Holiness – Step 2 – Just Say NO!
“Paul, a bond-servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, but at the proper time manifested even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Saviour.” Titus 1:1-3
“For the grace of God has appeared, bring salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” Titus 2:11-14
“Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ; grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” II Peter 1:3
For such as startlingly important concept, the word ‘holiness’ only appears 25-35 times in the Old Testament and eight to ten times in the New Testament! Yet, it is the key message for Christians throughout all of Scripture.
I believe godliness is so important because it encapsulates God’s character in one word. God is ultimately holy and He calls us to pursue holiness because He loves us and wants us to ‘move closer’ to His will for our lives. How? God’s grace teaches us to increasingly turn our backs on ungodly, worldly passions. Just say, ‘No!’.
However, choosing godliness is like prayer -- both easy and difficult. It must be an individual, moment-by-moment choice for each of us to recognise, consider and choose between what the world offers and what God promises. Say ‘Yes!’ to godliness!
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Take care with love, especially His, from Darlene, who still prays for you each day.
PS: You can also find the devotions on line/ on your mobile phone here: www.weakdaydevotion.com .
NOTES: I choose to believe the Bible because it's a reliable collection of historical documents written down by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They reported supernatural events that took place before, of specific prophecies; and claim that their writings are divine rather than human in origin.
The Five Solas: Individuals are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, as revealed by Scripture alone to the glory of God alone!
Find my full statement of faith: https://especiallyhislove.blogspot.com (where you will also find a series of Bible studies). For the books, go to Amazon books. For prayer requests/ updates, email: darlenerichard@gmail.com