Holiness Then and Now
Acts 15:1-11
Key Verse: “Now then,
why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that
neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is
through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are (Acts
15:10-11 NIV).”
I was once lectured about
the evil of playing Hearts because we were using playing cards. Christians have
always been concerned about what a good and holy Christian does. Before cards it
was the showing of ankles, whether or not one should go to the barber. In their
time and culture these rules made sense, but things changes and the rules don’t
make sense anymore. The adult me can look
back and understand the gentleman and his problem with my cards, but as a teenager, sitting at a picnic table at
Church camp, the reasons behind his aversion to the cards was lost and in fact
null and void. Holiness of heart and life looks different from generation to
generation. One generation it is collar and sleeve length, for the next it is
skirt and hair length. But a life lived wholly and completely given over to God,
always looks the same. It is a life marked by the fruits of the Spirit; a life
that is lived for others, for the edification of the Church, a life that is
continually reaching into this world with the love of Jesus, seeking to draw
others into relationship with God.
Prayer:
Lord God, I sometimes get
caught up fussing over the wrong things when it comes to living my life for
you. Teach me to love as you love. Give me a heart of compassion that reaches
out to mend the brokenness in the world and set my heart ablaze with the desire
to show people what it means to be in relationship with you. This is the kind
of holiness you show me, in the life of Christ; make it the kind of holiness I
live out. Amen
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