“For it is written, ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”
1 Peter 1:16

Holy Living

Have you ever awoken in the middle of the night with a word from the LORD in your mind? This happened to me last week. I was told to let go of something because it held too much of my heart. It was getting in the way of my relationship with Jesus. With this specific instruction came a sense of peace and rightness that I can’t explain in any other way, except that Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

We know that Jesus speaks to us, because He says that we will hear His voice. The more we know Him, the more we learn to recognize His voice. One rule of thumb to keep in mind is that the voice of Jesus will never contradict Scripture. He cannot deny or be unfaithful to who He is, and HE never changes.

“When we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny who He is” (2 Timothy 2:13).

The morning after I heard this instruction from the Lord, I did exactly what He told me to do. Since it was a precise instruction for me alone, I started thinking about what it means to be holy. Yes, we know that there are certain specific sins that we are all to avoid. But beyond that, I think the call to holiness is specific to each one of God’s children. The way we live a holy life is about following the unique instructions that Jesus gives to each individual. You may be free to enjoy your life, but when you hear the voice of Jesus directing you here or there, follow Him. When He tells you to do something, that is what you are to do.

“And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of Him during your time as foreigners in this land” (1 Peter 1:17).

It’s not our job to compare our calling to that of anyone else. We are called to follow Jesus wherever He leads us, even when it does not make sense or look how we want it to look, or like the calling of anyone around us.

Remember that Peter, the author of this passage, had learned this lesson in his own life when Jesus alluded to how Peter was going to die. Peter’s first response was to point to John and say, “What about him?”

“Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me’” (John 21:22).

“Dear Lord Jesus, thank You that we can hear Your voice, since we are your sheep. Teach each of us how to live a holy life that pleases You. In Your Almighty name we pray, Amen.”