READING: Ezekiel 5-8, Hebrews 12:14-29
The standards of Christian living are not easy ones. In fact, we could not live faithfully were it not for God’s grace that redeems us and His Spirit who fills us. On our own, we won’t make it. That’s not to say, though, that God lowers His standards just because they’re hard to attain; instead, He pushes us through His Word to press forward in faithfulness.
In today’s New Testament reading, the writer of Hebrews calls believers to do two things. First, we are to “pursue peace with everyone” (Heb 12:14). This mandate is quite similar to Romans 12:18, where Paul tells Christ-followers to “if possible . . . live at peace with everyone.” To do so means we must fight against our tendencies toward ego, selfishness, self-righteousness, and vengeance; it means we must live by the Spirit of God.
Pursuing peace with others, though, is not to be at the cost of compromised holiness, for we are to pursue holiness, also (Heb 12:14). That is, we’re to long for and seek sanctification as God transforms us through His power—trusting Him to make us godly so the world sees the power of the gospel. So important is holiness that “without it no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14).
PRAYER: “God, I commit myself to pursue peace with others and holiness before You.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Ezekiel 9-12, Hebrews 13