Happy New Year from Inspiring Life Books. As we begin this new year filled with new beginnings and leave behind the unfruitful things of last year, I want to challenge my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. 1 John 2:14-16, we are given instructions to live a set apart life as followers of Christ. “I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” There are many other Scriptures like this, yet so many times I hear the saints despair about how sinful we are as if God has commanded us to do something we could never do. God does not desire to torment us by instructing us to do things He already knows we can not do.

What I have come to learn is that people get confused between holiness and perfection. Holiness sets us apart because we have a different outlook on life, viewed through the love of God and the Word of God. We hold fast to the confession of our faith. At least, that is what we are supposed to be doing. When I hear other saints talk about how imperfect we are or how we are “sinners saved by grace,” I feel so disappointed. Those who are followers of Christ should live with a different stride in our walk; We should live with a mindset of overcoming and conquering power. Not a chained state of defeat. Philippians 1:6 teaches us that Christ will continue to complete the work He started in us until we reach our eternal glory. So many people stay away from the church people because there seems to be no difference between those who are supposed to have godliness and those who do not.

We should be different. We should be OK with leaving behind the destructive practices of darkness. We should be OK with being free from the guilt and shame that comes with being a slave to the temptations of sin. We should live a very joyful and exciting lifestyle. But so many don’t. So many of my fellow brothers and sisters give in to sin because they do not access the power God has given us to walk in the Spirit. So many embrace the immoral lifestyles of our culture because they don’t want to look unloving or judgmental because we all sin. Holiness means we set ourselves apart from those who live under the ways of the world to live according to the Word of God. We become citizens of a new world with a mighty leader who can transfer His power to us. It does not mean we will never sin. Through our line of books and journals, my sisters and brothers will find that living apart is not as unattainable as one may think.

I hope the body of Christ would surrender to God’s Word and love Him enough to trust that all of His commandments, rules, principles, and ways are for our good. This earth is like a refiner’s fire. Being in the world without being of the world reveals the transforming power of God’s Word. As you consider how you will move forward this year, my prayer for you and the rest of us is that you commit to living set apart for Christ. I love God, who He is, His brilliance, sovereignty, and love, and I love that He loved me enough to allow me to know Him and transfer me from the darkness I once was into His marvelous light. I love the light. Don’t be deceived about God’s expectations of you. He created us and knows how frail we are. He knows we can not live a perfect life, but we can imitate Christ, change our desires, be committed to His will, and strive to follow everything that proceeds from His mouth.

It’s about our aim in life, not our perfection in this life. That’s living holy. We will not get everything right every day, as Paul so wonderfully encourages us in Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”