I Peter 1:15-16

I Peter 1:15-16 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."

(From chapter two in The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges)

• Because God is holy, He is perfectly conformed to His own character.
• Are my thoughts and actions consistent with God's holy character?  I am called to be holy simply because God Himself is holy.
• It is impossible for God to ever be unfair in His actions because He is holy.
• I often believe that lie, as Eve did, that God is being unfair because of __________.  God is always fair; fairness often looks different, though, as God works in people's lives differently
• Complaining against God is to deny His holiness
• "Acknowledging His holiness is one of the ways we are to praise God" (page 25)
• God's holiness doesn't allow for personal character flaws
• I often use the excuse:  "I'm still growing in that area..."
• Hebrews 12:14 "Make every effort...to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord."
• God hates sin
• The more we love and treasure God, the more we will hate sin
• Live my life in reverence and fear (I Peter 1:17) of God, hating sin and treasuring Christ more and more.

Laying Down My Life

Life here in Iowa is much better.  My new-found contentment lies from what I recently encountered as I did my lesson for the Working Women's Bible Study.  Romans 5:8 hit me in a new way:  God not only sent His only Son to die for our sins on the cross, but He sent His perfect Son.  I can't imagine having to sacrifice my son and my son isn't even close to perfect! In bible study, the question that followed Romans 5:8 was, "How does knowing that God loves you unconditionally and that you are His child affect your response to Him?"  It hit me like a ton of bricks at that moment (oh, how it excites me that the Holy Spirit is at work in my life!):  Lay down my life.  He laid down His life for me.  I'd always heard that, but I never truly understood what it meant until now. 

God has called me to lay down my life:  lay down my desires to live in a big warm city (San Diego!), lay down my desires to be with my best friends, lay down my desires to...  That moment was revolutionary for me.  God has called me to this tiny town; my life is not my own, but His to dispose of as He pleases.  I have found so much comfort and contentment once I was able to "let go" of my own life.  Colossians 1:16 struck me, "...all things were created through Him and for Him."  Even me!  For Him to do as He pleases with my life.

That truth gives me such peace because I trust in God's promises.  His promise in Psalm 145:16 to satisfy the desires of every living thing.  He will satisfy my desires!  His promise is that He is kind in all His works (verse 17).

The last few days I've been reading Noel Piper's book Faithful Women & Their Extraordinary God.  Those five women (Sarah Edwards included) truly knew how to lay down their lives, and they have been such an example and encouragement to me.  None of my 'little' hardships are anything like what these women encountered.

Thanks be to God!  I am blessed beyond measure and content as I joyfully seek to lay down my life and glorify Jesus Christ in all I do...even in a tiny Iowan town.