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08 Spiritual Spring Cleaning: Holiness is an inside job!
Scripture Lesson for the Day: “God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives” (1Thessalonians 4:7 NLT).
How has your lifestyle reflected the holiness of God this past week?
“The greatest miracle that God can do today is to take an unholy man out of an unholy world, and make that man holy and put him back into that unholy world and keep him holy in it.” (Leonard Ravenhill, Evangelist and Pastor)
4 things God does for us to help us live a holy life…
1. He gives us the Holy Spirit to guide, purify and empower us to produce spiritual fruit!
“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves” (Galatians 5:16, NLT).
“He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith”
(Acts 15:9, NIV).
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control”
(Galatians 5:22-23a, NLT).
Key Understanding: Authentic Christian Holiness is characterized by the Fruit of the Spirit.
2. He gives us the Bible as His personal Word to instruct us!
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalms 119:105, NIV).
“So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves”
(James 1:21-22, NLT).
3. He offers us forgiveness if we stumble spiritually!
“My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous” (1 John 2:1-2, NLT).
“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (1 John 1:9, NLT).
4. He provides us with Christian friends to help and support us!
”Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
(Hebrews 10:25, NIV).
“We really do need each other” (Reuben Welch, Nazarene professor and author).
“Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself (Galatians 6:1, NLT).
Closing Challenge: Holiness is a matter of the heart. If you give God the chance, He will transform your heart changing the way you think and act. Here is His promise, “And I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart” (Ezekiel 36:26, NLT). Will you invite God to do the inside work that you need?
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