Don't
lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like
doing. You didn't know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let
yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic
and blazing with holiness. God said, "I am holy; you be holy."
1 Peter
1:14-16 (MSG)
“We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose
of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness.”
—Oswald Chambers, My
Utmost for His Highest, September 1
Oswald Chambers has a way of
cutting to the chase. Holiness is not an option for you or for me. It is our
purpose in life. God’s intent from the beginning, when He created us in His
image, was that we live holy lives. Nothing has changed. Holy living distinguishes
the believer of God from the unbeliever.
It is a given to me that obedience
to God’s word is the secret to living a life blazing with holiness. The Israelites of old were admonished to “be
holy” by following the law. While we are considered holy in Jesus, we are told
to act like the children of God that we are and obey.
If you have kids, you
understand the love/obedience relationship. You love your little darlings with
all your heart, but you sure like them better when they do what you ask them to
do. God the same. His love is unconditional. Still, it is our obedience that
keeps us within the folds of His love: “If
you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my
Father’s commands and remain in his love” (John 15:10).
So, why is the pull of the
world so difficult to resist? Why do I so easily slip back into the old habits
of life before God? Why do I do just what I feel like doing? If you have seen
War Room, you know that the devil is a-scheming: our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of
this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms
(Ephesians 6:12).
A life shaped by God’s life
is energetic and blazing with holiness.
Why would I desire anything less? Lord
pull me, shape me to Your way of living.
Nancy P
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