Holy New Year

We’ve all heard the saying, “Happy New Year!” And let's face it - we all want to be happy. But how do we obtain happiness? Does God have specific directions on how Christians can find happiness? You might be surprised to hear that there are no steps in the Bible that tells us how to be happy. Does this mean that God doesn’t want us to be happy? Of course not! But the fact is, God doesn’t call us to be happy. Rather, he calls us to be something else: Holy! To be holy means to be “set apart,” or “different.” We are called to be different from our former selves. What does that mean, and how can we accomplish it? In this devotional, we will focus on 1 Peter 1:13 all the way to 2 Peter 2:3. According to this passage, we will learn ways in which we can live a holy life through hope, obedience, love, and youthfulness. 

“H” is for Hopeful. If we are to live a holy life, then we must be hopeful. But what are we putting our hope in? As humans, we can become involved in so many highlights of life. A new relationship. A job promotion. An upcoming vacation. Earning all A’s next semester. And though these examples deserve our time and focus, something starts to happen. We place unrealistic expectations on these earthly plans. We think that by spending so much time invested in them, they will bring us happiness, fulfillment, and success. But we know that earthly things don’t last forever. We live in an imperfect world that is constantly changing. Even the plans for our own lives can come to ruin. How can we put our hope in what we can’t be certain of? Luckily, as Christians, we are given a new living hope. A hope that will never die or fade away. A hope that brings us a joy and peace that no other earthly thing in life can bring us. And that is the grace God offers to us. And it is through the precious blood of Jesus that we are able to obtain such a gift. It cleanses us of all sin and redeems us. So how can hope help us live a holy life? By setting our minds on what is eternal. There is nothing in life that is more important than our salvation! When our minds start to drift away from God, we must remember Jesus and his sacrifice for us. And that it is by grace we have all been saved. Even amidst the trials and pain of life on earth, hope is the one thing we can fully depend on. Once we are baptized and understand God’s love for us through grace, it becomes our motivation! We are encouraged by it. We can persevere. We have glorious eternal life to look forward to with our loving Father! And that far exceeds any other achievement we could ever experience on earth. 

“O” is for Obedient. When our minds are fully focused on hope, then we can live a life of obedience. The encouragement of hope leads to a heart wanting to follow a loving and gracious God 100%! But what can we do to be obedient towards God? By not conforming to our evil desires! We all have weaknesses. And those weaknesses lead us into temptation, which leads to sin. And sin distances us from God because he is the complete opposite of sin. When we sin, we willingly choose to go against what God commands of us. It’s not easy to go against what our bodies and minds want at the time. After all, we are human and battle our flesh daily. But it is possible to resist temptation and walk away from allowing sin to creep into our lives. So how can obedience help us live a holy life? It is important to use wisdom in choosing what to focus on. This concept goes along with verse 13. We can’t focus on the hope of grace if we are consumed with sin! When we focus on sin, we are only thinking of ourselves and nothing else. Instead, let us focus on what is good, pure, admirable, etc. (Philippians 4:8). And also study on great people of the Bible who kept their eyes focused on living a righteous life. Those who struggled in similar ways we do, and yet found comfort and strength from our loving Father and saw how their perseverance in righteousness brought great blessings. This will keep us out of harm’s way and help us continuously live a life of obedience. Not only obedience, but also in reverent (respectful) fear mentioned in verse 17. God is not eager to watch us fail, nor is he wanting us to be terrified of him. But having a healthy fear of his power will remind us of how each of us will be judged according to our obedience in him. Following God’s commands with a heart and mind that understands he is in control and knows what’s best in every situation. His rules are to protect us, not confine us!

“L” is for Loving. When our minds are fully focused on hope and fully sober from sin, then we can embrace love. We are focused on God’s love and grace for us through his son’s sacrifice (hope) and resisting the temptation of focusing on our own desires (obedience). In other words, we have our minds set on God and off of ourselves. At this point we are ready to take it a step further. A heart wanting to obey God includes a heart wanting to love others and show that love deeply. How do we show love for one another? Through action! 1 John 3:18 says, “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” There are plenty of scriptures that describe how to demonstrate godly love. Jesus himself demonstrated love through action! He put himself last and put others first when he knew they were in great need. And he showed it to everyone. Not just our fellow Christians. And not just those who are easily lovable (friends, family, etc). Those we don’t known, and even those who we might not get along with or agree with, still deserve the chance to experience godly love. And you may be the person God placed in their lives to demonstrate it! Love puts our faith to the test. So how can love help us live a holy life? Action is key! Think of what you can do for others. Being involved in the community, studying the bible with someone, being a good listener, offering wisdom and advice, and lending a helping hand are all great examples. And let’s not forget there is also a non-tangible way to express love. Showing patience, understanding, forgiveness...all the things that don’t always come easy! And that also goes along with showing love in a “lack of action.” Starting in chapter 2 of 1 Peter, it says to “rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind” (all the things which shows a self-focused heart, which leads to sin). If you find yourself struggling with showing godly love, ask yourself, “what would be a godly response in this situation?” God is love, and without showing love for others, we can’t fully understand the amazing power of love in our own lives!

“Y” is for Youthfulness. This one might have caught you off guard, but as we go further into chapter 2, we will see why this is important. Starting in verse 2, the scripture says to crave pure spiritual milk as babies would. Why is this important? Because the result will be continual growth in our salvation! Think of the mannerisms of a newborn. What do they cry for? What do they crave? Milk! And they crave it often. It is the only source of nourishment their bodies take in and live off of.  As they drink milk, they grow and become strong and healthy. Likewise, we are to have the same attitude about our spiritual walk with God. Our nourishment comes from the word of God (the Bible). If we aren’t studying it daily, we aren’t growing. We aren’t learning. And ultimately, we aren’t producing a healthy and strong relationship with our Lord. We should crave a close relationship with him. The more we take the time to study the Bible, the more we know about God. The more we know about God, the more we understand his ways. When we understand his way, then we can better explain the Bible to unbelievers who are seeking to know the truth. So how can youthfulness help us live a holy life? If we are to have the heart of a child, then we find wonder and excitement in learning more and more each day! We develop a zeal for God that is admirable and contagious! Our daily nourishment from the Bible opens our eyes to the amazing ways in which God has been there for us, and continues to be there for us. It reminds us of our hope in grace, and instructs us on how to be obedient and how to show love for one another. The Bible is our map to heaven and directs us on how to get there. The answers are right before our very eyes. And that is something to be amazed and excited about!

Hope, obedience, love, and youthfulness - each letter spells out the word “Holy." God instructs us to live a holy life. By living a holy life, we are putting so much more into consideration than what we want. Life isn’t about living happily ever after. It is about building onto our faith and helping to build each other up as well! If we made happiness the foundation of our lives, we would continuously make decisions that make us feel good at the time. If that were the case, what would our lives look like? What kind of example would we be making to those around us? Would we be proud of the people we have become? But most importantly, would we be closer to God? Instead, let’s make God the foundation of our lives. Let’s put aside our former ways and strive to be more like Jesus! We may not always experience happiness in ways we want. In fact, we may even experience trials and pain while living a holy life. But in the end, we will gain so much more than we could ever imagine. And what we gain will shape us into the godly men and women we are striving to become: perseverance, patience, forgiveness, compassion, wisdom, courage, self-discipline, and so much more. May everyone grow in their faith as they have a Holy New Year!