As always, I asked the Lord in late December for a word indicating what He’d like me to learn this new year, and He responded quickly with “unashamed.”
Believers’ minds go to the scriptures about not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ or about Adam and Eve being unashamed in the Garden before they chose sin. But neither seemed to fit what I was hearing. I prayed and pondered and heard “I want you to stand and see yourself as unashamed in all situations. Learn the real meaning of holiness.”
I immediately opened a dictionary, thinking that what I would find ‘perfect’ as a definition for holiness. I was wrong. I saw what the Holy Spirit was trying to show me as I read that the original meaning for holy is ‘set apart.’
I am my own worst critic; when I remember sin from the past, especially after I was born again, judgment will overwhelm me if I let it. Especially troubling are memories of when my words have injured others, magnified from after my new life in Christ began. Because I am a word person and a Word person, those sins are particularly heinous to my soul. My calling to be an encourager to the local church and the body of Christ as a whole requires that I learn to think before I speak, a trait I have not always exercised.
But I have learned to do better, and I continue to learn. However, perfectionism still haunts me occasionally, and I believe God wants me delivered from it permanently this year. I knew I had seen ‘set apart’ in the scriptures and I went looking. The Holy Spirit has used several versions of the Bible to teach me over the decades and I found this:
Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
This verse obviously applies to the Lord Jesus Christ; but it also applies to each one of us who have chosen to accept His sacrifice for our sins and our calling in the Kingdom of God. And so, this year 2023, I seek to learn how to be set apart and to let the Holy Spirit continue to teach me to be unashamed as I follow God’s plan for my life and calling.
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