Aloha Dearest Family,
A man once asked me, “How can I do a great work for God?” Maybe you have asked this same thing. To answer this question we need to first learn about sanctification.
“By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10:10)
Because of the finished work of Jesus Christ, we have been sanctified. This rather “religious” sounding word simply means “set apart”. God has set us apart from the rest of the world. He has purified us and made us holy. This is not because of anything that WE have done. We were made holy because of the holy spirit that now dwells within us (Romans 15:16). Because we have been given holy spirit, we are spiritually set apart from anything defiled, common or unclean.
Now for the hard part. Because God has made us holy, we are to live holy.
“Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” (I Peter 1:16)
This sounds like an impossible task. But it starts with simply choosing what kind of outside sources (things of this world) we are going to allow to influence us. This can be a challenge because we are constantly bombarded daily by TV, radio, music, the internet, YouTube, etc… As Christians we should choose Godly sources and not worldly sources (many of these worldly sources are very devilish). The challenge is to not let the world contaminate our thinking patterns. This brings up a story.
A father was raising three teenaged daughters and he had always taught them about the importance of staying away from bad influences in life. One day his daughters came to him and told him that they were going to see a certain movie. He already knew that this movie was rated R and that it contained bad language, adult situations and some brief nudity. When he raised these concerns to his daughters, they told him that, yes, the film did contain these elements – but only a little bit. After much contemplation, the father decided to let his daughters go to see this movie.
When they came home, he invited them into the kitchen where he had just baked a pan of brownies. They were very excited about this sweet treat as their father gave them each a piece. As they were about to bite into their brownies, he said, “oh, by the way, I put a little dog poop in these brownies. But it’s ok, I only put in a little bit.” Horrified, not one of his daughters took a bite. Why not? Because the brownies were contaminated. In this same way God wants us to not be contaminated by the evil influences found in the world. He made us holy-not let us BE holy.
Romans 12:2 encourages us to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by renewing our minds to God’s Word.”
Getting back to the man’s question I told you about earlier. I posed him a question of my own. I asked him, “What are you doing that is preparing you for what God requires?” He looked at me like I was speaking Latin.
God wants to work with each one of us to accomplish great things. But if we are not spending time in God’s Word, praying, giving, and if we are continuing to be influenced by the world, God will be limited in His ability to work with us. God is ready – but we may not be. On the other hand, If we choose to live the holy life by meditating on God’s Word, learning to hear His voice and staying uncontaminated by the world, we will then be “fit for the master’s use.”
“So if anyone purifies himself from anything dishonorable, he will be a special instrument, set apart, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.” (II Timothy 2:21 Christian Standard Bible)
Lastly, to do the works that please God, it may be necessary to watch who we associate with. It is difficult to life a holy life if we are surrounded by those who we are not like-minded with. Unbelievers will not have the same goals that we do. Remember, God has set us apart from the rest of the world. He wants us to be separate.
“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? (the devil) Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?.. Therefore, "Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.” (II Corinthians 6:14, 15 ad 17a NIV)
These keys will help us live a holy life that is pleasing to God. A life that we were meant to live.
Love Always, Ray
“How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.” (New King James Version 119:9)
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