Praise the Lord!! I am so thankful to be here and running a little late with my honesty today but the Lord has been dealing with me in a few areas of my life and I just needed to take a moment last night to talk to Him instead of writing. It was so needed and I am thankful for prayer as that is the ultimate release for me!
Well lately I have been faced with living holy in my own life and in turn it has come up in so many other conversations that I just could not ignore the subject much longer. Okay, most of you know that I speak of it often and I truly believe the word of God, but man is it hard to live holy.
It says in countless places in the word that we are to live holy before the Lord. It even says that it is our reasonable service, which to me is another way of saying that it is the least that we could do for the Lord. I am good for quoting scriptures on being holy and some of the ones that I know off the top of my head are known by most of us…
Romans 12:1-3 1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
1 Peter 1:13-16 13Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Here are a couple examples in the word where He tells us to be holy like He is holy. Now this really used to bother me so much as when the word of God would go forth, it would really hit home because I am nothing but a mess. I have learned that I am not the only one that it bothered either as I have learned with talking to others that many of us struggle with trying to walk that walk and staying as God has called us to be. Yet more of His word screams out to me as I type this…
Matthew 7:13-14 13Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
There are so many that are not even called to the path, so I am thankful that I am called to the path but sometimes when I am reading the word of God and really just trying to get a grasp on it all, the enemy sneaks in my thoughts with telling me how I am not good enough to call on Jesus. How I just got finished fussing at someone for something so what makes me think I am going to see Him one day and hear those words I long to hear…
I start to beat myself up with things in my mind and even think about not going to church, or not praying or even from time to time not even keeping Women Living 4 Jesus going on…yet the Lord will remind me in His word how awesome He truly is and how He already knows that we are going to go through these moments.
Sometimes I just want to give up…I mean really just walk away and go what is the point of this – why walk this walk, why even care! Yet the Lord will reel me in with such love and sweetness that I know it is no one but Jesus who loves me. It is the unconditional love that He shows us that just makes me want to live for Him even the more.
As I rode into work this morning, I was questioning my salvation, questioning my walk in the Lord. The enemy tried to get me to go one way but I started to talk to the Lord and hear what He was saying. See as I was driving my mind said I was not living my life good enough for the Lord, my mind said that I was fake and phony that no one can love Jesus as He says we should. I had thoughts of thinking that no one would even miss you if you stopped writing, no one really cares. Hummmm the Lord will raise someone else up in your place as you mean nothing to Him. I started hearing my mind say that I was nothing. It was different than before as I can shrug it off, but this morning I needed to call on the Lord.
As I called on Him…the Lord reminded me of this verse….
Romans 3:22-24 22Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
The part that really helped me this morning and lately when the enemy starts to make me think that I am not living up to the Lord’s expectations of living Holy is verse 23 – ALL HAVE sinned – not just me – not just you or the other sister – but ALL!! If we have all sinned and come short of the glory of the Lord and we know this to be true then verse 24 has to be true too…HIS GRACE JUSTIFIES! Thank you Jesus. It is His grace!!
You know the Lord sent a word to me during our prayer time Monday night as my hubby prayed over my half sleeping body, all I could hear him say is “yield to the Holy Spirit”. I was not sure what that really meant and started to let the panic set in. I was questioning where I was in the Lord – what am I doing wrong that Jesus wanted me to yield to the Holy Spirit – was I not already doing this Lord…Oh Lord help me – what am I doing so wrong? These are the things that I allowed to plague me all day yesterday. I have always wanted to strive to live for the Lord. I believe that Jesus knows that we are not going to be perfect in this walk here on earth. I know that there are examples of others in the word of God who were far from perfect and the Lord accepted them not only as they were but blessed them too because He knew their hearts. Yet when I heard those words of “yield to the Holy Spirit” I started to not think about them, but about my walk with the Lord.
I thought am I reading enough, I am praying enough, is WL4J not to be, what should I be doing – Lord speak to me for I am confused. The first thing that came to mind – confusion is nothing but the devil’s tactic to get you off course – so rebuke him and ignore him. Okay…Lord I did that now what…
Next thing I did was find out what yield means…I know what it means when I am driving but what does the definition of yield mean because the Lord spoke that word on purpose this we know.
The definition in the dictionary means: to give forth, to produce, to give up, to surrender, to give over to, to give as due or required.
Yet in the bible the word is used most times in reference of yielding fruit – increase in fruit. When you do a search for the world yield in the bible there are 40 scriptures with the word in it and of those 40 scriptures 35 are referring to fruit of our lives.
Hummmm okay Lord what are you saying to me….here come more panic…Lord am I messing up some where I am just trying to make it right – help me understand. SO as I started to look into it even more by reading the scriptures, it was not a bad thing that He was telling me to “yield to the Holy Spirit” – He is ready to bless me to move closer to Him and that it is time for me to dwell more in Him and I need to do this. As some of you may have listened to the Living Victorious show this past Monday – we talked about change and sometimes we are not going to see the changes in our lives that we choose to see if we do not follow the steps as God presents them to us. The Lord wants to bless us in a manner that we are not aware of and He can only do it if we move according to where He needs us to be. So the Lord has blessed me to know that I am ready to move pass where I am in Him but I have to yield to the Holy Spirit’s direction before this is to be. It is in the Lord that we receive all that we need and I know that this next step that I am going into with Him is going to be a blessing to my very being because the Lord would not want me to do this if it was not! AMEN!
So this is a new day and a new opportunity for me to continue to strive to live my life in the manner that the Lord wants me to do…so my answer for the question “Living Holy & Yielding to the Holy Spirit – Can I do this?” is Yes I can…for in Jesus all things are possible and there is nothing too hard for God. God can do anything and He will bring me through this life so that I can hear Well Done My Good and Faithful Servant!!!
So let us walk this journey together for we are on the same path together…let us know that God is truly blessing us and though we may not see the ending now…know that living Holy is a blessing in the Lord for it will grant you eternal life. Yet remember than none are perfect and we are going to fall…do not use that as an excuse to sin but a reason to get up and try again! AMEN!
Until tomorrow…
God Bless!
Love your sister in Christ,
Sister Alissa Lynne
1 Peter 5:5-16 5Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. 10But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 11To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
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