The world, including those closest to you, will be convinced you serve a holy God by your consecrated life.īut Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies. When God deals with you, there will be a radical degree of purity about your life that is absolutely different from what the world can produce. You will not see those around you trusting Jesus until they recognize a clear difference between you and the rest of the world. Yet when we encounter holy God, our only response can be "Woe is me!"
Have we so conformed ourselves to a sinful world that we are satisfied with unholy living? Have we sunk so far below God’s standard that when someone does live as God intended, we consider that person "superspiritual"? If we only compare our personal holiness to those around us, we may be deceived into believing that we are living a consecrated life. The best indication that we have truly worshiped is a changed heart. It is impossible to worship God and remain unchanged.
Isaiah’s encounter with holy God made him immediately and keenly aware of his own unholiness and the sinfulness of those around him. Isaiah may have been satisfied with his personal holiness until he saw the Lord in His unspeakable glory. A diminished view of God brings a reduced concern for sin and an inflated view of self. If you truly love Him, your service for Him in the new year will be of the quality that He desires.Īnd I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips Īn exalted view of God brings a clear view of sin and a realistic view of self. If your resolve to obey God last year did not help you to be faithful, it will not make you successful this year. Jesus does not need your resolutions, your recommitments, or your promises to try harder this year. If you truly love Him, you will obey Him (John 14:15). He asked Peter, "Do you love Me?" If your answer, like Peter’s, is "Yes, Lord," He will reaffirm His will for you. He will ask you to examine your love for Him. Jesus will take you aside, as He did Peter. Perhaps you denied Him by the way you lived. Peter must have wondered if he had been capable of being Jesus’ disciple when he was unfaithful to Jesus in His most crucial hour.Īs you begin a new year, you may be painfully aware that you have failed your Lord in many ways. Later, he publicly denied that he even knew Jesus. Peter miserably failed his Lord when he fled with the other disciples from the Garden of Gethsemane. Rather, He takes us aside and asks us to reaffirm our love for Him.
He does not ask us to make a resolution to try harder.
Jesus has a wonderful way of restoring us when we fail Him! He does not humiliate us. So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?"
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