In Search of Holiness. . .

Hebrews 12:14
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

Beginning to reread this morning as my devotional, the third book of David Bernards Pentecostal Theology series. The book is titled: "In Search of Holiness". The above verse is the caption for the beginning page of the first chapter.

Holiness, as all things having to do with God and religion, if taken with the wrong spirit. . . without love. . . can be damaging. . . having a destructive effect.

We shouldn't strive for holiness, with the goal in mind of demonstrating our righteousness. . . We shouldn't strive for holiness motivated solely in the hopes of being judged worthy of entering into heaven. . . Our Lord desires us to be holy and to live holy and sanctified lives. . . Be ye holy for I am holy He said. . . and loving the Lord with all our heart, mind. . . body. . . strength. . . we should hunger to do those things which are pleasing to Him and to avoid those things displeasing to Him. . .With this as our motivation we can avoid legalism and becoming Pharisee's. . .avoiding self-righteousness and pride in ourselves.

I seek holiness, not because of my righteousness. . ., not for my strength, but due to my weakness, and I need to be as close to the Lord as possible to avoid temptation and falling away from Him. . .

Surely an old saying with wisdom, is that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. . .a spiritual journey can be one of moving toward the Lord and likewise it can be a journey of moving away from the Lord. Few if any who fall away from God do so in one giant move. . .Most generally it is a journey of many small steps. Maintaining vigilance upon the small things in your walk with God, will largely inoculate you from the danger of facing a day where you wake up a great distance from Him. . .

Strive for holiness in every aspect of your life. . .

Thank you my God. . .You are holy. . . therefore I desire to be holy. . .

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