Walking In Holiness

Scripture:

9: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.

10: Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

11: Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.

12: Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.

1 Peter 2:9 – 12 NIV

Devotion:

When God comes on the scene of a person’s life, everything changes. And here’s where things get interesting. Because this holy God has come on the scene of the lives of Christ followers, they are different, too. They are set apart. They are made holy and called to live in such a way that represents their holy God to an unholy world.

Who are they? They are the chosen, a son or daughter of the King, who is special and called because they belong to Him. When they realize that this is their real identity, that what God says about them is the truest thing about them, they begin to see holiness and purity in a new light. No longer is holiness seen as just rules and regulations to try to live up to. No longer is it seen as something impossible or unattainable. They come to know that holiness is not some magical destination they are trying to get to. They realize that holiness is the identity they get to live from.

Paul admonishes believers in the 12th chapter of Romans that they should not allow the world to shape who they are by conforming them from the ‘outside in’ into what it wants them to be. Rather, they should be transformed from the ‘inside out’ into who God has said they can be. If they don’t know that 1 Peter 2:9 – 10 is who they are (holy, chosen, called, forgiven), they will spend their entire lives chasing something they have already been given. Anointed. Righteous. Holy. Reborn. Renewed. Complete. Whole. Having nothing missing and nothing broken. That’s exactly what the enemy doesn’t want them to know. He would love for them to chase after what they already have instead of stepping into the power and calling that they have been given.

You are who God says you are. Believe it. Live it. Walk in it.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for making us holy. We acknowledge that we were born in sin and shaped in iniquity. But the price You paid redeemed us and made us new again. Since we have been given a new life in You, help us to live out our lives by giving You glory and honor by the way that we reflect You in the earth. You commanded us to be holy just as You are holy, and You have given us the power to do so. Thank You! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Reflection:

Identity theft is a major crime that can have far-reaching repercussions on a person’s life. Everyone knows it poses a real financial danger in the natural. But how often do they think about its impact spiritually? Satan is a master deceiver, and one of his strongest tactics is making people doubt who they are. Don’t let him steal your identity! You are who God says you are, and you can walk confidently in that.

Portions excerpted from the devotional “Habits of Holiness” by Life.Church