Holiness

 Holiness. Not perfect. Set a part.

When I hear the word Holy I think of the color white. I think of a perfect heart and a perfect mind and perfect attitudes. It sometimes fills me with shame and guilt because I know that on my own and in my own will I can NOT be holy because let's be honest I suck at being perfect no matter how hard I try. 

The verse of the week stated that we are to "be holy as I am holy," and that's Jesus talking. Jesus is a kind loving savior who would never ask us to do something he knew would be impossible for us to do. He doesn't do that. He isn't rude. He isn't mean. He isn't unrealistic. He doesn't want to see us fail. He doesn't ask us to do something that He knows would be impossible for us just to watch us fall on our face and feel horrible about ourselves. 

Holiness: the ness of being holy.

Holy: dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose, sacred, set a part.

Well that's helpful..because now I have to look up consecrated..and it probably will have the same words to define it that I just tried looking up..

Extreme holiness movements that come to my mind right away are the Amish community. They believe that if you live in normal culture that you are no longer living according to the Bible's rule to be holy. They feel the sense that conviction that being holy literally means to be completely separate from the world so as to not be contaminated by sin or things that would make you less holy. 

In my personal opinion, I don't fully agree with that mindset, only because it's not what I see in the Bible. Jesus wants us to be holy, yes. But Jesus himself didn't hide away in a cave because he thought that we as sinners would get our sin on him! 

I think when people try to be so holy that they start removing themselves from the culture completely, it shows me that they are more fearful of the world and don't trust the purity of God inside of them. They are scared of the impurity, when they should be confident of the holy power inside of them. Christians need a confidence boost. 

Practically I see Holiness playing out in your lives as teens in how different you are from your peers. For instance, what you say, how you dress, how you treat people, movies you watch, how kind you are in how you talk. If someone didn't know you, would they know that you love Jesus? Could they tell that you are different, or holy, or set apart? 

I remember in high school I was known as the girl that was really nice, the girl that didn't swear, the girl that you could ask any question and come to if you were sad for advice... but who cares! If that's all people knew about me, and they don't know that Jesus is the reason... what's the point? If we start lifting up rules and lifting up our own perfection over the people right in front of us. we will lose the heart of the Father. Holiness isn't a finish line or race that you win. Being holy as Jesus is holy is so that people look to Jesus. Holiness is not something you try to achieve so that you feel better about yourself. It isn't something you try to achieve so that you can earn more recognition, or more love or more ____________ insert term here. Jesus called us to be holy so that we would reflect Him to the world. It's the same idea in that we are also called to love, to be kind, to encourage, to share the truth, to respect our parents, to walk in humility, to seek justice. Holiness is just another arrow to point to Jesus and to God and to the Holy Spirit living inside of us. 

There are many "spirits" out there or demons or whatever you want to call it. It is important that we notice God gave himself the title Holy Spirit. It means that there are many spirits out there, all with different schemes and plans, but when we come in contact with the Holy Spirit we know that this Spirit is set a part, unique, sacred, unlike any other. Holiness is not a set of rules. Holiness is follow Christ's example and walking as He walked. Stay connected to Him, and Holiness will naturally flow from you. 

BIBLE VERSES

Exodus 3:5

Isaiah 6:1-8 (used for drawing activity)

Holy Mountains: Zechariah 8:3, Exodus 19:23, 1 Peter 1:17-18

Small Group

1. Read the Bible verses Exodus 3:5, Zechariah 8:3, Exodus 19:23, 1 Peter 1:17-18.

2. Talk about similarities in the verses; repeated words, similar encounters, etc.

3. Why does God call us as His children to be holy?

4. What does being holy look like in your day to day life?

5. Think of someone you respect who is a Christian. What part of their life reflects holiness?

6. If holiness was a picture or a color or an image, how would you describe holiness?

7. What did you read in the Bible this week?

8. Prayer needs