How are your New Year resolution lists coming? I know mine is beginning to reek of "rookie" in its length & impracticality since I have never actually sat down and written one in all 22 years of my life haha. So my year is already starting off new! But what about you? What are some new things you are going to do this year!? As we ring in 2013 with the best of intentions, beastly exercise plans, & ambitious endeavors, have we considered the priority of our holiness? A new year and a new you can be accessed through your holiness! Here's how:
2013 is more than another year, it is an opportunity to start fresh, reach new heights, & discover new levels of potential that you've never experienced before- all beginning with the priority of holiness! God has called us to be holy as He is holy (Leviticus 19:2). Now holy means perfect, but obviously God isn't calling us to be perfect. He knows we cannot attain holiness without Him, but He also knows the way to a newer and better you comes only through the priority of Holiness! So what's the catch? God has called us to the standard of perfection, because He has called us to Himself. Yep, thats right, the only way to God is through God and the happiest we will ever find ourselves is with God. It is only in Christ that we become who we were created to be and through the power of the holy spirit that we are truly made new. Thus, a new year and a new you starts with recognizing your calling to be holy! God is calling YOU to Himself and it is through your faith in Him that you get to experience a new you.
God has given each of us the opportunity to be new through the calling He has given us to be holy as He is holy. A new year and a new you also means you placing authentic faith in God, for holiness is only made manifest within us through our faith in Him! Yet here is where so many are mislead and why so many have not yet experienced all that God has for them. In society today, faith in God has been reduced to mere acknowledgement that God exists, yet James 2:19-20 states: "You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?" What James is getting at is that even demons acknowledge God exists, but it is faith that sets a true child of God apart from the world because the faith of a true believer proves its authenticity through lifestyle and good works, aka holiness. In other words, true believers don't just talk the talk, they also walk the walk! But holiness is not something we can do- rather it's a product of our faith in God! And it is our faith in God that makes us want to submit and adhere to God's laws. Why? Because we trust Him & that trust is what proves our faith to be authentic. A new life, experiencing the best of the best, comes when we place REAL faith in God! In Central Themes in Biblical Theology, Scott J. Hafemann & Paul R. House write:
Suffice it to say that a holy people in attitude and behavior conform to the divine will. Put another way, holiness is living out the covenant stipulations. Ample details are provided so that one is not left without guidance. In the words of Jo Wells, 'Holiness focuses, primarily, on faithful adherence to God's covenant laws in all aspects of worship and life.' (p.245)
It is through the priority of holiness that you will get to experience a new you in 2013, and it is by faith in Jesus Christ that you become holy. But as we read off our exhausting lists of new things we need to do better in 2013, the resolution of prioritizing holiness is not just for the sake of being "good," rather the call to holiness entails a far greater purpose: to be distinct!
It is by faith we are God's distinct people, for as we prioritize His calling on our lives to be holy as He is holy we embark on the opportunity to be apart of a legacy, a heritage, & divine purpose! As Christians, we are a distinct people marked by holiness through our faith in Jesus Christ, and expressed through our obedience to His covenant teachings. Our calling to be holy reaches beyond ethical behavior, rather it is intended to reflect God to a world that doesn't know Him. How? Gods laws are a reflection of WHO He is, by which all revolve around His character, and when His people accept the calling to be holy- to be like Him- they become vessels by which His love and power are made manifest!
As Christians, we are called to be more like God, and through His son Jesus that calling is made possible, but it is through our faith in Christ that we have access to that holiness and get to experience true newness. In Christ, God makes us holy through the power of the Holy Spirit and it is through our obedience to Gods laws that we are distinct and reflect God to a world that desperately needs Him! So in 2013, consider the priority of holiness as your New Years Resolution. The start to a newer and better you can begin as soon as you respond to Gods calling on your life: “Be holy as I am Holy!” He is calling YOU! Will you respond!?
Happy New Years & Happy 2013!!!
“Keep my commands and follow them. I am the Lord. Do not profane my holy name, for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the Lord, who made you holy and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.”- Leviticus 22:31-33
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