So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives. Don't lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn't know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, "I am holy; you be holy."
You call out to God for help and he helps—he's a
good Father that way. But don't forget, he's also a responsible Father,
and won't let you get by with sloppy living.
Your life is a
journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God
plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up
in. He paid with Christ's sacred blood, you know. He died like an
unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though
it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God
always knew he was going to do this for you. It's because of this
sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified,
that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God. - I Peter
1:13-21 (the message).
I did some quick searches to find out a definition of what it is to be holy. Here are a few of what I found out there on the Internet:
Holiness means to be set apart. God says in the Bible that he is a holy
God. Therefore, he is like no other because there are no other real
gods, just gods that people create.
Since God is holy then anything
he touches is also holy. Remember when God met Moses with the burning
bush, God told him to take off his sandals because where he was standing
was holy.
This idea also transfers to us. If God has touched our
lives through Jesus Christ then we are holy also. God said so in the
Bible, "Be holy as I am holy." That means we should live a lifestyle
that is irreproachable, one that shows we have God in our lives, not
just mere religion. God expects a lifestyle from us if we are sincere.
== My own interpretation ==
Absence of greed, jealousy, covetousness, avarice, pride, ego, anger, lying, slander, hatred, attachment, shamelessness, etc.
Then I found this:
The New Testament uses the word "holiness" in different ways, and it doesn't always mean exactly the same thing. In fact, different Greek word forms were used in the original texts, though they're all translated to "holiness" in English. The following verses (NKJV) provide examples of the various shades of meaning:
Luke 1:74b-75 - Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
Here, "holiness" (Greek hosiotes) means "piety towards God; fidelity in observing the obligations of piety; demonstrating proper reverence and obedience."
Romans 6:19 - I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
In this verse, the Greek word is hagiasmos, meaning "purification; consecration." It's in this sense that it includes being "set apart."
2 Corinthians 7:1 - Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
The Greek word this time is hagiosune, meaning "moral purity."
Hebrews 12:10 - For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
This verse, speaking of the holiness of God Himself, uses the Greek form hagiotes, meaning "sanctity;" the idea being that God is completely "set apart," but that He gives man the chance to become a "partaker," or "have a share in," His holiness.
So why does this matter?
Being a mother of grown children now, my borders have expanded. I used to only have close fellowship with the mothers of my young children's friends and now I am having fellowship with a larger group of people, with a more diverse age group, mainly adults and what I am observing, at times is a bit startling.
See I am a product of the "Jesus People" even though I was just a child when my life was radically changed and what I observed then in "Christianity" was that when people were "changed" by the touch of the Holy Spirit, they were CHANGED. They received Christ and SUDDENLY they felt conviction over things they had previously embraced. Their mindset changed overnight by the power of the Holy Spirit. Their choices changed - radically. Their behavior changed - immediately, NOT because someone was "preaching" at them, but because the Holy Spirit had invaded their soul and they were convicted. They STOPPED doing a lot of "stuff" because of "conviction" and the world watched and scratched their heads as these "radicals" became transformed by the presence of a Holy God.
Conviction....hmmmm - that's a word that seems to have fallen by the wayside in this new environment of "grace", "tolerance" and "acceptance". Conviction - when the Holy Spirit "arrests" you and says, "What are you doing? Why are you doing that? Do you love me? 'Cause if you love me, you will ride yourself of 'this or that'." And suddenly your heart MELTS and you fall to your face in repentance! Yes, REPENTANCE! Another word that seems to have been trampled in this "seeker friendly" Christianity.
A friend posted recently that they had observed that MANY churches built in the 1980's and '90's built their foundation on sand and the people (the congregations) finally are "waking up" and getting their heads OUT of the sand. I don't know when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit slowed but I know the churches I saw built in the 1980's had a different emphasis on them than those that sprung up in the 1970's. John Bevere said, "A true leader will see his vision as a way to serve people, a false leader will see people as a way to serve his vision." This is EXACTLY the difference that we are seeing in many modern churches. They have become "businesses" building a vision the pastor/leader "sees" rather than a place to serve people.
Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. Psalm 24:3-4a (NASB). Bill Johnson said, "The church gathers weekly around a sermon, but Israel encamped continually around the Presence. Perhaps when we return to that priority, we, the church, will learn what it means to be a holy nation." THAT'S IT! WE must DESIRE the PRESENCE of the Lord CONTINUALLY... not just on Sundays during a 45 minute service.
See, I WANT to ascend into the places where the Lord is. I WANT to stand in His HOLY place! I WANT all that God has to offer and I NEED Him to change me, to purify me, to cleanse me and I need to choose to walk UPRIGHT and HOLY! See God does His part, but we too have a part to play in this romance. WE have to separate ourselves from participating in EVERYTHING that is NOT part of the Kingdom of God. When we dabble in "things", we are choosing which Kingdom we will serve. We are using "tools" and "devises" that either belong to the Kingdom of Light or the kingdom of darkness. Everything comes down to TWO Kingdoms....EVERYTHING!
Joshua knew this and he declared it to the people when he said, "Now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in our eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. - Joshua 24:14-15.
