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First Peter 1:15-16 say to us today:
A devotional on holiness, emphasizing God's call to live holy lives through intentional purity and spiritual commitment.
Key Takeaways
- Holiness is a divine command and essential for a relationship with God.
- Spiritual purity requires intentional effort and vigilance against contamination.
- Holiness is both a gift from God and a responsibility believers must actively pursue.
- Maintaining holiness involves continual spiritual disciplines like prayer and scripture reading.
- God’s mercy and forgiveness are available to restore those who have strayed from holiness.
Summary
- The video explores 1 Peter 1:15-16, calling believers to be holy as God is holy.
- Holiness is a non-negotiable command for Christians, essential for communion with God.
- Old Testament purification rituals symbolize the need for spiritual cleanliness today.
- Holiness is a work of God in a life that yields to Him and requires deliberate commitment.
- Hebrews 12:14 highlights the necessity of holiness to see and commune with God.
- Slipping from holiness means returning to sin and the 'old creature' that God saved us from.
- Intentionality and systems are necessary to maintain holiness in a world full of temptations.
- 2 Corinthians 7:1 instructs believers to purify themselves from all contamination of body and spirit.
- Maintaining holiness involves guarding the mind, body, and spirit, and staying active in prayer and scripture.
- The video concludes with a prayer inviting viewers to recommit to holiness and seek God's mercy and restoration.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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“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.’”
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Let’s meditate on it before we pray together.
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A simple command, but a big deal.
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This is one of the requirements of us walking with God, one of the requirements of us being Christian.
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It is not negotiable, what it means cannot be reimagined or reinterpreted in our own language, and it is most definitely not a suggestion.
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God speaking instructions to us.
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This is God speaking truth to us, telling us sincerely what we must do and what we must look like.
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In the Old Testament, we will find in the ways of worship how the people, particularly the priests, cleansed and purified themselves.
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The Bible said they washed themselves.
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They purified their garments.
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They made themselves clean, particularly before coming to meet with the Lord.
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Our instructions are much the same today.
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We are no longer required to do the physical washing as was done in the Old Testament.
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They are no longer needed, but what is needed now is for us to actually live holy lives.
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Holiness is not something you produce by yourself, but the work of God in a life that yields to Him.
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It is a work we have to commit to.
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It is a deliberate action we take to honor God with our lives, with our bodies, and even with our decisions.
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It is only when we are aware,
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consciously make these decisions, and stick with the corresponding actions that come with them,
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that we can then say we are holy.
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In fact, we won’t need to say it or make any type of verbal acknowledgement.
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We will see it clearly in the way our lives progress and how we get closer to God.
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God automatically is closer to those who are holy because He can commune with them, because they can access His presence.
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That is why the Bible says in Hebrews 12:14:
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“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”
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The emphasis is loud in that scripture.
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It says make every effort.
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Every effort.
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Every effort to be holy, and it goes further
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to tell us why.
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Without holiness, no one will see God.
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This will not be because of any malice the Lord has towards you, and trust me, He definitely isn’t just shutting Himself up from you.
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It is just a fact, not one born out of malice or anger or any other dark emotion, but because of the state of your heart
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and the way you have chosen to live, you won’t have access to God.
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No man will ever be able to have a relationship or sustain a relationship with the Lord when He is still constantly in the old creature.
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The Bible puts it plainly in Habakkuk 1:13:
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“Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?”
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Our Lord cannot behold iniquity, so being holy goes right to the heart of Him being able to communicate with us.
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In fact, we will find in several verses of scripture that the need for us to be as God is, is one of the central requirements and directives of our salvation, that it is necessary that we be changed for the better so we can commune with God.
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Second Corinthians calls us new creatures the moment we receive the Lord.
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Another verse says to be conformed to the image of the Lord by the renewal of our minds and not to the world.
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When we receive Jesus, He causes a change in us, and it is through this change that we are able to behold Him and commune with Him because He cannot fellowship with us otherwise.
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This new state and the continuation of it in our lives is us being holy. When we slip from holiness, we literally slip back into what God saved us from.
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We go back to the sins, to the lusts, and before we know it, we are off the new life given to us, we embrace the old creature again.
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That is why there is the need for us to put systems in place for us to actually be able to stay holy, and we need to be true to ourselves in this.
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The world we are in today wastes no time in trying consistently to tear down our faith, have us believe what we have received is a lie,
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and if we will just take a look around, even a man that is not a Christian
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can see that the temptations are more than ever.
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So,
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intentionality is the only way out.
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And despite the hard times or the tempting days we find ourselves in, the Bible makes provision for us, why I love scripture so much.
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It doesn’t just tell us the problem and instructions, it also tells us how to overcome, and I believe the first pointer to us overcoming today is found
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in 2 Corinthians 7:1.
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“Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”
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I personally love this verse, and I want us to take it to heart today as it gives us a clear pointer
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into how to live holy lives.
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It says we should purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit,
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and through that, we perfect holiness out of reverence for God.
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We all know what that means,
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or at least we can guess.
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Nothing pulls us down like being contaminated in our bodies and spirit.
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In fact, you will find that the first course of action of everything the devil puts in our path is to do just this, contaminate us, make us unclean.
