Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Honoring the body as the Temple of God
1 Peter 1:13-25
Vs. 15,16  "as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
What blessings have you received as you have treated your body as the temple of God? Was your understanding of the sacredness of your body grown as you have experienced life and watched the lives of others? Many people believe “it is my body and I can treat it any way I like”. But what does our creator say?
The word “Holy” means to be separate. Holiness is the desire and duty of every Christian. Holiness must be seen in everything we do. We must especially watch and pray against sins. A strong and perfect trust in the Grace of God is our duty. When God calls us to be holy, it means we are to be set apart from the world unto God, separate from all sin. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we become sanctified and are set apart unto God and we must be progressively sanctified in our life by growing in holiness. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can make us holy.  How can we develop a holy life style?
To be holy, we must have a strong focus on Christ’s coming
To be holy, we must be obedient to our Heavenly Father.
We are to be holy in everything we do. Holiness is not to be confined to certain religious areas of our life. Holiness is a way of life that affects everything we do. We will be able to abide under the shadow of the Almighty God.  God created us in His own image and we are privileged to have His moral attributes like love, kindness and mercy. These God given attributes now have been changed to selfishness, lust and pride. An unholy man is made holy by the divine act and that person is then separated for the purposes of God. When a person is truly separated unto the Lord, he will be automatically set apart from sins.
Holiness comes only through relationship with God. Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus and draw near to the Holy One who is holy. God has made us holy to live in moral holiness. As Christians we have been separated unto God and must live separated lives from the sinful and the worldly. Day by day, we should be developing holiness by sinning less in thought, word and deed. We always need to ask a question to ourselves” Are we changing the world with our holy lives or Is the world changing us?” We must learn to distinguish between the good and evil.
 PRAYER
Dear Lord,  help us to never forget that we are Your temple, Your holy dwelling place. Make us holy and pure in heart. Help us to honor You in all we do. In Jesus name, Amen. 
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
The Lord is always speaking to us in our hearts but hearing His voice requires an intimate relationship with Him. We are called to be holy through the purity of heart, mind and soul.
Mrs. Simi Saju, W/o Rev. Saju B. John, Bethany MTC, NY

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