February 19, 2021

Over the last three devotionals, we’ve said to Live Your Best Life Everyday…You Set the Right Examples (that was chapter one). Then in chapter two You Invest Your Life into Others, and then in chapter three You Intentionally Encourage Others Along the Way in Life. Today, we want to see how pursuing holiness in our conduct leads to knowing the will of God for our life. In other words, as my life is connected closely with Christ and mirrors the character and conduct of Christ, then He sets my life on a course of peace and prosperity that is greater than anything I could ever imagine. So, let’s journey through 1 Thess. 4:1-8.

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore, whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

There are two major ways Paul mentions to Pursue Holiness...

1. Live to Please God - The overarching desire of every Christian’s heart should be and must be to Please the Lord – Most people either live to please others because they want their approval or they live to please themselves because they have been hurt by others in the past and trust no one. But when a person gives their life to Jesus Christ, He changes their desires. 2 Cor. 5:15 says, “Christ died for all, that those who live should NO LONGER live for themselves but for Him who died for their sake and was raised.”

Whitney Hopler writes: “Too many people end up frustrated and exhausted from the stress of trying to please God through work that isn’t really necessary. From serving in church to trying to keep their behavior in line with biblical values, plenty of well-meaning Christians pursue good activities yet fail to reap the good result God intends from their efforts: more joy in their relationship with Him. If you’re trying hard to please God but feel like you’re falling short of doing so, it’s time to discover how truly easy it actually is to please God.”

She listed 13 easy to understand ways to live a life pleasing to the Lord that you find on crosswalk.com, but one of those ways she listed was Invest your time and energy first into your relationship with God instead of your work for Him. We often get that reversed but when you seek to build a strong relationship with the Lord, we get into a groove where everything else makes sense. 

2. Live to Honor the Lord with Your Body. If there is one place in the Bible where we definitely know the will of God, it is here. He says plainly, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification”. The word means to be set apart or conduct yourself differently than the world. I like the way the Message explains this passage: “God wants you to live a pure life.

Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity. Learn to appreciate and give dignity to your body, not abusing it, as is so common among those who know nothing of God.” For God has not called us to live in such an impure way, but in holiness, and whoever chooses not to live holy chooses to live in opposition to God Himself which proves they do not know Him because every person who knows Him has the Holy Spirit living inside them. 

When we live in opposition to God, we fail to live up to the standards for how God created us, but instead, we settle for a life of selfish pleasure; we live beneath the standards of God’s best. The Scottish preacher John McNeill liked to tell about an eagle that had been captured when it was quite young. The farmer who snared the bird put a restraint on it so it couldn't fly, and then he turned it loose to roam in the barnyard. It wasn't long till the eagle began to act like the chickens, scratching and pecking at the ground. 

This bird that once soared high in the heavens seemed satisfied to live the barnyard life of the lowly hen. One day the farmer was visited by a shepherd who came down from the mountains where the eagles lived. Seeing the eagle, the shepherd said to the farmer, "What a shame to keep that bird hobbled here in your barnyard! Why don't you let it go?" The farmer agreed, so they cut off the restraint. But the eagle continued to wander around, scratching and pecking as before. The shepherd picked it up and set it on a high stone wall. For the first time in months, the eagle saw the grand expanse of blue sky and the glowing sun. Then it spread its wings and with a leap soared off into a tremendous spiral flight, up and up and up. At last it was acting like an eagle again. Sin will cause you to look and act unnatural, not like God created you to be. But holiness causes you to act and look like a child of God. 

If you want to live your best life every day, pursue a life pleasing to the Lord that honors the Lord with your heart, soul and mind.

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