Holy Life in an Unholy Place

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Luke 1:30

Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

 

Bible Reading for a Year [bible]psalm13[/bible]; [bible]revel19[/bible]; [bible]00job1-2[/bible]

 

If Jesus was born today, where would he come from? He might come from Jerusalem, Rome, London, Paris, or New York. We may not expect Jesus comes from Buttonwillow or Pumpkin Patch. If Jesus comes from Las Vegas, that should be very bad, isn’t that?

Up to today, the believers call Him “Jesus from Nazareth.” That’s how people recognize Jesus, and it carries negative connotation since the place where Jesus was born had a bad reputation. People of Nazareth were filthy and unjust. But in the midst of such place, there lived Mary, a woman had holy life in an unholy place.

In his second letter, Peter depicts how Noah and Lot lived. Both of them lived among filthy people, but one of them kept his life holy, while the other one didn’t. Noah, in his life, found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8) because of his obedience. He kept his faith and was not conformed to his surroundings.

However, Lot was different. Living among people of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Bible says that he let the truth in his heart disappear and let the iniquity occur. He was compromising. And as the angel of the Lord came and asked him to leave Sodom, he was very reluctant. So, who are you? Are you Noah or Lot? In your life, have you changed the culture, or do you let the culture change you?

 

Even though you live in bad culture, have holy life to prove that we believers live differently.