Holiness, holiness is what I long for.
Holiness, holiness is what I need.
Holiness, holiness is what You want from me, for me.
Take my heart -- and mold it.
Take my mind -- transform it.
Take my will -- conform it.
To Yours, to Yours, oh Lord.
Holiness, holiness is what I need.
Holiness, holiness is what You want from me, for me.
Take my heart -- and mold it.
Take my mind -- transform it.
Take my will -- conform it.
To Yours, to Yours, oh Lord.
I love this song. I take it as a directive from Scripture, "Be holy, as I am holy." This is no suggestion. It's a motif, if you will, throughout Scripture. Be holy, as I am holy.
Hebrews 12:14 -- Pursue peace with men and sanctification through Christ.
Philippians 4:8 -- Only dwell on those things that are of God, given to us through his Holy Spirit.
Leviticus 20:7 -- The call to be holy is from the beginning of time and is relevant today!
Romans 11:16 -- The Lord is the Vine and we are the branches (John 15:5). We are to produce fruit (Galatians 5:22-25) and show that we, though grafted as we are into the tree and the family of God (Romans 11:22-24), are of the Vine.
Ephesians 1:4 -- In His mercy, God chose us to follow Him and be holy.
Ephesians 5:27 -- As the bride of Christ, the church is to be clean and holy in His sight.
Isaiah 6:3 -- This is how holy our God is: the angels cannot stop singing his praises. We know that our Lord is worthy of our praise, but do we offer this praise nonstop through actions and words?
1 Peter 1:15 -- Again, we are called to be holy because the Lord is holy.
1 Peter 2:5 -- Holiness is something the Lord expects of us.
1 Corinthians 3:17 -- The temple of the Lord is sacred and holy to Him; treat your body as the temple of the Lord, which He has created and preserves.
Holiness is a concept I have yet to maintain in my own life, thus I also write as a way to remind myself of my absolute need for a Savior. I strive to live my life for Him -- for He alone is holy -- and as such, He is wholly worthy to receive my undivided attention, love, and praise.
My prayer for myself and for you is that these references do not merely make us nod in affirmation or shrink back in feigned disinterest (or perhaps discomfort?), but rather cause us both to reevaluate the life we lead. To examine ourselves in the light of Scripture, to allow His presence to move us away from complacency and toward true Life. Only through the holy cleansing that His Son can afford can we find this true and abundant Life.
Why did I choose a quilt as the picture for this post? There are several things I think about when I look at this quilt in particular. It took over a year until I was fully satisfied with my fabric selection. Each square was lovingly hand-cut. Since I had a pattern in mind but too many fabric squares to work with, I spent the good portion of two days piecing the quilt together until it was finally perfect (on the floor). After several more steps, more sewing and tearing out, I finally am close to presenting it to the public for scrutiny. But I love that quilt, regardless of any critique that may come.
In some small ways, holiness is like a quilt. God is the master quilt designer. He will put you through a cutting process and piece you together after a fall. He will prune your branches by weeding out those pieces that just don't fit. He will take the time sew you together or tear out those stitches you haphazardly placed, that are not going down the right path -- if you let him. Through all the ups and downs, He loves and treasures you as His own.
My prayer for myself and for you is that these references do not merely make us nod in affirmation or shrink back in feigned disinterest (or perhaps discomfort?), but rather cause us both to reevaluate the life we lead. To examine ourselves in the light of Scripture, to allow His presence to move us away from complacency and toward true Life. Only through the holy cleansing that His Son can afford can we find this true and abundant Life.
Why did I choose a quilt as the picture for this post? There are several things I think about when I look at this quilt in particular. It took over a year until I was fully satisfied with my fabric selection. Each square was lovingly hand-cut. Since I had a pattern in mind but too many fabric squares to work with, I spent the good portion of two days piecing the quilt together until it was finally perfect (on the floor). After several more steps, more sewing and tearing out, I finally am close to presenting it to the public for scrutiny. But I love that quilt, regardless of any critique that may come.
In some small ways, holiness is like a quilt. God is the master quilt designer. He will put you through a cutting process and piece you together after a fall. He will prune your branches by weeding out those pieces that just don't fit. He will take the time sew you together or tear out those stitches you haphazardly placed, that are not going down the right path -- if you let him. Through all the ups and downs, He loves and treasures you as His own.
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