How to live a holy life? [revised 5/28/2023]

H- ^[X] Proverbs 4:23-27… ²³ Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. ²⁴ Put away from you a deceitful mouth And put devious speech far from you. ²⁵ Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. ²⁶ Watch the path of your feet And all your ways will be established. ²⁷ Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil. NASB

E- When God made humans in His image He created very complex and marvelous persons with tremendous abilities. An example is shown in the exhibit below. Many hours of practice over the years are required for this to seem simple.

The soul is also complex. There are four terms used in the Bible for the immaterial invisible soul: soul, spirit, hidden person, and inner self. ^[A]  

The Bible also uses terms that describe five functions of the invisible soul:  

• mind [ability to think and reason – I ought to],
• conscience [moral control center – I need to],
• heart [emotional control center – feelings – I want to], ^23b for from it [the heart] flow the springs of life. It is apparent from the 767 times heart is used in the Bible that God considered it to have a major part in decision-making.
• flesh– [The constant war! Our flesh or “sinful nature” tempts us to sin & ignore other inputs. The Holy Spirit is in the soul of the Believer in Jesus. The Holy Spirit is in a constant battle with the Believers “sinful nature” for control of the five functions of your soul. Galatians 5:16-17… ¹⁶ So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. ¹⁷ The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. NLT.]
• will [choices and decisions are made -I will]. ^[B]

The material physical body – activities for the body are initiated by the soul based on input from the 5 senses – sight, touch, hearing, smell, and taste in a never-ending and very fast cycle of input and output.  

Warren Wiersbe said “With the mind, we learn God’s truth through the Word. With the heart, we love God’s truth, His Son. With the will we yield to the Spirit and live God’s truth by day.”

Therefore we are to “^23a Watch over your heart with all diligence”. Then the heart will not resist what our mind, will, flesh, and conscience tells us to do! We all know that signals from our heart & sin nature can sometimes overcome what our mind,  conscience, and will recommend.

Diligence is a constant and earnest effort empowered by the Holy Spirit to accomplish watch over our hearts and live a holy life.

Vv.24-27 tells Disciples ^[A] how to protect our eye, mouth, and feet inputs to the heart instead of sowing anger, bitterness, power, etc. These verses tell how to have inputs that result in “Holy Moments” by showing kindness, encouragement, smiling, helping another person in need, asking God for help in short prayers regularly, etc.  After a lot of practice, we may string together several Holy Moments in a day and then a week and they become a habit of living holy. ^[T5] 

A- ^[X]  Watching over my heart diligently will lead to a holy life guided by the Holy Spirit.

R- O God please help me to diligently focus on monitoring the inputs to my heart and live a holy life.

Q- Are you living a holy life and watching over your heart diligently?

Henry Luke       To receive all my blog posts scroll to Follow and add your email.

[Notes]: A- [1] For how to have peace with God and become a Disciple ^[Y]  click here, [2] for how to have the peace of God and grow as a Disciple click here, and [3] for how to teach Disciples to be Disciple-makers click here; B- Humans have a soul and body, For a complete discussion of this concept see chapter 7 of “A Theology of Biblical Counseling” by Dr. Heath Lambert. To order click here;

T- Help from [1]  Warren Wiersbe Bible Exposition Commentary or  [2] Austin Commentaries by Book or [3]  BibleHub Commentaries; [4]  Blue Letter Bible;  [5] John Phillips Exploring John; [6] Biblehub timelines; X- 4 steps in The H.E.A.R method of Bible study and worship; Y- “Disciples” or “Christians”?;  Z- For the name, I normally use for the Lord Jesus Christ, click here;

Disclaimer: My Personal Journey by Henry Luke has no control over any advertising that may appear on this blog post and receives no payment for it. Ads & their links come from Word Press.

Bible Prayers!

How do you pray? Prayers that are rooted in Scripture are guaranteed to be aligned with the heart of God. Here is a list of 31 powerful prayers from the Bible that you can use word-for-word or to spur on your own prayers:

1. ^“1 Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ² Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and
   hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our
   hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:1-5

2. “⁶ For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For
one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person
one would dare even to die— ⁸ but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. ¹¹ More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Romans 5:6-11

4. The prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane: “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39, ESV)

5.   A Prayer for Strength, Faith and Love

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, [asking] that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith–that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19, ESV)

6.   A Prayer for Enlightenment

We ask God to give you complete knowledge of His will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

We also pray that you will be strengthened with all His glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. (Colossians 1:9-12, NLT)

7.   A Prayer for Understanding and Favor
Moses’ prayer for guidance and favor often helps me, too:

If it is true that you look favorably on me, let me know your ways so I may understand you more fully and continue to enjoy your favor.  (Exodus 33:13, NLT)

8.   A Prayer for Blessing
I will often pray Aaron’s blessing for my wife, children and grandchildren, as well as for family and friends as we part from each other:

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26, ESV)

9.   A Prayer for Influence and Protection
Jabez’s prayer for influence, publicized and popularized in a bestselling book a few years ago:

Oh, that You would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain! (1 Chronicles 4:10, NLT).

