May 26, 2024

1 Peter 1:13–16 (NKJV)
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

“Be holy, for I am holy” are the words of Peter to the church. This comes from Leviticus 11:44 “For I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

The word “Holy” occurs 431 times in the Old Testament. Those who follow God are different. That is not weird or crazy different. Followers of Christ do not follow the way of the world. Jesus says in John 4:23–24 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Christians must remember who they belong to. We belong to the true and living God. Satan wants to corrupt this relationship. The Christian faith is more than just going to Heaven. It is living in the presence of God here on earth. We are a part of the Kingdom of God in this present day.

The true believer in Jesus is one who focuses upon and pursues the grace of God’s salvation. As Peter writes we are to “gird up the loins of our mind. We are to be sober in our thinking. We are to rest our hope FULLY upon the grace that is given to us in the revelation of Jesus Christ.”