I recently cried myself through the entire book of 1 Peter. I have no idea what the Holy Spirit was doing in me but I cried the entire time while reading. Within the first few versus, Peter says that as a result of God knowing and choosing us, that His spirit has (or will) make us holy. (1 Peter 1:2)
Oftentimes during bible study I like to question the text, so that I have a deeper understanding of what the Holy Spirit may be trying to teach me. So I asked the Lord, “How may I be made holy, by your spirit?” I know that simply professing Christ is not going to result in me becoming instantly holy as God in heaven is holy, so I began to think about sin.
All of God’s children are clothed in flesh (a sinful nature) which actively wants to oppose the holy lifestyle that is calling us to lead. (Galatians 5:19-21 NLT) So I began to think of how one may grow in something like lust. For me it started as a small pornographic seed that was shown to me as a child and eventually out of my own curiosity I began to seek out materials that would excite the lust in me. Young Adult and Adult Fiction Romances, steamy make out sessions with my lusty boyfirend, pornographic materials on the web. My feelings of lust began to grow so strong that I felt as if I would break my vow to remain a virgin until marriage. (Video all about my struggle with pornography and masturbation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw3VVehkG20&t=20s) Praise God that that wasn’t the case and that the Holy Spirit kept me from breaking my vow!
I said all of that to say that whatever we are engaged in, is going to grow strong within us and this is in regards to anything. I believe that in order to be holy as God in heaven is holy, that we must engage with Him. Just as I engaged in activities that would end up growing the lust in me, we must do our due diligence and be intentional about allowing the Holy Spirit to grow within us so that we may become stronger in Christ and holier with each passing day.
In order to be holy, we must engage in our relationship in Christ. We can engage with Christ through things like prayer, fasting, worship, and meditating on the words in the bible on a daily basis. The Lord is looking to have a relationship with us and the good news is that he already knows everything there is to know about us and he loves and accepts us just as we are. But the even better news is that when we engage in our relationship with Christ, we may start as someone who is broken, addicted and experiencing so much inner anxiety and worthlessness, but through time spent with Him, we can be made holy! What amazing news this is!
So please be encouraged! The only way that we can achieve being more Christ-like and holy, is to engage with God so that he will have the opportunity to change our hearts and our minds one day at a time!
I love you much!
Amber
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