That song literally blows my mind every time I hear it, no matter how many times I listen to it. Yes, God had big plans for this song!!! Love it.
Alright, today the topic is, you guessed it!, holiness!!! Being holy.
"For I am the Lord your God. You must consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy." Leviticus 11:44
We are called to be holy by the Lord God Himself. It is a command, not a request. As Christ followers, we MUST sanctify ourselves and be holy. Obviously, we can't be holy on our own. We have to have the Holy Spirit in order to accomplish such.
However, that doesn't mean it's alright for us to just do whatever we want because we've already received grace; we're already safe, so it's ok for us to just walk this earth with no sense of preservation of mind, body, or spirit. As Paul teaches in Romans 6:1-6, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin."
Nope, not gonna fly. We have to make choices, each and every day, about what we see, hear, and experience in order to live a holy life. This includes making the choice to give up certain t.v. shows, movies, music, books, magazines, etc., and even the people we spend our time with.
"Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.'" 1 Corinthians 15:33
I think that pretty much says it :)
We must make ourselves holy. Christ, in all His holiness, died for us. "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21
I urge you to recognize the things in your life that corrupt your good character. Recognize them, and then take the steps to get them out of your life. If we don't do this, we are just like the rest of the world, and we are called to be separate and sanctified. In the world, not of it. Christ did not hold anything back - He made the sacrifice of all sacrifices knowing we would still sin against Him, knowing we would reject Him and His gift of love and salvation. And He even went so far as to resist temptation. Christ is holy, and as "little Christs" we too must be holy.
"Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness our of reverence for God." 2 Corinthians 7:1
"So I say, live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Galatians 5:16
"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Galatians 5:25
"Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9
"You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:22-24
"For you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." Ephesians 5:8
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Philippians 4:8
"Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus." Hebrews 3:1
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and He will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.[...] Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up." James 4:7-8,10
"But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do." 1 Peter 1:15
All You ever wanted was all of me, on my knees, singin "Holy, holy!" Somehow, all that matters now is You are holy, holy......
much love & thank you for visiting!
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