Holy Living

It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.
1 thes. 4:3-7

I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground.
lev. 11:44

during my lunch hour today i began to think about holiness. and how if we truly realized how holy we are expected to be, we would probably take more effort to clean up our thoughts lives, mouths, and the way our body language speaks volumes of what's going on within our souls. holy from webster.com has some pretty standard definitions. strong's #38 speaks of consecration, purification, and sanctification of heart and life. so now we all know what is involved in being holy.

but to dig deeper, sanctification of heart and life seems like a might extensive overhaul. seems like that reaches the depths of who we are, or perhaps maybe even deeper than who we are. perhaps it reaches to who we are in Christ and where we are going. that's the part i'm looking forward to, because getting there is often painful, annoying, and exhausting.

Jesus,
in my limited understanding, i believe that You've called me to live a holy life. and only thru Your Holy Spirit am i capable of calling myself holy and worthy to enter into Your presence. thanks for rescuing me from the darkness and unrighteousness. You are the source of my strength and holiness. so i fall before You and beg to be filled with Your Presence. i want to live a holy life. i want to be transformed from my ordinary thinking, into thoughts which glorify You. cleanse me with hyssop, and i will be clean. do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. You do not delight in sacrifice, or i would bring it. i am all i have to offer. i am the sacrifice, a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. thanks for accepting me just the way i am. and thanks for not allowing me to remain the same.
in Jesus' Name ~ Amen
*Gail *Mike *Flora