Be Ye Holy Series 4 -POWER TO LIVE HOLY

Gal. 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Have you ever struggled with an addiction or a habit which you seem unable to put an end to? Have you ever made countless resolutions that you end up breaking in the end? I bet almost all of us have experienced this at one time or the other.

Given the above, many have sort by strict adherence and discipline to achieve holy living. While this is commendable(before men at least), I believe that the truest form of holiness lies not in the adherence to rules but in a change of an inner nature. A man may bark like a dog but if he does not have the nature of a dog, he will never be able to live a dogs live to its fullest.

Many have adopted a life style that portrays the holy life but no change in the inner life.

The testimony of the Christian life is not in a changed life but is an Exchanged life.

Please do not misunderstand the statement above to mean that the Christian life would not affect or change you, in all honestly it would kill you!(not literally though) but the life you live would be so far removed from who you were because another person would live His life through you.

Without an exchange of our old nature or live for His(Jesus) life in the practice of holiness, we remain no different from the morally-sound Buddhist monk or other men who are morally sound but not born again.

The power to live a whole life comes from our connection to Jesus and not in the adherence of rules.

Just like the analogy of the computer that I have used through this series, if we open ourselves up to be operated by the Christ, He first of all uninstalls the old software(which is our carnal nature) and installs a new software(His divine nature) in us.

If this exchange does not occur in us, our best efforts at living holy lives would only be futile.

If we allow our lives to be run by Him, then the scriptural passage below becomes true for us:

1Jn 3:9  Those who are children of God do not continue to sin, for God's very nature is in them; and because God is their Father, they cannot continue to sin.

If we ever sin after this it could only mean that we have inserted a new software to operate through us that was never that which He imparts in us.

If you would surrender your ambitions, dreams and all to Him, seeking only to be operated by His Spirit, then can you find the power to live a holy life.