Barnabas Letters, part 10

"How much thought do you give to being holy?" That is a sentence from lesson 7 of the material that we have been using in ladies' Bible class, and I think it's a striking one. How much time do you spend in trying to be holy: speaking holy, acting holy, thinking holy?

1 Peter 1:15-16 says:

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.”

When we got to that question in class, I think we all felt a little guilty--at least I know I did! I know I spend more time thinking about how to do the right thing, which is a component of being holy, but it isn't all there is to it. There's also a bit of worldly negative connotation with the idea of being holy, as evidenced by the phrase "acting holier than thou."

So what does it mean to be holy? The Hebrew word for holy is defined as being set apart.  And we know that by being Christians, we are already set apart to be God's chosen people. But this is not the kind of thing that we can mark off on a check list and say we've completed it, we need to be holy in all we do. We need to be continually setting ourselves apart from the world.

The best way to continually be holy is to regularly be a consumer of God's word. If you don't already have a plan for daily Bible reading, there are tons of resources out there that don't cost a penny. YouVersion has a great list of daily reading plans here, and you can read on your computer or using an app for your smartphone. If you'd like a printable plan (so retro! haha) to put in your Bible try here or here.

Sing it with me!
"Take time to be holy, Speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, And feed on His word.
Make friends of God’s children; Help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessings to seek."

In Christ alone--

Elena