1 Peter 1:16 Holiness: What Does It Mean to Be Holy

As promised I am now posting my thoughts on the above verse. I would like to start by looking at the definition of holy in this context. According to Strongs the it is from the Greek word hagios meaning sacred; pure; blameless; consecrated. So to be holy means you are set apart. How are we set apart? I believe that we can find the answer in the verses leading up to verse 16 in 1 Peter 1:13-15. These verses tell us to be sober minded; to hope in Christ Jesus and his grace; to be obediant to God like children; to no longer conform to the lusts of the flesh. I would also like to refer to Ephesians chapter 1:4 Just as he chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. I believe that part of what sets us apart when we are living holy as challenged to be in these verses is love. I think that if you made a recipe for holiness it would contain, hope in Christ Jesus, Obedience to God, Love for God and others, self-control. I believe that it is possible to live a holy life, only because of the grace of God. I also believe it requires a constant commitment to take up your cross daily, putting to death your fleshly desires, and walking according to every word that flows from the mouth of God.

1 Peter 1:16

Because it is written, "Be holy for I am holy." 1 Peter 1:16 NKJV. What does it mean to be holy? What does it look like? Is it possible to achieve this? I would like to have everyone who reads this post their answers to the above questions. I will post some thoughts as well, but do not want the comments to all be "I agree" or "I disagree because_____." So I will post my thoughts in a few days.

Possible Ministry Opportunity

Tonight I was asked if I had ever considered going into the Faulkner County Detention Center to preach to inmates. I will be thinking and praying about this opportunity, and hope that you will pray for God's guidance for me in this decision. Thanks in advance. Feel free to post any advice or insight.

New Title and layout.

I have decided to change the name of my blog, to better reflect my reason for doing the blog. My blog is not about me, but Christ, and I simply write posts that will hopefully encourage and build up others in their walk with Christ, and teach others to look to Christ. Also please comment with any suggestions as far as background, or font color changes that you feel will make the blog visually appealing or let me know that you like the layout as is. Any and all input will be greatly appreciated.

Biblical Forgiveness!

This has been an interesting week for me, and I having failed yet again in an area I have been struggling with for quite sometime, went to God in prayer seeking forgiveness, and as I was praying the thought hit me, that I had failed in this area many times, and many times sought forgiveness, how can I expect God to forgive me yet again? This brought me to a place where I was considering giving up spiritually. That night I had a dream that I was reading a scripture, the scripture was Matthew 3: 50, which if you look in your bible you will find that this scripture does not exist. I woke up with a sense of peace and excitement, and ran to get my bible and read the scripture, thinking the dream was surely of God. Much to my surprise I opened my bible to Matthew chapter 3 and found that there were only 16 verses. I spent a couple days pondering what the dream could mean, because I felt sure it was from God. I was talking to a friend about the dream, and he asked me if I had asked God to reveal to me the meaning of the dream. So we prayed together about the dream and asked God if it was from him, and if he would reveal the meaning to us. My friend looked at me and said that the dream was of God, and that I had a misunderstanding of scriptural forgiveness. So for the next hour or two I spent praying that God would reveal to me what the misunderstanding was. God revealed to me that when you receive forgiveness of sin, He forgets. I asked, "Lord is that you?" He said yes. He continued to reveal to me that if I want to stop failing in that area I have to recognize the fact that he has wiped the slate clean, and stop walking in guilt, but instead glorify him for his mercy, and rejoice in his freedom.