Be Holy Like God Is Holy—Say What?! (Part 1)

Be Holy Like God Is Holy—Say What?! (Part 1)  

Today I want to continue in 1 Peter, Chapter 1. In writing to followers of Jesus, the Apostle Peter gave instructions on righteous living. Referring back to my blog post of August 30, 2017, we see Peter extolling the people to: 1- Gird up the loins of their minds—bracing up to take action. 2- Be sober—that is be watchful and self-controlled. 3- Rest in the hope and grace abundantly provided by the revelation of Christ Jesus in our spirits and lives. (1 Peter 1:13)

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With that in mind, let’s carry on. Peter’s exhortation and his sentence continues on to where the rubber meets the road. Verses 14-15: “as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’”

WOW! God is calling us to be holy like Him. We need to not freak out and loose heart at this appeal. Peter knew God and knew human nature. He was very familiar with his own weaknesses. Don’t think for a moment he had no recollection of denying Jesus three times on the night Jesus could have used his support the most.  

This is why we need to equip ourselves to be faithful followers of Jesus. Look again at the words of Peter. 

Let’s review the earlier part of this chapter and see the progression:

Through God’s mercy we were born again (v.3) → into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus (v.3) → to an incorruptible, undefiled, everlasting inheritance (v.4) → and are kept by the power of God (v.5) → though, for a short time, we’re grieved with trials (v.6) → but our genuine faith, being tested, is more precious and more lasting than gold (v.7) → giving praise, honor, and glory to Jesus who we love though we’ve not yet seen Him (v.8) → receiving the result of our faith—salvation of our souls (v.9) → of which the prophets foretold, that the grace would come to us (v.10) → and revealed beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow (v.11) → and for us the ministering of those preaching the Gospel by the Holy Spirit, sent from Heaven (v.12) → so we must gird up the loins of our minds, be sober, and rest our hope fully upon the grace of Christ (v.13) → being obedient children not returning to our past sins as ignorant sinners → but as He who called us is holy we should be holy in all our behavior (v.15) → because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Notice, we began this journey as a result of God’s great mercy—that is His amazing grace and love for us in that while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us (Romans 5:8). Then in the end we come to mature faith, aiming to be holy as He is holy.

It’s true that the moment we are born-again all our sins are washed away and we stand clean and without the stain of sin. But then as we continue living we commit sins because we still are human and have weaknesses. As we grow in knowledge and understanding of our Lord, we become more like Him and sin less often and less egregiously.  This is the process of being sanctified and equipped to live according to God’s will. In meditating on these verses it appears that the keys to being holy are five-fold:

1- Have genuine faith. Without genuine faith the desire and revelation of the value of obedience to God is simply not there. The person whose faith isn’t real will have no, or very little, yearning to follow the teachings of Jesus nor will they seek to obey Christ at all costs. Basically that person lacks passion for God and His ways.

2- Gird up the loins of our minds. We need to continuously renew our minds with God’s Word. The Word goes through our minds to get into our spirits and becomes a part of who we are. The essence of Christ becomes the essence of ourselves when we feed on and digest Scripture. We’re then girding up, strengthening our minds and wills, discarding hindrances and burdensome weights that stand in the way of freely running the race Christ sets before each of us. 

3- Be sober. This comes as we gird up the loins of our minds. We’ll become more mindful and will be cautious to recognize the wiles of the devil. The charms of Satan are his deception, trickery, and trap setting. We must be sober and watchful to avoid his crafty plans for us. And we need to soberly follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. 

This narrative may sound quite serious and void of fun but, while it’s definitely serious, it is surely not void of fun. When we follow Christ we’re embarking on a life adventure which we probably would never have imagined for ourselves. It will likely include more thrills and pure joy than we thought possible for our one small life. That’s because we’ll be doing our own part in God’s cosmic plan for His huge created universe. Oh, the far-reaching results of one person’s abandoned life of service to the Savior is beyond our imagination. Look at Billy Graham, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Mother Teresa.

4- As we do the above, we can rest in living hope, trusting our Lord with the results through Jesus Christ. 

5- And, as Peter warned, we need to be careful not to fall back into any old bad habits or former ways from when we were ignorant of Jesus and His desires for us. That would be plum stupid.

