Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Temperance - Honoring the body as the Temple of God
1 Peter 1:13-25
v15 -  But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do
Temperance is a very important  virtue for a born again Christian. It is a voluntary self-restraint or abstinence from evil desires, to satisfy God's requirement of a disciple. A shallow reading of this bible portion is tempts us to walk away from verse 15 and 16 in discouragement, because reader may believe that God requires absolute perfection from His children always. But what does these verses mean? How does one live according to God's standards?

First of all, God invites everyone to the be born again through the Word and growing relationship with Him (1 Peter 1:23; John 3:16). We are saved because God placed great value for our lives, as He paid a big price by the blood of his Son.  We should not miss the purpose of His great redemption.

Secondly, as sojourners in this world, we are expected to live our new life in Christ in fear of the Lord. This fear means to revere God as all-powerful and the ruler of our lives. As God's chosen people, we have to reject all evil desires, thoughts and lust which are against his holy will. If we call God our Father, we should also fear Him as judge and live a holy life in fear. His judgment is according to our work, conduct and lifestyle without respect to who we are. The vain sinful life in which we were is to be changed to lead a holy life with the help of the Holy Spirit.

It is a fact that as long as we live in a fallen world, we have the tendency to fall in sin. When we feel that we are sliding off from God's standards, we do have a High Priest mediating for us before Father God.  We need to repent and return to His presence and  taking right choices, do only what is acceptable in the sight of the Lord. May the good Lord help us to strive earnestly to live a holy life through Christ our redeemer. Amen.
PRAYER
Lord our eternal refuge, thank you for your redeeming grace which saved and gave me a new life. Guard me from falling into an unclean life and help me to live a life according to Your will, Amen
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Let us be serious about the cost of our redemption through the precious blood of our Lord and Savior  Jesus Christ.

 Dr John K. Thomas, Tabore Mar Thoma Church, Staten Island NY
Christian Education Forum, Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church

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