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The word
'holiness' is a turn-off to a lot of
people. It reminds them of the
finger-pointing religionists and
negative experiences they've had in
church. They immediately think of all
the things you can't do, like a
religious version of Parliamentary
Procedures. Nothing could be further
from the truth. '...He hath chosen
us...that we should be holy... [fully
committed] before Him...' You'll never
have the motivation to live a fully
committed lifestyle unless you know that
God has chosen you for a specific
purpose. It's like being an athlete:
certain activities might be permissible
for others, but not for you. And why's
that? Because you want to win the race!
Notice the words '...we should be
holy...before Him...' True holiness is
being aware of what pleases God and what
offends God; and living your life
accordingly. In other words, it's not
for man's benefit, it's for God's. In
the Old Testament God used forks,
spoons, basins and flesh hooks for
temple worship. Now they were just
ordinary kitchen utensils until God set
them aside for His use, then they became
holy forks, holy spoons, holy basins and
holy flesh hooks. And since
contamination could disqualify them for
service, they had to be protected. Are
you getting the idea? When God called
you He earmarked you for a specific
purpose. Up until then you were just
John and Helen, but now you're holy John
and holy Helen. Like a dedicated line on
a fax machine, you can be used for one
thing only; God's purposes. Once you
understand that and fully accept it,
you'll never stray far from His will. |