Be Holy: Work at Peace & Holy

“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)

It feels a little like cheating to jump into a passage way at the end of Hebrews. The writer has spent 12.5 chapters making his case for Christ. At this point, he’s starting to wrap things up with some stern teaching that we must take our faith in God seriously enough that it changes how we live.

holy_350Make every effort . . .: What follows won’t always be easy.

to live in peace . . .: Living in peace is the opposite of living in anger or argument or irritation or conflict.

with all men . . .: Not just the people that don’t argue with me or the ones that treat me fairly.

and to be holy.: Work at being set apart to God and set away from normal, sinful human behavior. Do I work at that?

Think: Why do you think it takes so much effort to live at peace with people and to be holy? How do you “be holy”?

Pray: Ask God for big help in your effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy.

Do: Memorize this short, short verse by saying it 25 times in a row. Then write it down from memory and stick it up somewhere you’ll have to look at it each day this week.