Category Archives: Holiness

Recognizing our critics

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Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thought:

Apostle Paul in his instructions to the church of Thessalonica asks them to recognize three important characteristics in people; those who work hard, those who care for others, and those who admonish others. It seems sensible and practical to appreciate hard-working and caring people but it’s not easy to appreciate them when they strongly criticize us. The type of admonishment that Paul talks about is done in love where the person who admonishes someone cares enough about them to boldly warn them of their sinful ways. A simple illustration is a mother admonishing her child for playing with fire. We know she does it in love and it is for the child’s well-being. As believers, we should be able to humbly accept and live with people who admonish us, at the same time, when a situation arises, we should also be courageous enough to admonish others in love.

Word:

1 Thessalonians 5: 12, 13

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord, and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work.

Prayer:

Lord, help us to be humble when You or others admonish us, help us fix our sinful ways, and also give us the courage to admonish others in love. Amen.

Mastering ourselves

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Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thought:

In Judges 16, Samson’s lack of self-control and humility was on full display as he made a series of poor choices, sleeping with a prostitute, sharing secrets with the enemy, and being proud of his strength. Eventually, God left Him. We run the same risk when we haven’t mastered ourselves from doing what our flesh or the world wants us to do. Apostle Paul in 1 Cor 9:27 goes so far as to say that he made his body his slave to prevent himself from being disqualified as he is preaching the gospel to others. To each person, making their body their slave could mean different things, but one thing is for sure, it will push us out of our comfort zone. We should strive to push our boundaries to master ourselves for God’s glory and avoid disqualification from attaining eternity with God.

Word:

1 Corinthians 9:27

No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Prayer:

Lord, give us the strength and endurance to master ourselves. Strengthen our weaknesses for Your glory. Amen.

Holy Life is a Jolly Life

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Dear all,

Greetings in the mighty name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Word: 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.” 1 Peter 1:15-16

Thought: God has called us to be holy because He is holy. Things that make us unholy can be internal or external. This could be anything like our words, thoughts, actions, people we hang out with, places we go or habits we pick up. As humans we are bound to fall short one way or the other, but God’s mercy and grace through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and His resurrection more than makes up for it. Let that inspire us to be more holy and ultimately more like Jesus.

Prayer: LORD, give us the strength to overcome the things in our life that make us unholy, so that we can become holy like You. In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.