"You Shall Be Holy, For I Am Holy"

1 Peter 1:14-17 (NASB):

"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in your behavior also in all your behavior; because it is written, 'YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.' If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth;"

Last night, I had an interesting dream which did not make sense until God gave me a biblical interpretation. It was a little choppy, flashing from one place to another, but I will give account of this dream for my blog post today because God's message in it is clear.

In this dream, I was in a hotel (high) with many floors. It was a very classy hotel with all the amenities of a great spa, fitness gym, and clubs all in one. It was teeming with young twenty-something people, both married and single. Every floor was full of young people with their friends, quickly rushing from one place to another. I was there with my husband and children. We were all together at first, but then suddenly, my childen were gone. My husband and I had some type of disagreement and he left as well to visit his parents in another town and "to think about our relationship and whether we should get divorced." In my dream, things had not been good between Jeff and I for awhile, so he left the kids with me....meanwhile, I was wandering around the hotel when a little child came up to me whose parents were "busy" partying, and stayed right by my side. I had no interest in the drinking and drugs all around me, and I knew some other parents had chosen to participate, leaving their children alone to run free. Some people invited me to come to the pool with them, so I went looking for a modest bathing suit. I got dressed in a tankini and some board shorts with a shirt covering my top...very modest compared to my companions. An old friend of mine suddenly appeared in my room as I was getting ready...and I noticed I was tan with light blonde hair and I looked better (even covered) than I had in years. He and some other young singles were talking about something and the next thing I know, my friend asks me if my cellulite legs are bothering me, and basically starts telling me of all the ways I could "fix" my body to be beautiful. I suddenly realized that I was the only one in the room that was comfortable with who I was. I realized that everyone in this hotel had come there to find happiness in something found in the world....dating, sex, drinking, drugs, cosmetic surgery, partying, etc.

When I realized how much I didn't fit in because my relationship with God fulfilled me, I left immediately to go reconcile with my own husband and get my family back together. I knew he wanted to be with me, but he had been struggling with who I was and my desire to live a holy life. When I saw him at his parents' house, he told me "I want to be with you but I know there are a lot of things about my life that need to change." And I remember bowing my head in prayer and asking God to just help us." Then I woke up.

So may be wondering what this all means....or maybe it is just another dream to you....we have them all the time. But when I awoke God began to explain the dream to me through scripture. He showed me that the hotel represented the world in which we live. There are always busy people (both young and old) who are bustling about, trying to find happiness in things such as dating, careers, drinking, drugs, pursuit of physical perfection, and social networking. There are many, many more things in the world that people believe will bring them joy in life. Pursuing these ungodly, worldly things can cause people to become so busy and caught up in race of life, that they often forget the things that are most important --like family. They become self-centered, and will leave behind things that will bring them true joy to chase after a mirage of happiness in things that will never satisfy the soul. My husband knew that I wanted to be set apart, and different from the world, and that I found satisfaction solely through my relationship with God. In the dream, he was having a hard time being satisfied with God's way of living, but instead of joining the party....he went away to a quiet place to think. This is exactly what God would want you to do if you are Christian but are having a hard time separating from the things of this world. He would want you to go away from it all and just let Him speak to your heart through prayer. While I was in the hotel, I began to end up taking care of a child that was not my own. The parents had chosen to stay "in the world" and had begun to neglect their relationship with their child. Their child, therefore, was lost and wandering through the world with no one to turn to for help. This is the reality of what happens when parents get caught up in pursuing their own happiness and they forget to "train their children up in the way they should go." The result, their kids end up wandering through life with no help, and no purpose. They are alone and scared, and the parents have neglected their God-given duty to care for the child because of their own selfishness. The third part of the dream is when my friend asks me about my "cellulite legs" and offers how I might fix them. When I had previously thought that I was looking fine, and was very satisfied with my body and image, the "world" started trying to tell me that I need something to make me feel beautiful and worthy. The world (my friend) was trying to convince me that I could never be beautiful, worthy and satisfied with myself without the help worldly products. Even though I was modestly dressed, I was still attacked over my appearance.

Finally, I realized who I was in Christ, and I left the world again to find my husband in the quiet place to which he had withdrawn. I rejoined him in the quiet place, where he admitted that God had spoken to his heart and told him that he, too, needed to be set apart from the world. With a bit of anxiousness in his eyes, he told me this (in my dream). He wants to be holy, but being holy as God is holy can be very difficult when the world is constantly trying to convince us that God will never satisfy us. The world offers us pleasure for the time being, but God offers us a peace, joy and abundant life. God offers us an eternity of true pleasure in being with Him. It means that we must sacrifice pleasure in the here and now to gain eternal joy in heaven with God.

As Christians, we have to ask ourselves....are we set apart from the world in which we live? Are we truly foreigners in a strange land....or like those people in the hotel, do we blend in with the world around us? Are we seeking holiness or temporal happiness? Are we trying to please God, or please the men around us? Are we satisified with who we are in Christ, or are we always looking for some way to "fix" ourselves?

John 10:9-10 (NASB):

"I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The theif comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

This dream really got me thinking about all the times I have sold out God for something worldly. God has set me apart from so many things in this world. He has taken away my needs for partying, drinking, most of television, most movies, makeup, fashion, and my need to please my friends. My friends love me for who I am in Christ, and they appreciate my attempts to remain set apart from the world. If they do not love me for who I am, then they are not really my friends. I have an audience of One.....and that is very satisfying because He has given me an entire instruction manual on how to please Him, and achieve lasting peace and joy, here and into eternity. He gave me everything I need in the Word of God (The Bible). Every time I read it, it leaves me feeling stronger and more refreshed. His Word transforms me from inside my heart, and it shows me how to live the abundant life He promised me. The deeper I go, the more satisfied I become with my life on earth....and the less I want to blend in with the world around me.

Romans 12:1-2 (NASB):

"Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

I thank God today for the insight He has given me through this dream. I thank Him that He always finds a new way to speak to me, and show me new truth about how I should be living. He is always blessing me, and encouraging me. I am so thankful that God drew me to Himself, and gave me the faith to believe in Him. I thank God for saving me. I pray today that He would reveal this dream to your heart in a way that is relevant to where you stand with Him. I pray that each of you would evaluate whether you call yourself His own (by His name) and then ask yourself whether you are living a set-apart life that God has called you to. I pray that God would reveal any areas of your life where you are still connected to the world. I pray that God would reveal to your hearts whether you belong to Him, and whether your life is pleasing to Him who created you. I pray that He would continue to reveal this to me as well. I pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Desiring to be holy, as He is holy,

Sarah