Conviction

One of the primary reasons I began this blog was to encourage interaction with scripture. And I addressed some of the most common excuses for not reading. The primary one being that we do not have enough time to read scripture. I can also very clearly remember my response to that excuse..."Bull!" So here I am...sitting after many weeks of reading the Bible without getting much out of it, wondering why...and the answer is that I have not been taking time to interact with it.

My excuse, "It takes up too much time."

My response to myself, "Bull. If it is important to me, I will make time for it."

Recently, I have discovered something about myself...I need to process verbally, or vocally, or be given a chance and an opportunity to express my thoughts on issues. This blog gives me that chance to express my thoughts on scripture. Maybe you care what I think, maybe you don't, but I am going to write in this as often as I can; not for you, for me and my understanding of scripture.

Today's reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

What stands out to me: Verse 3 says, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality."

Why this stands out to me: I am a little perplexed as to why Paul brings the process of sanctification down to basically one principle. Paul says that to become holy, to become set apart (which is a very brief definition of the word sanctification) we have to stay away from sexual immorality. I have tried to become holy by doing a bunch of tasks that have involved serving more, sacrificing more, loving more, reading more, worshiping more, and the list goes on, but I have never felt holy enough. Paul offers four reasons for this too! #1-Christians are to live different lives than the Gentiles (Verse 5), #2-God is the avenger of our sins (Verse 6), #3-God has called us to live for the purpose of holiness (Verse 7), and #4-Rejecting sexual purity is rejecting God (Verse 8). Interesting thoughts!

What will change in my life: Becoming holy is more than just checking off a list of tasks. Becoming holy is a process that involved our whole selves. Every aspect of my life has to be devoted to following God's plan for my life. I do not struggle with my purity like I used to, but I still laugh at jokes I should not laugh at. I still hear every double meaning I can discern and snicker. I still have selfish and idolatrous thoughts. My application point for today is that as these thoughts come into my mind, I will present them before Jesus and ask Him to take them away.

Thanks for reading...See you next time!

In His service, Crazy Pete