A Call to Holy Living
13So prepare your minds for
action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation
that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.14So
you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of
living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. 15But
now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16For
the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
Leading up to these verses Peter is talking about the
hope with have of eternal life through Jesus’ death on the cross. Reminds me of
a credit card commercial:
Car $25,000 – House 150,000 –
Eternal life with God, Priceless
Here he is talking about getting ourselves ready. You don’t
exercise without stretching out first. You don’t stop exercising. If you do you
lose out on all the work that you’ve done.
Ever heard anyone talk about the fact that they are saved
so they can continue to sin because they are covered. Peter is saying that is
not the way this works. We have to continue to live the way that God called us
to live. God knows we are going to slip up and make mistakes, that is not what
I am talking about. If we are living like Jesus taught us. If we are letting
the Holy Spirit guide us, then we will lived changed lives. We will not want to
do the sinful things we once did. Peter says “You didn’t know any better then.”
Now that we know better we need to strive to live as God’s obedient children. God tells us You must be holy because I am holy.
I don’t know about you but I can remember being all over
the place with how I felt about this. Now that I am doing my best to live as
one of God’s obedient children I can see and feel a difference in myself. My
wife sees the difference. God is so amazing that He puts people in your life
that will help you with this. I’ve experienced it. I’ve watched the change in
others. In this I rejoice! How awesome is this – God sent Jesus to take the
punishment for our since and knowing that this would not be enough, He sent the
Holy Spirit to live in and guide us. On top of that He gave us people in our
lives to reinforce this way of living.
THANK YOU GOD for all the precious gifts You have given
us. Thank you for Your Word, Your Son, the Holy Spirit and all the believers that
you have put in my life. Thank you that we are Holy because You are Holy.
Father, You know how full and excited my heart is right now, help me to show
that to others. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Amen!!
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