Join us this Sunday! In-Person 9:00am & 10:45am, Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Join us this Sunday! In-Person 9:00am & 10:45am, Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Join us at the next Sunday worship service:
In-Person
9:00am & 10:45am,
Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Seeking Holiness

God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. – 1 Thessalonians 4:7.

In many ways Hurricane Michael has changed our perspective and our priorities. But even in these tough times, when it is difficult to press on, we can’t lose sight of our mission and our purpose; to be more like Jesus. Charles Spurgeon rightly noted, “There will be three effects of nearness to Jesus—humility, happiness, and holiness.” The Bible talks about holiness a great deal. Take Peter: In Peter’s first letter, he talks about “holiness” a number of times. 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” 

Once you are a follower of Jesus you have been accepted or adopted into a group of people that Peter calls a “holy nation.” Thinking of ourselves as holy people is a little intimidating to say the least. Holiness is a pretty tall order.  It is a pretty big thing to get our arms around. There are a lot of people who think that holiness is a bridge too far, is out of our reach, and a goal that is unrealistic, given the fallen world we live in. But before you come to that conclusion, we need to remember that the Bible is telling us that holiness is God’s will for us.

Look at Leviticus 11:44: “For I am the Lord your God. You must consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy…” 1 Peter 1:15 says “But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy”  There are many of verses that tell us that holiness is one of the key things that God desires for each of us. 

Many people are confused by what holiness is and looks like in our day-to-day lives while others have struggled with maintaining the high standard of holiness. That does not change the fact that we are to be a holy people. That is God’s will.

So rather than try to tackle this broad subject in one devotional, I will try to unpack this subject the best I can during this week’s devotionals. We will look into what holiness is, what it is not, and how we can go about being the holy people God has called us to be in this crazy, mixed-up world.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Can you define the word holiness in general and more specifically for your life?
  2. Do you believe a person can become holy?

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