Focus

Relax and clear your head. Listen for the voice of God. What is God saying to you today?

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Read

1 Peter 1:13-16 (NRSV)

Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

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Reflect

I know that this will not shock many people, but I am far from perfect. I have messed up a vast number of times in my life. I continue to make mistakes daily. By most people’s definition, I am far from holy. When people describe holiness, they often share ideas of morality. Many people believe that the measure of holiness is whether people have followed some set of rules. Unfortunately, those rules are often different from person to person.

While there may be some necessity of morality to be holy, that is not the primary focus of being holy. The most basic meaning of holiness is that we belong to God. To be holy, we must be dedicated to our Redeemer. We are holy because we have decided to give ourselves to the God who has given everything to us.

We will all fall short of the world’s ideas of morality. When you do, remember that you belong to a holy God who has made you holy. Regardless of how imperfect I may be, I choose to live not in my faults, but in the gift of God’s holiness.

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Pray

Forgiving God, you know that we are far from perfect. You know that we all stumble and fall. We praise you for the fact that despite our mistakes you still set us apart as your people. God, forgive again our failures and lead us to lives of holiness. Amen.

Go with God.