Consume my soul with a longing for your laws.

¹⁸ Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.
¹⁹ I am a stranger on earth;
do not hide your commands from me.
²⁰ My soul is consumed with longing
for your laws at all times.

Psalm 119:18-20

Isn't it funny to read verse 20? I mean Francis Chan pointed this out and it's so true in the lives of most of us as Christians. I don't treat his laws as something I long for, who longs for rules? In America we long for freedom we don't long for anyone to tell us what to do. It's funny because the way most Christians, I included, look at Christ is that he's an anchor we are carrying around. He keeps us from doing things that we want. He's keeping us down.

What is wrong with us?

This is the Lord who saved us from ourselves and whose love were told in Ephesians 3:19 surpasses my greatest ideas or thoughts or imagination.

He sent his Son to die for us which gives us a small picture into how much love we have in the Father but not even that completely encompasses his love for us!

The idea that John 15:9 says he loves me as much as He loves His Son is mind blowing to me and scripture says even at the amount He loves us more.

What an amazing love we have in the Father in which these rules that we are called to long for, we really reject and treat as if it's some kind of burden. His rules are their because He knows what is best for his children.

When we look at his commandments and live by them we can see, hey that actually works out for the better of me!

Help this be my prayer Lord.

Help me look at situations with your perspective.

Help me not treat you like an anchor but rather the amazing redeemer that you are that I can run to saying I want you more than anything else this world has to offer because I've seen your love and it's better than anything this world has to offer.

Holy!

"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in your behavior; because it is written, "You shall be Holy for I Am Holy" "

1st Peter 1:14-16

This for me is such a powerful verse in so many ways to me. The Lord has called His people to be Holy and that word Holy simply means distinct. The Lord desires for his followers his disciples to be DISTINCT. The Father isn't hiding anything from us. He's not making it super complex so none of us small human beings can't understand what He wants.

There is however a difference between something being obvious and something being easy isn't there? There's actually a big difference.

So let's look at this how does a person actually be Holy or distinct for God?

How do I stand out for the Lord?

I think it is much more than listing everything the world does and doing the opposite of it which seems to be the idea going around more and more from what I've seen.

Rather I think Peter answers the question of how we should be distinct in the verse above the verses I already highlighted.

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

1st Peter 1:13

Without getting overly complex and breaking down every word God's desire for us is simply to be busy doing what He's called us to do! Look at the words! Prepare, keep, fix! These are things were are called to be doing. We need to be actively doing the Lord's work and sharing his love with the people I meet.

When I am actively doing what the Lord has called me to do I am being distinct!

When I'm not choosing to be lazy and I choose to prepare my mind and keep sober in spirit and fix my hope completely on what He has done for me I will not be able to look like everything around me! It will be impossibly not to stick out!

When we are actually living as the church that's when people will take notice. When we actually are the body and are meeting needs for people rather than meeting the needs of ourselves we are distinct.

When we are so overwhelmed by the Love that God has lavished on us that our perspectives change from what can I do for Me Me Me to what can I do for You You You Lord that's when the church and it's body will be distinct.