So these things we are to do to honor and obey our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as obedient children, not conforming ourselves to former lusts, as in our ignorance; but as He who called us is holy we can also be holy in all our conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

As we learn of Him, trust Him more each day, and depend on His Holy Spirit indwelling us, we can live beyond the limitations of our humanness. In my next blog post we’ll continue looking at the “how to” of being holy and overcoming the temptations of falling back into our former sins.

©Copyright 2017 Connie Wohlford

More Lasting Than Gold

More Lasting Than Gold                                 

1 Peter 1:5-9

Gold is a precious metal, can be purified with fire, resists corrosion, and is almost impossible to destroy. Peter compares our faith in Christ to gold.

In my recent posts (June 6 and June 28) we looked at the living hope we have through Jesus’ resurrection and we rejoiced in the incorruptible inheritance reserved for us in Heaven. Praise the Lord, we are “kept by the power of God through our faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time” even though we are grieved by various trials until that day arrives (1 Peter 1:3-6).

Pertaining to trials Peter compares our faith to gold: “… though now for a little while, if need be you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6b-7).

In comparing faith to gold, Peter states that one’s faith is more precious than gold—even gold that has been purified by fire.

In the first century, gold was considered the most precious of metals and still today is known to have the highest corrosion resistance of all metals. Peter says that compared to gold, our faith is even more precious; is refined—purified—by fiery trials; resists corrosion; and is in fact incorruptible, therefore is eternal. He does qualify that, saying our faith must be genuine—that is, sincere or real. Let’s frequently examine the genuineness of our faith.  (I wrote a three part series of blog posts on this subject back in March 2017. You might enjoy reading those posts on the genuineness of our faith.) 

Bible scholar, Kenneth Wuest, described gold’s purifying process thus:
   “The picture here is of an ancient goldsmith who puts his crude gold ore in a crucible, subjects it to intense heat, and thus liquefies the mass. The impurities rise to the surface and are skimmed off. When the metalworker is able to see the reflection of his face clearly mirrored in the surface of the liquid, he takes it off the fire, for he knows that the contents are pure gold. So it is with God and His child. He puts us in the crucible of Christian suffering, in which process sin is gradually put out of our lives, our faith is purified from the slag of unbelief that somehow mingles with it so often, and the result is the reflection of the face of Jesus Christ in the character of the Christian. This, above all, God the Father desires to see. Christlikeness is God’s ideal for His child. Christian suffering is one of the most potent means to that end.”
“When we learn to submit our will to the will of God, in the midst of our sufferings, we will learn to say with Job, ‘When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold’ (Job 23:10).”


 “Trying times are not time to stop trying.”  Woodrow Kroll 

Now let’s put this back into the context of Peter’s point. “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:6-9 NKJV).

So— because of our genuine faith in Jesus we rejoice greatly, even though we experience fiery trials which purify us in the end. And since we have such faith we are found praising, honoring and glorying at the revelation of Jesus, who we have not even seen in the flesh. Yet still we believe and rejoice with inexpressible joy, full of glory, receiving our ultimate end—the salvation of our souls.

With Peter and our brothers and sisters of the early church, let’s do this purposefully and be built up in our faith and hope and joy and endurance, anticipating the end of our faith—the salvation of our souls.

Your comments are welcome.

©Copyright 2017 Connie Wohlford

Is my faith real? Is my relationship with God genuine? <> PART 3 of 3

Is my faith real? Is my relationship with God genuine? PART 3 of 3

Why do we do what we do? Is it for self-promotion—to please another person—self-satisfaction—obligation? We need to keep our motives under the examination of the Holy Spirit—NOT so He can hammer us but so our spiritual walk can grow and remain wholesome.

[Continued from March 11 and 16, 2017 Blog Posts]

7 Questions to ask yourself to help you know how genuine your faith and relationship with God really is:

6. Do I desire to give myself to God’s Word and prayer?

Not long ago I heard a preacher say that a person who claims to be a Christian but does not read and study the Bible and does not spend quality time is prayer needs to do some soul-searching and determine if they’re truly born-again.

I believe this is true for many people. The gospel writer says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 7:21a).

