Holiness is What I Long For

Prior to salvation, we had an instinctive intuition that we were faulty in character and lacking in moral fiber. Many people compare themselves to their neighbors or acquaintances, and then decide they are good enough to get into heaven.

No one is good enough to enter heaven (Romans 3:10-12, 23). We do not measure up to God's standard of holiness (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Isaiah 6:1-3). We futilely attempt to fill the gap in our life by striving to find love, to amass worldly possessions and to rise in our career. 

Jesus came to fulfill that emptiness within and to pay the penalty for our sins. He gave Himself for us, and sanctified us with His sacrificial offering on Calvary's cross (Ephesians 5:15 -17). If we humble our self and believe that Jesus died for our sins, then we are welcomed in heaven (Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9).

Holiness is the character of God (Isaiah 30:12). There is a song that I love, in which the words, " Holiness is What I Long For" ring out loud and clear (song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfiC6rkhOY8 ). 

God calls us to desire holiness. Jesus purchased our holiness by suffering horrendously outside of the gate of the city (Hebrews 13:12). He calls us to walk in holiness rather than in carnality and sin.

God's Word is Truth, and as we read and learn His Words, they sanctify us (John 17:17). God is peace, and He makes us completely holy in our body, soul and spirit through Jesus Christ, so that we are blameless when we face Him (1 Thessalonians 5:23). 

God is our Father, Jesus is our brother and their Spirit is our comforter and guide throughout our life (John 14:26). They are always with us and in us, helping us to be holy.

Prayer:

Father God, You call us to holiness, because You are holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). Help us to pursue holiness, because without it, we will never see You (Hebrews 12:14). Remind us to honor You and Your Son by righteous deeds, directed by Your Holy Spirit (John 5:22-23; Ephesians 2:10). We want to give You Your rightful place on the throne of our life and to totally surrender control over our life to You (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Thought for the Day:

As obedient children, we are not to conform our behavior to the passions and ignorance of our life prior to coming to Christ, but to be holy, even as Christ in us is holy. - 1 Peter 1:14-15

Our Conscious Conscience

 

God put a conscience in the soul of every human being ever born. Our human conscience functions from an inherent, instinctive consciousness of the will of God for our life. We can suppress our conscience, however, and walk away from His will. We turn a blind eye to the evidence of God in creation, which is clearly seen and understood by all, so that no one is without excuse when they reject God (Romans 1:18-20).

In our youth, our conscience is very active; however, it gets seared throughout our lifetime (1 Timothy 4:2). As adults, we may go through some self-help programs, but we eventually revert to our old, carnal ways. True change only comes when we surrender our life to Jesus Christ. Even if we do surrender to His call on our life, condemnation from past failings, and feelings of insecurity and inadequacy about the future, drive our conscience to perform in our human efforts to win God’s favor.

Depending on our choices, our conscience either commends or condemns us. When we continually avoid compliance with God’s truth, we sear our conscience and have no moral compass to guide our thoughts, words and deeds (1 Timothy 4:2). When we compare our behavior with that of someone in the world, we may think we are doing fine; but the world is not our standard. Jesus Christ is our measure, which means that no matter how well we behave, we often miss the mark of His perfection and end up in sin.

Sometimes, Satan makes us feel guilty, even if we are not guilty of sin, in order to debilitate us and prevent God’s Holy Spirit from using us as He desires. God’s conviction brings no condemnation with it, but always shows us a way to escape the temptation in front of us (1 Corinthians 10:13). Even if we do wrong, we can always repent of that sin and apologize to those whom we offended. Christ died to make us a new creation for His service (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Our conscience cautions us when we violate Biblical standards. It agrees with what our heart instinctively knows about God’s expectations. Yet, many people still reject God’s truth (Romans 2:14-15). It is only as we resist Satan’s lies and submit to God’s Spirit and His Word, that we can renew our mind. We realign it with the mind of Christ (James 4:7; Ephesians 4:23; Romans 12:2). Then, the Holy Spirit replaces our carnal nature with the divine nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4) and the fruit of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for setting us free from the manipulation of false guilt and freeing our conscience from the bondage of Satan’s lies. You forgave our sin and washed us as white as snow (Colossians 2:13; Psalm 51:7; Isaiah 1:18). We accept Your forgiveness, we forgive our self and we live to bring You glory with all of our thoughts, words and deeds. We rest from the tyranny of our human efforts (Hebrews 4:10). As Born Again Believers, we operate in faith in the sanctifying activity of Christ and Your Spirit in our life (Colossians 2:6).

Thought for the Day:

Repentance clears our conscience by changing our mind and our actions. – 1 Corinthians 3:5; 2 Corinthians 4:7