Holy By Choice
Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love. (Hosea 10:12)
Your holiness isn't an accident—it's a choice. Every day, you make decisions that move you toward God's holiness or away from it. There are no neutral choices in your spiritual life.
Let me ask you something that might sting: Who's setting your moral compass? Your friends? The latest Netflix series? The cultural winds that shift with every news cycle? Or the unchanging Word of God?
Our culture is at war with God's standards. We've become a society that thinks we can define morality without our Creator. As a pastor, I've watched this unfold for decades. Things unthinkable in my youth are now celebrated, and many churches have bent to accommodate rather than standing firm.
A young couple recently sat in my office, defensive about living together before marriage. "Everyone does it," they insisted. I asked what my mother would have asked me: "If everyone jumped off a bridge, would that make it safe?" Their justification wasn't based on Scripture but on fitting in. And God hasn't called you to fit in.
You need a holy plan. First, commit personally to live holy. God won't force you—He's given you free will to choose righteousness or rebellion. Second, avoid compromising situations. Why was Eve near the forbidden tree? Why do we linger where temptation waits? Third, find friends who strengthen your convictions, not weaken them.
But most importantly, maintain an intimate walk with Christ. This isn't about perfect church attendance or checking spiritual boxes. It's about relationship with the One who transforms your desires from within.
When I was a new believer, someone told me, "Show me your friends, and I'll show your future." That truth has only grown more powerful. If your closest friends pull you away from God's standards, you're on a dangerous path.
Today, examine what's shaping your life. Is it drawing you toward holiness or away from it? Choose deliberately. Because you become what you choose, and you reap what you sow.
Your holiness isn't an accident—it's a choice. Every day, you make decisions that move you toward God's holiness or away from it. There are no neutral choices in your spiritual life.
Let me ask you something that might sting: Who's setting your moral compass? Your friends? The latest Netflix series? The cultural winds that shift with every news cycle? Or the unchanging Word of God?
Our culture is at war with God's standards. We've become a society that thinks we can define morality without our Creator. As a pastor, I've watched this unfold for decades. Things unthinkable in my youth are now celebrated, and many churches have bent to accommodate rather than standing firm.
A young couple recently sat in my office, defensive about living together before marriage. "Everyone does it," they insisted. I asked what my mother would have asked me: "If everyone jumped off a bridge, would that make it safe?" Their justification wasn't based on Scripture but on fitting in. And God hasn't called you to fit in.
You need a holy plan. First, commit personally to live holy. God won't force you—He's given you free will to choose righteousness or rebellion. Second, avoid compromising situations. Why was Eve near the forbidden tree? Why do we linger where temptation waits? Third, find friends who strengthen your convictions, not weaken them.
But most importantly, maintain an intimate walk with Christ. This isn't about perfect church attendance or checking spiritual boxes. It's about relationship with the One who transforms your desires from within.
When I was a new believer, someone told me, "Show me your friends, and I'll show your future." That truth has only grown more powerful. If your closest friends pull you away from God's standards, you're on a dangerous path.
Today, examine what's shaping your life. Is it drawing you toward holiness or away from it? Choose deliberately. Because you become what you choose, and you reap what you sow.
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1 Comment
I was raised when there was respect for one another. We were taught manners,to take wisdom from our elders.There was a time when you were shunned for not going to church. The Bible is my standard for how I will live.