Draw near to God. 9-19-16

A holy life is to live by the fruits.

Something that is not easy in living a holy life is daily living by the fruits of the Spirit. They do not often come natural and must be developed in one’s life. Here are the fruits:

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Go over each of these fruits and see how you Are doing in applying them in your daily life. Most of us have some weaknesses that must be worked out with the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray for God to help you in living out these fruits in your life. 

To live a holy life is to live out the fruits of the Spirit daily!

Tom

The goal of holiness....

In obtaining holiness our goal is to be like Jesus!

A life of faith, patience, compassion, love, peace, unity, forgiveness, unselfish, humble, truthful, and power in the Holy Spirit! So in our sanctification process are we conforming to the image of Christ?

Romans 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Think about this today...are you like Jesus...or at least growing in Christlikeness?

1 John 2:6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

I bet we all have work to do!

Tom

Guard that heart!

Hate sin, love the Word!

As we strive to be Holy one thing the Word teaches over and over to us is to Love the Word of God and hate sin! This sounds so easy but when we sit down and think about it, why is it so hard to do???

Hate sin:

Romans 12:9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Love the Word:

Psalm 119:140 Your word is very pure; Therefore Your servant loves it.

1 John 2:5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.

Luke 11:28 He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.

Joshua 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

So do you hate sin and desire the word of God? It is something that may not come natural and must be learned for the follower of Jesus to grow in holiness. Move in that direction today...it is of utmost importance!

Tom

Spiritual Discipline. 9-12-16

Being one mind with God

One of the ways we grow in sanctification (becoming holy) is by becoming one mind with God! This is a continual practice and well we never get there but that does not mean we can’t get very close so that we are living godly lives!

1 Corinthians 2:16 For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

As JC Ryle says here is what the mind of God will look like in a follower of Jesus:

“agreeing in God’s judgement
hating what He hates
loving what He loves
measuring everything in this world by the standard of His Word.
He who most entirely agrees with God--he is the most holy man.”

So do you agree with God and follow as closely as you can or do you pick and choose what you want to obey and disobey?

Let us all grow in holiness by being of the same mind as Christ!

Tom