Welcome to His Encouragement Thursday! I don’t know about you, but Thursdays are my struggle day of the week. By Thursday, I have already been working hard at school and at home, and I just wish it would hurry up and be Friday already. LOL! I definitely need a little extra Jesus time on Thursdays.
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Hebrews 12:14 (ESV)
In Leviticus 11:45 (ESV) God says, “For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy for I am holy.” To be holy means to be set apart. We are called by God to be different, to be separate from the world and from what is common. Why? Because we are His kids and He saved us from our sins … He took us out of Egypt. God is very clear throughout the Bible that if we want a relationship with Him, we have to make sure we live our lives differently than those around us.
To strive means to work hard for something. It is interesting that Paul juxtaposes peace with everyone and holiness as two things we all must work hard at. I can tell you that peace with everyone is not my forte. Don’t get me wrong — I’m not out in the world punching on people. But it is VERY hard for me to be at peace with everyone. And, while we are on the topic of my failings, I also find it rather difficult to be holy like God. I try super hard to be the woman God wants me to be, but by the end of the day my tally for “Whoa, you messed up!” can be pretty high.
This is why I am super grateful that God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). I know I’m a severely broken vessel, but there is nothing more that I want than to see God. I cannot wait for the day when I get to be with Jesus for all of eternity. I do admit though that I stress out when I read verses like Hebrews 12:14 because I know how human and selfish I am. But I’m going to do my best day after day to strive to be the woman God wants me to be … because one day all the striving will have been worth it, and I will get to see God for the rest of time. What a fantastic life goal!
The Christian Fiction Girl 
Great post. I am so glad God gives us Grace. And that Jesus did it all and I don’t have to work for my Salvation. But Romans 6 tells us that we shouldn’t sin in order to get Grace. We owe Him so much more than disobedience. So yes, we should strive to be Holy. Where would we be without Jesus!
Blessings to you and your sweet family!
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Aw! Thank you, Paula. I would be doomed if it weren’t for Jesus! 🙌 Blessings to you and your family, too. 😀
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Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you for reading!
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Well, this is pretty relevant to me today. My thoughts are still ranting & raving about what I dealt with yesterday. The first was freeloaders (I don’t do well with that sort At All) & the other is a person who constantly brags upon themself. Argh! The verse, ‘If it be possible, live peaceably with all men’ constantly runs through my head. I don’t think it’s possible sometimes! But I pray for understanding (and forgiveness for my thoughts) because maybe I’m missing something. Thanks for the message Nicole! 🙂 🙂
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I’m sorry about the freeloaders and prideful people you had to deal with. That can be super frustrating! I love that you pray for understanding cause maybe you’re missing something … that is excellent. I’m going to pray that too. I like how that is phrased. I pray for Jesus to show me people as He sees them cause then maybe it will be easier to love them. 🤷♀️
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