I have been reading "God Works the Night Shift" by Ron Mehl. It is a very encouraging book that makes you realize that even though you may not be able to physically see God working in your life He is always there and always within arms reach. As I was reading today I was reading about how God is calling us to be holy it really struck me hard.
Here is the excerpt that got me..
"When do we become hypocritical? It's when we lose the active sense of God's presence with us. When we find ourselves more concerned about what other people think of us than what our Lord and Savior thinks about us, we're in dangerous territory."
I think a big struggle with believers today is being who you say are at all times. Each person has struggles, each person makes mistakes and everyone sins.
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:23-24
Do not allow the world dictate who you are and what you stand for. Days may be tough and you may not feel like doing the right thing but it will pay off in the end and will become eternal.
"In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith - or greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire- may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."
1 Peter 1:6-7
Entrust someone to keep you accountable to being who you truly are. Someone who isn't afraid to call you out when they see that you are doing wrong.
Here are two quotes from this chapter that I loved..
"Let your pain be an agent to purify your heart."
"Let the crushing circumstances that come into your life push you even deeper into a holy lifestyle."