10.   A Prayer of Repentance
David’s prayer of repentance is a helpful prayer of confession and repentance:

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean
   wash me, and I will be whiter than snow…
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
   Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Do not banish me from your presence,
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
   and make me willing to obey you. (Psalm 51:7, 10-12, NLT)

11.   A Prayer for Revival
Habakkuk’s prayer for revival is a fitting prayer for any family, community, church, or nation:

God, I’ve heard what our ancestors say about You,
    and I’m stopped in my tracks, down on my knees.
Do among us what You did among them.
    Work among us as you worked among them. (Habakkuk 3:2, The Message) 

12.   A Prayer for Mercy
The prayer of the tax collector in Jesus’ story:

God, be merciful to me, a sinner. (Luke 18:13, ESV)

13.  A Prayer for Boldness
The first Christians prayed for boldness and power:

Give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching Your word. Stretch out Your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of Your holy servant Jesus. (Acts 4:29-30)

14. 2 Corinthians 5:6-10…” ⁶ Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— ⁷ for we walk by faith, not by sight— ⁸ we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. ⁹ Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

15. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15…¹⁴ For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;¹⁵ and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

16. 2 Corinthians 5:18-20…¹⁸ Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

17. 2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

 

 

20. Luke 2:8-20

21. Luke 2:22-35

22. Luke 2:22-35

23. Luke 9:23

24. Galatians 5:16-17

25. Galatians 5:23-24a

26. Genesis 37:26-36

27. Genesis 41:1-43

28. Isaiah 53:6

29. Jonah’s Prayer for Salvation (Jonah 2:2–9)

God heard and answered this humble, honest prayer of  Jonah:

“In my distress I called to the Lord,
    and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
    and you listened to my cry.

You hurled me into the depths,
    into the very heart of the seas,
    and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
    swept over me.

I said, ‘I have been banished
    from your sight;
yet I will look again
    toward your holy temple.’

The engulfing waters threatened me,
    the deep surrounded me;
    seaweed was wrapped around my head.

To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
    the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
    brought my life up from the pit.

“When my life was ebbing away,
    I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
    to your holy temple.

“Those who cling to worthless idols
    turn away from God’s love for them.

But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
    will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
    I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”

30. David’s Prayer for Deliverance (Psalm 3)

David’s words are no less relevant to our modern workplace and lifestyle as they were to his battles:

Lord, how many are my foes!
    How many rise up against me!

Many are saying of me,
    “God will not deliver him.”

 But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
    my glory, the One who lifts my head high.

I call out to the Lord,
    and he answers me from his holy mountain.

I lie down and sleep;
    I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.

I will not fear though tens of thousands
    assail me on every side.

Arise, Lord!
    Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
    break the teeth of the wicked.

From the Lord comes deliverance.
    May your blessing be on your people.

31.

 

3. ” ¹ For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ² For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, ³ if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” 2 Corinthians 5:1-5

Meet the Resurrected You

This is from Randy Alcorn’s Ministry Magazine and includes:

• Biblical Hope is a Solid Certainty by Randy Alcorn 
• Meet the Resurrected You by Randy Alcorn 
• All Glory to Our King: EPM Staff and Board Members Share Favorite Quotes 
• Is There a Danger of Worshipping the Bible Instead of God? by Randy Alcorn
• When a Beloved Pastor Fails by Hannah De Cleene 
• Resources and Books for the Grieving 
• The Four Biggest Assets in My Grief by Randy Alcorn

Henry Luke – ^[A]  To receive my blog posts scroll to “Follow” and add your email.

source: Eternal Perspectives Magazine Scroll down to view magazine pages

Disclaimer: My Personal Journey by Henry Luke has no control over any advertising that may appear on this blog post and receives no payment for it. Ads & their links come from Word Press or other sources.

[Notes]: A– [1] For how to have peace with God and become a Disciple ^[Y] click here, [2] for how to have the peace of God and grow as a Disciple click here, and [3] for how to teach Disciples to be Disciple-makers click here;.

T- [1] Warren Wiersbe Bible Exposition Commentary or [2] Austin Commentaries by Book or [3] BibleHub Commentaries; [4]  Blue Letter Bible; U- Lisa Whittle, the author of 5-Word Prayers; X- 4 steps in The H.E.A.R method of Bible study and worship; Y- “Disciples” or “Christians”?;  Z- For the name, I normally use for the Lord Jesus Christ, click here; Y- “Disciples” or “Christians”?;