Honorbound Devotions
Blameless and Holy
By Dave Gable
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"May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy
in the
presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his
holy
ones" (1 Thessalonians 3:13, NIV).
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God intends for us to make it. He fully plans for us not merely to squeak
through life, but to arrive in heaven having lived in a "blameless
and holy"
condition.
So how are we doing? Maybe an appropriate indicator is whether we ever,
down
inside, use these words in thinking about ourselves.
God would use those words, because of Jesus' good work in us. They are
true
regarding our position before him, and true in that he gives us strength
to
behave righteously.
Yes, sometimes we are too easy on ourselves. But it is also easy to
get too
accustomed to downgrading ourselves. We feel so dirtied by our thoughts,
words, and acts that we refuse to allow ourselves ever to think of
being
blameless and holy, even when coming fresh from the cleansing presence
of
God! We end up so insecure that when we are tempted, and resist the
temptation, we feel dirty because of being tempted, instead of clean
because
we successfully resisted!
That's wrong. This is not what union with God is about. The Holy Spirit
has
come to convict us both of sin and of righteousness! (John 16:8) Again,
we
are intended to make it!
ACTION STEP: Say the words, "In Christ, I am blameless and holy." Do
they
feel like a lie? If specific sins come to mind, repent. Say the words
again.
They are true, even if you don't feel that way. Now go live as one
who is
blameless and holy today!
hbdevotion@news.ag.org