Folks in this group may attend church regularly; may watch their favorite TV preacher religiously; and may have even walked down an isle and professed faith in Christ at one time. But in reality they may not have believed and received Jesus into their hearts. 

When a person genuinely accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord they sincerely invite Him and receive Him as their Savior and their Lord. That person is born-again, which means they’ve experienced a new birth. The old person has died and the new person, in Christ, has emerged into new life. That’s not to say that person never again sins or has an evil thought.

But that person is changed from the inside out and should desire the things of God. What better way is there to know what the things of God are and be spiritually strengthened to do those things than to learn what God Himself says in His Word?

Sadly, there are many people who are dismally shocked when their last breath is released and they find themselves in the abyss of outer darkness. That’s the moment of no return, with no hope of reconciliation to their Creator.

One’s eternal destiny is way too important to not be certain of and the good news is that we can be certain of it. Having a desire to know God and Jesus better through the reading and study of God’s Word is a good indicator that a person’s faith is real and that their relationship with God is genuine.

The same is true of one who claims to be a follower of Jesus yet does not pray or only calls on God when they have a need or when a life crisis has arisen. A person who really knows God and enjoys a genuine relationship with Him should desire to commune with Him, to praise Him with a grateful heart, and to seek Him for direction. 

Ask yourself these 2 questions: “What draws or compels me to pray?” AND “What draws or compels me to read/study the Bible?”

I recently took a non-scientific survey on Facebook asking these two questions and got some interesting, thoughtful responses.

Linda said, “I’m drawn to prayer many times throughout the day—to give thanks and when I’m weary. I read my Bible to keep myself in His Word.”

Cherilynn said, “Life in general compels me to pray. I’m compelled to worship God and want to know God better so I read the Word.”

Heather said, “Because I love God and want to have a better relationship. I want to learn more about Him and His Word. Because He and His Word give life! Because His word is amazing and because I need Him.”

Charlie said, “I know I need God.”

Judy said, “1. Fear, gratitude, healing, and direction. 2. To draw closer to Him.”

Katy said, “1. I want to see what God can do in a situation, not me or others in our own ability. I pray because I love Him. 2. I want to know God better and grow in my relationship with Him. He gives me direction through Scripture. And I want to learn more so that I can share the truth with others.” 

Laura said, “1. I am compelled to pray many times throughout the day—to praise God for the beauty of the creation when flowers bloom, when the sun peeks over the horizon at dawn, or when the moon lights up the night. When a friend or family needs a healing touch, or a hurt needs to be healed. When I see a lost soul in need of redemption. 2. My heart longs for my daily bread every morning, I seek God through the Word. He is my life and heart’s desire.”

My response: “I’m drawn and compelled to pray because I know God loves me beyond anything I can imagine even though I’m undeserving. Also I’m confident that He hears my prayers and cares about my needs. I’m drawn to and compelled to read and study His Word because I love Him and am grateful for His love and all He does for me and others. I want to get to know Him better and understand His ways as much as possible. This is best accomplished by time in prayer and Bible study.”

I’m certainly not the judge of another person—thank God. But if you’re a person who claims to be a Christian and you have no desire to or do not take time to pray and read/study your Bible I suggest you do some soul-searching and ask God to show you the truth about your spiritual condition. You may find that you need to get real with God and profess faith in Jesus Christ, receiving Him as your eternal Savior and as the Lord of your life. 

Perhaps you are a born-again believer in Jesus, but are immature or simply lazy. If so, it’s time to grow up and to get serious about what you believe. These days in which we live are not for the weak. Our Heavenly Father wants all His children to be over-comers.

Maybe you need to get to know God better by getting to know Jesus better. A good way to do this is to read through the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, as well as the Book of Acts. I’m not suggesting you limit yourself to these books but it’s a great place to start.

7. Do I tell others about Jesus?

For many of us this is where the rubber meets the road.

I have had some tough encounters with God over this subject. Regarding certain people I have even said (to God): “So-and-So does not want to know about Jesus. They’re not one bit interested!” This may be true but every person, whether they know it or not, needs the Lord.

And here’s one of my responses to God that probably made Him frown or shake His head: “But God, I think So-and-So wants to go to Hell!” Yes, I’ve said that to Him. 

