encouraging word this morning...

LIVING HOLY LIVES

We cannot understand what Holy living is unless we first know what it means to be Holy. To be holy simply means to be set aside for God's use or service.  God is a Holy.. God and that He demands we should be holy if we are to be like him (1 Peter 1:15-16; Lev.11:44; Lev.19:2).

Why should we like God? It is because we are created in his image and likeness (Gen.1:26&27). Because we are like God we must give more thought to heavenly things and less attention to worldly attractions.

What  is Holy living?

1.Holy living is to live like God: We should care about what God cares for and live our lives to please him and him alone (Rev. 3:1-6)

2.It is seeking God's presence: Our desire to live like him would always propel us to seek his presence and be much more comfortable dwelling with him and learn from him (Psalm 27:4)

3.It is to have self-control: One of the fruit of the Spirit of God is self-control; a child of God who does not have control over his/her life is not leading a holy life yet. This involves the kinds of things we eat, our temperaments, etc. It also involves what we watch with our eyes (Psalm 101:3)

4.It also involves control over our influence on others: The word of God says we must watch what we wear so as not to push others into sin. 

To live to please God therefore is to be conscious about this and do all we can to control what we put on that is capable of enticing our brothers or sisters to sin (Luke 17:1; 2Tim.2:9; 1 Peter 3:3-4; Deut.22:5; 1 Thess.5:22)

5.It means to control our behaviour: To live a holy life is to control the way we behave especially when with those who are weaker in faith; we must not do anything that would cause those who are weak to lose their faith in Christ Jesus (1 Cor.8:12)

6.It is dedication to God's service: It involves giving one's best into God's service - putting one's time, money, intellect, etc to make the work of God move forward and prosper.

7.It's about faithfulness in Tithing: Holiness cannot be complete without simple obedience to God's command on tithing. Tithing is simply giving a tenth of one's income to God (Mal.3:10; Matt.23:23)

 living a holy life is not to strive to please man but God who has called us out for his service.