*This story is enhanced if you pre-read “Too Important to Ever Forget.”*

Read and potentially memorize Hebrews 12:14.

You may be reading this as the culmination of the 10-day devotion guide to the Fruits of the Spirit. If so, you have bathed in the Holy Spirit. You have practiced a spiritual discipline which focuses your life on Fruit, harvested in YOU, when the Holy Spirit is a daily part of your agenda.

The Fruit has not been the goal. Prayerful seeking of the Holy Spirit has been the goal, and the Fruit has been a beautiful consequence. When you step back and examine your Spiritual Orchard, you will see that the combination of Spiritual Fruit has led to holiness. This is the journey you were born to take, every day of your life, not to be neglected, procrastinated, or ignored. This holy life is the life your creator designed for you and sent the Holy Spirit to help you along this journey.

Begin with Scripture. “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14. 

(Use your imagination. Place yourself in front of a metaphorical mirror.)

What location comes to mind when you think of a holy place? Are there physical spaces in your life which you recognize as sacred ground? (journal)

The Bible is full of sacred sites where God was evident and humanity claimed that ground to holy, set aside, sacred and revered. In these places men sometimes took off their shoes, built an altar or laid an Ebenezer stone.

What makes a place holy today? Are our modern sanctuaries sacred places? What makes them so? When a person stands outdoors, in midst of nature, in front of amazing beauty and senses the power of the Creator, what about that place is transformed into something holy?  (journal)

God is everywhere. God is available in every location. A place is not holy because God is uniquely there. A place is holy because people become uniquely aware of God. Our sanctuaries are sacred, not because God chooses to uniquely reside there, but because we choose to seek God in those spaces. We enter the room expectant. Why? Maybe because we have experienced God in the space before in the midst of a prayer or spiritual epiphany.

         What makes a marriage holy?  (journal)

Is it because God chooses to uniquely bless one marriage over another? A marriage is only a marriage, and not a Covenant, unless the couple is uniquely aware of the role God plays in their marriage. This is when a marriage becomes holy.

           What makes a home holy? What makes a family holy?  (journal)

Is it because God uniquely showers blessings on one particular family over another? Or is a family holy because each member is uniquely aware of God’s place in the home, around the dinner table, in the family room, when they rest at night, and when they begin the day?

What makes time holy?  (journal)

Is Holy Week any more holy than any other week? Is Sunday morning any more sacred than any other time? God is always. We choose the moments that have the possibility of holy experiences.

         What makes a person holy?  (journal)

Is holiness something God chooses for us, or something we choose for God? How is holiness sought? How is holiness achieved? Will holiness be recognized as something we see in ourselves? Will holiness be seen by others when they experience us?

Holiness is sought by being uniquely aware of God. When we are motivated to seek God, pursue God’s perspective on our loving, and be God’s love manifest within us, then we will experience holiness within us. When God’s love consumes us and we want nothing more than to love, when love overwhelms us and alters our agendas to provide love, and when we make sacrifices to enhance love, then we will be made holy by love and experience sanctification, (growing in holiness,) because of love. This is when we humbly rest in the presence of the Holy Spirit and the Fruits from this relationship blossom, flourish, and grow. Then all will see evidence of these Fruits in us and others may be touched and inspired to find these Fruits for themselves.

Look in that imaginary mirror. See past the physical attributes that define your face. See past the labels you wear at school or work. Look beyond the things that cause worry. For a moment, drop your disappointments and regrets. And just look deeply into the mirror’s reflection of your eyes and see God’s creation. Claim every ounce of your being to be a holy resting place for God’s anointing Spirit. Allow God’s grace to fill you up. May love overwhelm you, convict you and inspire you to grow in sanctified love.

This is too important to ever forget. You are perfect for this. You are not too young. You are not too old. You are not too smart. You are not too busy. You are uniquely blessed. You are wonderfully equipped. You are empowered, enabled and encouraged by God. You are given power through the Holy Spirit to harvest the nine Fruits that bring meaning to life and define holiness.

You were born to experience holiness and to offer holiness to a secular world. Today, more than any other day, choose holiness as your demeanor. Bathe yourself in the Holy Spirit, and through the power of the Holy Spirit receive the nine Fruits revealed in holiness. Share holiness, repeatedly and enthusiastically.

May you remain committed to pray. May your prayer remind you that holiness is marked by being uniquely aware of God’s role in your life. It becomes evident as you receive the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. Holiness is yours to seek, experience and share.

Be challenged. And then be ready to be blessed.

Choose a breath prayer and memorize. Here are three examples for your consideration:

1. 1. “Holy Spirit, fill me with holiness. Use me to inspire holiness.”
   2. “May the seed of holiness in me, bear Fruit of holiness around me.”
   3. “As I rest in the Holy Spirit, holiness rests in me.”

Repeat this prayer to yourself every time you glance at the string around your finger.

Say it. . .maybe 20 times today.

Mean it when you say it at least 5 times.

Change what you are doing to reflect this prayer at least once, today.

May this spiritual discipline today, bring you closer to God and closer to the person God hopes you will become.

If you are reading this as the culmination of the Fruit of the Spirit Devotion, you have completed a Spiritual Discipline, but know that this is a journey which is never complete, but a new way of living. By constant focus and attention, with the power of the Holy Spirit, you have begun the path to holiness. Celebrate your journey! Thank the Lord for what you have learned about yourself. And recommit to live each day from now on with that same dedication, and be ready, God has a way of pouring extreme blessing upon those who yearn for a holy life.

Take time to reflect, journal, pray.