Word For The Day: Growing In Holiness

1 Peter 1:14-15 
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.

When I was a kid, I described a holy person as someone who sat alone all day in meditation and prayer. Perhaps you similarly equate holiness with some particular religious traditions from childhood. 
God calls each of us to be holy as His Son Jesus Christ is holy. One of the ways that God produces holiness in us is through adversity.


Hebrews 12:10
“God disciplines us (through adversity) for our good, that we may share in his holiness.”

When adversity comes, it strips away the facade we have created for ourselves. We suddenly realize that we are finding it impossible to love the person who is the instrument of adversity. We find that we are experiencing difficulty forgiving that person or have anxiety over the situation we are facing.


The adversity God has placed in our lives exposes our lack of love, forgiveness, and trust in God. These are things that God knows about us, but we are not aware of ourselves. In kindness, God brings adversity into our lives to strip away our false assumptions about our goodness and make us holy in our hearts.


To make us holy, God must make us humble. God wants us to go deeper than just surface actions to examine the root cause: the corruption of our sinful nature as revealed in our motivations and affections.


None of us enjoy discipline! Too often, we are looking for ways to escape adversity instead of looking for ways to grow through it! Don’t waste the troubles God has brought into your life! Humble yourself and discover what God already knows about you. Allow God to use discipline (adversity) in your life to make you holy! 
Through loving discipline, God produces “a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11


I hope to see everyone at the Connection Group Bible Study this evening from 18:30-19:30 at the church!


Have a great Thursday!
Pastor Phil