom of Heaven.

WHERE ARE YOU ON THE HIGHWAY TO HOLINESS? Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion - it is a daily process whereby we grow to be more and more like Christ. When we no longer desire to grow and please our Lord, we stifle the work of the Holy Spirit by telling Him to move out from behind the steering wheel and into the back seat; essentially telling Him we are happy to have Him along for the ride, but we want to maintain control of our lives. Christians are only as holy as they want to be. John the Baptist addresses this thought head on when he said, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). Here in this short scripture John identifies the main battleground for all Christians - to become more like Christ while simultaneously conquering our sinful nature. The church as a whole has pulled off of the Highway to Holiness into a rest area where we have become comfortable parked under the shade tree of contentment. We have become satisfied with our spiritual growth telling ourselves that, while we are not what we are suppose to be, we are much better than what we use to be before Christ. We have grown weary of battling our own flesh which has extinguished the passion and desire we once had to pursue holiness and righteousness. However, complacency with Christ is the graveyard where Christians go to die. Supported by numerous scriptures, "Navigating the Highway to Holiness" identifies areas within the church that have been weakened by false doctrine and the spirit of compromise, while simultaneously challenging Christians to continually move towards perfection through the power of the Holy Spirit, and by allowing Christ to assume His rightful place on the throne of our hearts.

Central to God’s character is the quality of holiness. Yet, even so, most people are hard-pressed to define what God’s holiness precisely is. Many preachers today avoid the topic altogether because people today don’t quite know what to do with words like “awe” or “fear.” R. C. Sproul, in this classic work, puts the holiness of God in its proper and central place in the Christian life. He paints an awe-inspiring vision of God that encourages Christian to become holy just as God is holy. Once you encounter the holiness of God, your life will never be the same.

The Way of Holiness clearly illustrates that each crisis of decision in the Christian life is a turning point. An opportunity to choose God, to express your devotion to Him, and to experience His direction.

Phoebe Palmer's excellent Christian devotional is filled with lessons on attaining spiritual closeness to God, and living a life of a true believer with the Bible close to heart. Superb for her thoroughness in selecting the finest lessons from scripture, Phoebe Palmer begins each chapter of this book with a short yet poignant verse or quotation. This work is an account of the author's own discovery of faith, given in the order of spiritual awakenings she received in the process of becoming a good Christian. With her talent for plain explanation through both poem and text, the author mentions chapters of the Bible most useful for readers to reference. Part of this work is introspective, as Palmer observes the gradual change in her spirit as she endeavors to attain true nearness to God. Yet her narration is also part-biographical, recounting incidents and encounters with people who had a lasting effect on her spiritual journey. As one of the first female Christian writers, Palmer is conscious of her gender and the potential that this book might inspire and awaken the spirits of fellow women. Above all however, she is focused upon the path and way to holiness; a journey on which all believers must walk in mindful reverence of the divine.