DEVOTION – DAY 212

1 Peter 1:15-16 “Be Holy”

1 Peter 1:15-16 “But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 

In 1 Peter 1:13-21, the apostle Peter, wrote to encourage Christians to remember that God, the Father had redeemed Christians from their bondage to sin with the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself on the cross, every believer in Him now have a relationship with God, the Father through Jesus Christ, God, the Son.

Every Christian is commanded to be holy – that means “to be set apart” because God is Holy and He hates sin. That means that Christians must set out to conduct their daily lives that are different from the way unbelievers conduct their lives. Christians are required to act, behave and think differently because they are “set apart” as holy people. On their own abilities, they cannot do it every day but God has given every Christian the gift of the Holy Spirit that guides Christians to make those daily choices to be holy, to be set apart as people of God.

I know that my normal reaction is to press on my car horn to express my anger when another car suddenly cuts in front of my car in a reckless manner. This is the natural reaction of people in this world. But if I want to be holy because God is holy, I must not give into the temptation to anger but to be gracious and forgive this impatient and reckless driver in the other car. I know someone who was driving his car above the speed limit. Unfortunately, his speeding caught the attention of the police because there was a hidden speed trap. The policeman signaled this man to stop by the side of the road. The policeman wanted to issue this man a speeding traffic offence ticket. This man was tempted to offer a bribe to the policeman. After all, many people do that in order to avoid getting a traffic offence ticket. But he knew that Christians must not be guilty of bribing so he resisted the temptation to bribe the policeman and instead accepted the traffic ticket that will cause him to pay a fine. This driver had chosen to be holy because God is Holy.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we worship you as the Holy God of the Universe. Please help us to make the right choices each day to be holy and to resist temptation to sin, because you are Holy and you want us to be holy. In the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

Questions

  1. What are your daily struggles and experiences in trying to be holy? Share.
  2. How important is it to you to try to be holy on a daily basis? Share.
  3. What steps can you take to help yourself to be holy on a daily basis?
  4. How can you teach your children and grandchildren to be holy? Discuss and share.