Take Time To Be Holy

Having therefore these promises,
dearly beloved, let us cleanse
ourselves from all filthiness of
the flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God.
II Corinthians 7:1

When we think of holiness, there are all sorts of pictures that come into our minds. For instance, when I was 9 years old, I was playing with my dolls on our front porch when Jesus walked by in front of our house and on up the block. Yep, it was Jesus alright. I got a real good look at him. He had the longer brown hair with matching beard. He wore a long robe with long sleeves and it wasn't a bathrobe either. At his waist was a rope that served as a belt. He also wore sandals. I remember thinking about the scene for a few minutes before telling my Mother about it. I didn't know what she would say if and when I told her about seeing Jesus in front of our house. I finally decided to tell Mother and she was rather casual about my information. She already knew it to be a young man whose parents she knew pretty well. He had left home to join a special group of men who were living in a commune in a northern state where all dressed like that all the time. She said it was some kind of holy group. When we think of holiness, we might have any number of pictures of people in our minds, but the outer trappings don't necessarily define the true holiness of any kind of believer. In our day, I do think we need to drop the emphasis on the trappings of what we or others think holiness to be and get real about what is meant by holiness in God's eyes.

In Scripture, we are admonished to “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” (I Peter 1:16) But what is meant by our being holy? If we are holy in our being and living, we are dedicated to God or set apart for godly living.

But as he which hath called you is holy,
so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; (life style)
I Peter 1:15

There is a hymn in most hymn books that we don't even sing much anymore. The title is “Take Time To Be Holy.” What is interesting is that the words of this song were penned by Wm. Longstaff in the mid 1800's. What is also interesting to me is that even in the 1800's, a time of strong principles, morality and spiritual values, this man felt an urgency to call fellow Christians to a life of holiness. What would he think of we Christians today in light of the subject of holiness? His words are like a check-list for spiritual living and doesn't in any way encourage us to judge holiness by the outer trappings of one's life. He writes:

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word:
Make friends of God's children, help those who are weak;
Forgetting in nothing, His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret with Jesus alone:
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct, His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy, let Him be thy guide,
And run not before Him whatever betide;
In joy or in sorrow, still follow thy Lord,
And looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul;
Each thought and each motive beneath His control;
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

May I give an abbreviated list of some worthy goals as seen in the verses of this beloved hymn, goals that can only be met as we cooperate with and rely upon the empowering of the Holy Spirit of God. Every one of the following things are as Scriptural as John 3:16:

Take time to be a holy person....yes, it takes that time we are often not willing to spend.
Be a person of prayer.
Abide in Jesus ..as the branches in the vine spoken of in John 15.
Be a person of the Word, trust and follow it.
Maintain a good, friendly relationship with fellow Christians.
Help those less fortunate.
Crave God's favor in our lives.
Have those alone moments with Jesus and have them often.
Be like Jesus and let others see Jesus in us.
Trust God's guidance and don't try to go ahead of Him.
Be calm in spirit, maintaining a disciplined mind.
Be a person of love and service for the Lord.

Hopefully we are working in God's strength to attain to those things listed. Small children know very little of deep holy living. They are still at the ME stage for the most part. How sad if we at our ages remain in the ME stage of our spiritual lives. All of the things on that list require dying to self and focusing on God and others. Holy living for us will not be the outer trappings although the outer trappings can be affected by our holy living. We can dress like Jesus, Mary or the apostle John and it won't make us holy. Holiness is going to begin inside of us. I can't begin to tell you the things on that list I feel a personal conviction about in my own life that need my immediate attention. No, I have not arrived...I am a seeker and often a struggler just like other Christians.

We must be alert to the Holy Spirit leading in our lives. He desires we be holy and clean before Him. There are many things we take time for in our busy lives. Can we determine to strive for holiness in our lives, not for outward show but for our good and God's glory. It is well worth our taking time to be holy.

Father, I haven't been walking in holiness as You desire. Forgive me for many times still wanting that ME life. I want to please You but need Your help and yes, Your forgiveness. In Jesus' precious name....Amen