sokin's devotional 45 - pursuing holiness
"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and be holy...without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."
Hebrews 12:14,15
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Holiness is a means by which we can see God. Makes sense because God is holy...so how can we be holy?
Christ's blood and righteousness...in effect, His holiness is imparted unto us by grace and faith in Him.
It starts there at the cross.
But also, holiness is something that must be pursued. We must persevere in our quest for holiness. But the progression must stem from our peace and acceptance in Christ first. Anything else would be futility and a joy-lacking pursuit of good/moral behavior and works much like Pharisees.
An example of this dynamic I could think of (although it may not suffice) is in good parental relationships. A healthy parent/child relationship works well as an illustration because for many people, no matter what you do, it is very difficult to break the love the parent has for their child.
Therefore, the freedom this child experiences in his heart, will cause them to pursue acts of love and good sonship not in a sense to simply please their parent, but because they simply can operate out of freedom rather than fear and performance.
This child, working out of freedom and acceptance, will have a much better life experience than a child that has a parent that does not loving accept but rather forces expectations out of them just for the sake of.
Our holiness must stem from our firm understanding, acceptance and faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross and our peace and joy in this will result in an overflow of holiness and holy works produced as fruit.
Holiness flows out from the spring of God's acceptance through Jesus Christ.
We must also, in our pursuit of holiness, seek to encourage others to do the same. Pursuing holiness, and also Christian living in general, was not meant to be a solely personal pursuit, but one that can be aided and the joy magnified and multiplied by helping one another pursue holiness in the name of Jesus.
That's why doing church is important. That's why fellowship is so rewarding personally.
The pursuing of holiness, in the presence of brothers and sisters in Christ, can be a joy-filled experience and it was intended to be that way.
Lastly, we must watch out for people that have grown a bitter heart. Bitterness and resentment towards God is contagious.
TLDR - Strive for holiness, in light of Christ, and help others to do the same.
Hebrews 12:14,15
---
Holiness is a means by which we can see God. Makes sense because God is holy...so how can we be holy?
Christ's blood and righteousness...in effect, His holiness is imparted unto us by grace and faith in Him.
It starts there at the cross.
But also, holiness is something that must be pursued. We must persevere in our quest for holiness. But the progression must stem from our peace and acceptance in Christ first. Anything else would be futility and a joy-lacking pursuit of good/moral behavior and works much like Pharisees.
An example of this dynamic I could think of (although it may not suffice) is in good parental relationships. A healthy parent/child relationship works well as an illustration because for many people, no matter what you do, it is very difficult to break the love the parent has for their child.
Therefore, the freedom this child experiences in his heart, will cause them to pursue acts of love and good sonship not in a sense to simply please their parent, but because they simply can operate out of freedom rather than fear and performance.
This child, working out of freedom and acceptance, will have a much better life experience than a child that has a parent that does not loving accept but rather forces expectations out of them just for the sake of.
Our holiness must stem from our firm understanding, acceptance and faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross and our peace and joy in this will result in an overflow of holiness and holy works produced as fruit.
Holiness flows out from the spring of God's acceptance through Jesus Christ.
We must also, in our pursuit of holiness, seek to encourage others to do the same. Pursuing holiness, and also Christian living in general, was not meant to be a solely personal pursuit, but one that can be aided and the joy magnified and multiplied by helping one another pursue holiness in the name of Jesus.
That's why doing church is important. That's why fellowship is so rewarding personally.
The pursuing of holiness, in the presence of brothers and sisters in Christ, can be a joy-filled experience and it was intended to be that way.
Lastly, we must watch out for people that have grown a bitter heart. Bitterness and resentment towards God is contagious.
TLDR - Strive for holiness, in light of Christ, and help others to do the same.
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