In closing I want to share a link that I have shared before. It is called "Revival on the Isle of Lewis" by Evangelist Dr. Duncan Campbell (Edinburgh, Scotland) and was given in Wisconsin in May of 1968.
Absence of greed, jealousy, covetousness, avarice, pride, ego, anger, lying, slander, hatred, attachment, shamelessness, etc.
Then I found this:
The New Testament uses the word "holiness" in different ways, and it doesn't always mean exactly the same thing. In fact, different Greek word forms were used in the original texts, though they're all translated to "holiness" in English. The following verses (NKJV) provide examples of the various shades of meaning:
Luke 1:74b-75 - Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
Here, "holiness" (Greek hosiotes) means "piety towards God; fidelity in observing the obligations of piety; demonstrating proper reverence and obedience."
Romans 6:19 - I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
In this verse, the Greek word is hagiasmos, meaning "purification; consecration." It's in this sense that it includes being "set apart."
2 Corinthians 7:1 - Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
The Greek word this time is hagiosune, meaning "moral purity."
Hebrews 12:10 - For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
This verse, speaking of the holiness of God Himself, uses the Greek form hagiotes, meaning "sanctity;" the idea being that God is completely "set apart," but that He gives man the chance to become a "partaker," or "have a share in," His holiness.
Luke 1:74b-75 - Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
Here, "holiness" (Greek hosiotes) means "piety towards God; fidelity in observing the obligations of piety; demonstrating proper reverence and obedience."
Romans 6:19 - I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
In this verse, the Greek word is hagiasmos, meaning "purification; consecration." It's in this sense that it includes being "set apart."
2 Corinthians 7:1 - Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
The Greek word this time is hagiosune, meaning "moral purity."
Hebrews 12:10 - For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
This verse, speaking of the holiness of God Himself, uses the Greek form hagiotes, meaning "sanctity;" the idea being that God is completely "set apart," but that He gives man the chance to become a "partaker," or "have a share in," His holiness.
So why does this matter?
Being a mother of grown children now, my borders have expanded. I used to only have close fellowship with the mothers of my young children's friends and now I am having fellowship with a larger group of people, with a more diverse age group, mainly adults and what I am observing, at times is a bit startling.
See I am a product of the "Jesus People" even though I was just a child when my life was radically changed and what I observed then in "Christianity" was that when people were "changed" by the touch of the Holy Spirit, they were CHANGED. They received Christ and SUDDENLY they felt conviction over things they had previously embraced. Their mindset changed overnight by the power of the Holy Spirit. Their choices changed - radically. Their behavior changed - immediately, NOT because someone was "preaching" at them, but because the Holy Spirit had invaded their soul and they were convicted. They STOPPED doing a lot of "stuff" because of "conviction" and the world watched and scratched their heads as these "radicals" became transformed by the presence of a Holy God.
Conviction....hmmmm - that's a word that seems to have fallen by the wayside in this new environment of "grace", "tolerance" and "acceptance". Conviction - when the Holy Spirit "arrests" you and says, "What are you doing? Why are you doing that? Do you love me? 'Cause if you love me, you will ride yourself of 'this or that'." And suddenly your heart MELTS and you fall to your face in repentance! Yes, REPENTANCE! Another word that seems to have been trampled in this "seeker friendly" Christianity.
A friend posted recently that they had observed that MANY churches built in the 1980's and '90's built their foundation on sand and the people (the congregations) finally are "waking up" and getting their heads OUT of the sand. I don't know when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit slowed but I know the churches I saw built in the 1980's had a different emphasis on them than those that sprung up in the 1970's. John Bevere said, "A true leader will see his vision as a way to serve people, a false leader will see people as a way to serve his vision." This is EXACTLY the difference that we are seeing in many modern churches. They have become "businesses" building a vision the pastor/leader "sees" rather than a place to serve people.
Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. Psalm 24:3-4a (NASB). Bill Johnson said, "The church gathers weekly around a sermon, but Israel encamped continually around the Presence. Perhaps when we return to that priority, we, the church, will learn what it means to be a holy nation." THAT'S IT! WE must DESIRE the PRESENCE of the Lord CONTINUALLY... not just on Sundays during a 45 minute service.
See, I WANT to ascend into the places where the Lord is. I WANT to stand in His HOLY place! I WANT all that God has to offer and I NEED Him to change me, to purify me, to cleanse me and I need to choose to walk UPRIGHT and HOLY! See God does His part, but we too have a part to play in this romance. WE have to separate ourselves from participating in EVERYTHING that is NOT part of the Kingdom of God. When we dabble in "things", we are choosing which Kingdom we will serve. We are using "tools" and "devises" that either belong to the Kingdom of Light or the kingdom of darkness. Everything comes down to TWO Kingdoms....EVERYTHING!
Joshua knew this and he declared it to the people when he said, "Now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in our eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. - Joshua 24:14-15.
In closing I want to share a link that I have shared before. It is called "Revival on the Isle of Lewis" by Evangelist Dr. Duncan Campbell (Edinburgh, Scotland) and was given in Wisconsin in May of 1968.
