Sanctified and Separate in
His Word.
Are you trying to fit in?
Are you trying to be like everyone else? That is what the world tells us we
should do. They say ‘don’t rock the boat’, don’t be the ‘odd man out’; dress,
act, eat and behave just like everyone else and you will fit in and be whole.
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; be
ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the
hope that is in your with meekness and fear. 1 Peter 3:15
It starts from preschool as
teachers train children in how to be like the other kids; I am guilty of doing
this myself as a pre-school teacher I was training my class of kids to do as I
told them to do; to not stand out and to stay in line.
Now don’t get all upset I
taught them to do the right things, but I know the things the world wants to
teach them and it’s not just to learn to behave. The world wants to train us up
to do what they want but my God said to separate ourselves and be sanctified
that He may train us up in the Way. God is good, and He only wants the best for
us, He gave us the Word of God to follow and to feed on.
But sanctify the Lord God
in your hearts; be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you
a reason of the hope that is in your with meekness and fear. 1 Peter 3:15
God gives good reason to
our direction to be sanctified; to be sanctified is to be separated and holy.
God wants us to be consecrated unto Him, set apart, and focused on the service
to Him and His will.
“I will also turn against
those who commit spiritual prostitution by putting their trust in mediums or in
those who consult the spirits for the dead. I will cut them off from the
community. So set yourselves apart to be holy for I am the Lord your God. Keep
all my decrees by putting them into practice for I am the Lord who makes you
holy”. Leviticus 20:6-8
God is not asking anything
of us that He, He has not done. He wants u to be holy and He will make us holy!
Our part in it is to separate ourselves from the world. To take the time, and
make the time to focus on Him, read His Word, pray, worship Him solitary and
sincerely devoted to Him and His service. This is not to say we should not meet
to worship and praise Him, to gather to study and worship in the Church; we are
told not to forsake the gathering with other believers for this will strengthen
us in our walk and resolve to follow after Him.
There is something to be
said about gathering together in groups worshiping the same God, it is
amazingly fulfilling. My child recently went to a Christian concert and was
amazed at the emotion that came over him at the stadium full of believers. I
have felt the same overwhelmingly powerful emotion at a conference of women
when realizing the magnitude of this bunch was a small drop in God’s bucket of
believers.
When we group up with the
right people God will bless us for He is our leader.
Don’t team up with those
who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How
can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the
devil? How can a believer partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there
be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As
God said; “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and
they will be my people. Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and
separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things,
and I will welcome you. And I will be your father and you will be my sons and
daughters says the Lord Almighty”.
Corinthians 6:14-18
How do we do such
separating in a world that pulls at us on all sides?
First – we study to show
ourselves approved by God. Knowing the Word of God will strengthen us in our
sincere resolve to follow after His plan to be separate to Him.
Secondly—pray daily as
often as you can to stay connected to Him. When you realize that the Holy
Spirit is with you always as a ‘Believer’ you will find it easier to stop and
pray at any moment. God is good He will not leave your nor forsake you even
when you are not listening to His directions or obeying Him. He is with you
because He can’t ignore His own presence anymore than you or I can ignore ours.
Thirdly--spend time
together with other believers building one another up in the strength of the
Lord and direction of the Holy Spirit.
There is just something about being with other believers that helps us
to conquer the enemy that much faster. We can rub through the troop and leap over the
wall with much more confidence when we remember who I running beside us.
Fourth- do not worry about
what will happen when you separate yourself from the world. When we alter our
walk and start following the Lord’s directions instead of that of the media of
choice we will find the desire to follow Him is stronger and the desire to do
what the world wants is weak.
Dear Heavenly Father, help
us today to make a stand whether it is small or big to follow after you. Help
us to be separated and holy unto you in Jesus name, amen.
Suggested reading: 2
Corinthians 6: 1-18, 1 Peter 3:1-22, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17, and 2Thessalonians 3:1-18