6 Purposeful Practices to Pursue Holiness
I’ve been blogging a lot about holiness recently. I’ve written about what holiness is, why we should be holy, and why we would want to be holy. Today, we get practical. How can we pursue holiness in our lives? What can we do to look more and more like Jesus?
Only the Holy Spirit can transform us, but we must cooperate with Him to foster holiness in our lives. Here are a few practical things we can do:
1. Practice an awareness of the presence of God – We know from the Bible that God is always with us. He sees everything we do and knows our thoughts, attitudes, and motivations. Purposefully remembering this truth and disciplining ourselves to regularly think about Him will nourish holiness in our lives.
2. Stay in the Word – The Creator of the universe has revealed Himself, His will, and His ways to us in the Bible. It describes the holy life to which God calls us. But we cannot live by God’s Word unless we know God’s Word. Reading and studying the Bible will plant God’s truth in our hearts.
3. Be proactive in our battle against sin – Sin takes root in our lives, growing and multiplying. To be holy, we must dig it out by the roots and get rid of it. Ask God to also help you recognize areas of weakness in your life so you can guard against potential sin.
4. Respond quickly to the Spirit – Have you ever responded to the prompting of the Spirit with “in a minute?” I certainly have. If you’re a parent, you understand that “delayed” obedience is simply disobedience. Sometimes, we even intend to obey – later. Unfortunately, our delayed obedience causes us harm and dishonors God. We may miss out on God’s best plan for us or even put ourselves in danger. Immediate obedience is always best!
5. Make the most of trials – God uses persecution for the sake of Christ and the common trials of this life to refine our faith and shape our character. If we fight Him in the process rather than lean on Him, trust His love, and follow His guidance we can waste much of what He wants to do. I certainly don’t want to have to go through more hard times than necessary!
6. Keep an eternal perspective – If we allow the things of this physical world to dominate our thoughts and priorities, the temporal will drive our emotions and responses. But if we stay focused on God’s bigger, eternal picture we will be able to reject sin and stand firm in trials.
Although not an exhaustive list, if we continuously and purposefully pursue these six practices, God will have access to do His work in our lives. Note: If you’d like to learn more about holiness and how to live a holy life, check out my newly released Bible study, “Embraced by Holiness.” You can also enter to win a copy for yourself here. Contest ends June 16.
Believers, let’s keep running after holiness! For our good and God’s glory!
Which of these 6 actions do you have the most trouble with? Why?
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