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It first goes through our mind, pollutes our mind, and then our bodies.
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That is the whole plan of sin, really, and once we permit this contamination consistently, it can become a way of life, and then going back, retracing our steps, becomes much more difficult.
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I believe this is why the Bible says we should guard our mind, keep our bodies under so we do not fulfill the lust of it.
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So,
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how do we avoid this contamination?
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It’s simple, really, we stay pure.
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We identify those things that have been defiling our lives and cut them off.
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And then after cutting them off, we make sure that they stay out.
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This means that we are careful of what we watch, careful of what we permit into our bodies and our minds, careful of where we go, who we permit into our lives.
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We must be watchful of all these physical things, and then we keep our spiritual fire burning as well.
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We must be present in prayer, we must be present in the word so we can be strengthened from within to live holy lives.
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When we keep our spiritual fire burning, we are backed by God’s own strength to stay in the decision that we have taken.
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And I believe that as we do that today, as we are mindful of living holy lives, cleansing our body and spirit and keeping the spiritual fire up, we will be closer to God than we have ever been and more than we have ever thought possible.
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If you would like to start on that walk of holiness today, then I invite you to pray this prayer with me.
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Father, I believe you brought me here because you see me, know me, and understand what I am going through.
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You know where I am weak, where I struggle, and where I have tried to hide from the truth.
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Still, in your mercy, you let this message reach me and speak to my heart.
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Thank you, Jesus, for not ignoring me.
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Thank you for not leaving me alone in my situation. Thank you for calling me closer to you, even when I am weak. Father, I know I have not taken holiness seriously enough, and I have become careless in my walk with you.
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I have failed to stay dedicated and have grown weak where I should have been alert. My spiritual life is not what it once was, and I cannot hide that from you.
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I have let things into my life that do not belong there as a Christian.
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I have compromised when I should have stood firm. I have given in to my desires when I should have shown discipline.
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Lord, I know this is not right, so I ask for your mercy today.
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Please forgive me.
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Wash me and cleanse me again.
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I have let myself be tempted and opened doors that should have stayed closed.
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Have mercy on me, Lord.
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Do not turn me away, but restore me by your mercy and bring me back to where I belong.
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Lord, I have always wanted to live a holy life.
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Deep down, I truly want to please you and walk in a way that honors you.
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Still, even with this desire, I have fallen short many times.
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I have gone places I shouldn’t have and done things I shouldn’t do.
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I have let sin stay in my life when you are calling me to be pure, but today, I don’t want to keep living like that.
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I don’t want to stay stuck in patterns that pull me away from you.
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I choose to start over.
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I choose to get up again, to come back to you.
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Today, I decide to live a holy life.
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I decide to seek a life that pleases you alone.
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I want to make choices that honor you.
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I want to turn away from things that hurt your heart.
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I want to stop making excuses for what you have already warned me about.
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Please, Lord, let this decision be real in me, let it be more than just a feeling, let it be a true and lasting surrender to you.
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But, Lord, I admit that I can’t do this by myself.
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I don’t have enough strength on my own to keep walking this path without your help.
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I know my weaknesses, and I know how easily I can fail when I try to rely on myself.
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I ask you to strengthen me.
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Help me to be strong inside.
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Help me stay steady in what matters most.
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Help me stay committed to reading your word and to prayer.
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Help me return to spiritual discipline.
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I know this hasn’t been my strong point.
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My prayer life hasn’t been vibrant, and I haven’t been consistent in studying for a long time.
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I’ve been on and off.
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Sometimes I have the desire, but I don’t always follow through.
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I have convictions, but not always the endurance.
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But today, Lord, I want real change.
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Please give me the grace to keep praying and reading your word until these things start to grow in my life again.
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Let your word come alive in me.
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Let prayer become my safe place again.
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Let being with you bring me joy again.
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Bring me to a place where I am consistent, where I don’t just visit your presence now and then,
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but walk with you every day and truly know you.
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Today, I also ask you to help me cleanse my body and spirit.
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Take away everything I’ve let in that has weakened my spiritual life.
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Remove anything that has held me back, polluted my heart, clouded my mind, or kept me from living a holy life.
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Pull out every habit, desire, and influence that has drawn me away from you.
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And in the areas where I need to take responsibility and act, please give me strength and courage.
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Starting today, I choose to clean up my environment.
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I will be careful about what I watch, where I go, who I listen to,
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and who I call friends.
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I want to stop making space for things that weaken my soul.
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From today, I want my life to honor you.
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Let my thoughts, words, and choices show respect for you.
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Let the way I live show that I belong to you.
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In Jesus’ name, amen.
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I hope this message and prayer help you feel closer to the Lord and strengthen your desire to live a life that is holy and pleasing to Him.
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May the grace you asked for today be with you, and may God give you strength to walk in obedience, purity, and a deeper relationship with Him.
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If you have any prayer requests, please share them in the comments.
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We would be honored to pray for you.
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May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, always.
Topics:holinessChristian livingspiritual purityBible meditationprayer1 Peter 1:15-16Hebrews 12:142 Corinthians 7:1faithChristian discipline