What an ignorant thing for me to say! Nobody wants to go to Hell! Even if a person actually says they do, in reality no one wants to spend forever and ever in the hellacious misery of damnation, separated from God and other people, as well as anything good or pleasant, moreover suffer the fire and brimstone with no hope of ever getting a miniscule iota of relief. No one really wants to go to Hell. 

But millions of people end up in Hell. And it’s not because God is mean but it’s because they never believed and received Jesus as their Savior and Lord. The Bible even says that more people will end up in Hell than in Heaven. That’s so sad and does not have to be the case. See the words of Jesus: “Enter by the narrow ate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult (restricted, limited) is the way which leads to life and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). –Italics mine.

A few years ago my granddaughter, Grace (11 yrs. old at the time), and I were taking a trip together. The interior of car is a great place to chat. (Thankfully she did not yet have a cell phone.) We were having a conversation about things going on in her life. She began complaining about being mad at her parents for not allowing her to go to a certain movie with her friends. I tried to explain that her parents were strict about such things because they love her so much and ... –you know the routine. 

Grace had recently accepted Jesus as her Savior and Lord so the conversation naturally leant itself to a spiritual learning opportunity. I told her that Christian parents are ultimately concerned about the eternal destination of their children—that is whether they will go to Heaven or Hell when they die. They also desire that their children live lives in accordance with biblical values, knowing they will therefore have the most abundant life possible. She agreed that it made sense this would be true.

I went on to tell her that most people in the world—even nice people—will end up going to Hell when they die because they never received Jesus. I told her there’s a Scripture verse that states that fact. We ended our discussion and after a few minutes of silence I resumed the Scripture CD where we had left off earlier.  

My heart leapt when the voice on the CD spoke that very passage from the Book of Matthew. I didn’t plan it nor did I even remember where, in the Bible, the passage was located. But God knew and in His wisdom we heard the appropriate verse, spoken with authority, right from the Gospel.

At the end of Chapter 7 I stopped the CD and asked Grace if she heard the verse to which I had made reference. She said, yes she has heard it.

In my spirit I praised God and rejoiced in how He never ceases to amaze and delight me. 

I know that was a bit of a lengthy story but it’s a true story and helps bring home the point that people need Jesus and He’s the only way a person can get to Heaven. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John14:6). 

We must ask ourselves if we’re genuinely concerned about the eternal destiny of others, especially our loved-ones. If there’s no concern there, then we need to consider whether or not we believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ is truth.

If we don’t really think its truth then we’re not really a Christian. If we do believe its truth, then we need to be willing to inconvenience ourselves and even humble ourselves, if need be, to tell others about Jesus.

The Lord got my attention a few years ago when I was studying the Book of Ezekiel. God told Ezekiel to go and tell His people certain things. Ezekiel was hesitant, knowing the people wouldn’t like what he had to say. God told him to go and tell them anyway and that he was not to be dismayed or afraid by the things they would say or even by the looks on their faces (Ezekiel 2:1-7).

As I read that passage back in 2011, the Lord clearly spoke into my spirit that He wanted me to be his witness and not concern myself with people’s reactions. He even gave me the names of some individuals He wanted me to speak to and to pray for.

Not only that, He put an exclamation point on the end with this vision: I saw people walking, one by one, to the door of Hell. As each one reached the door they stopped, turned and looked me in the eye and said, “Why didn’t you tell me?” Then each one stepped through door, right into Hell.

Needless to say, I was shaken to the core. I wept and repented and asked God to help me boldly proclaim His Good News to people who are on their way to Hell. In case you’re wondering, I did not recognize any of the faces of the people in the vision. But they were nonetheless people whose eternal destiny might have been different if I had witnessed to them.

So question number 7 is, “Do you tell others about Jesus?” If your answer is, “No,” ask God to help you understand the reasons why and to help you be more mindful and bold and in tune to His leading in this area.

There we have the 7 Questions to ask ourselves to help us know how genuine our relationship with God really is.  

Thanks so much for tuning in. If you’d like to participate in the conversation, your comments are welcome. God bless you as you grow in Christ and let’s be real.

©Copyright 2017 Connie Wohlford