Staying Sanctified

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Haggai 2:12-13 (NET)
If someone carries holy meat in a fold of his garment and that fold touches bread, a boiled dish, wine, olive oil, or any other food, will that item become holy?’” The priests answered, “It will not.”
Then Haggai asked, “If a person who is ritually unclean because of touching a dead body comes in contact with one of these items, will it become unclean?” The priests answered, “It will be unclean.”

Jide wondered why each time he spent time with his old friends (who were unbelievers), he came back spiritually weaker and was more susceptible to spiritual attacks and falling into temptations.

He always assumed that his contact with unbelievers should help further sanctify them, and not the other way round. But his experience made him realize that his assumption was wrong.

Today’s Bible verses reveal a very profound but fundamental spiritual principle. Here the Lord told Prophet Haggai to ask the priests if contact with a Holy thing made other things holy. The answer was no. But it was revealed that contact with defiled things make undefiled things become defiled. This was a principle that God’s people in the time of Haggai needed to remember, and it is a principle God’s people need to remember today.

Mixing clean clothes and dirty ones don’t make dirty clothes clean, it would only dirty clean clothes.

Go into today remembering that you are not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers (see 2 Cor 6:14, James 4:4). This does not mean you are not to talk to them, be helpful to them or work with them. This means you are not to make unbelievers your close friends and confidants with who you share matters of your heart.

Prayer: Lord, help me to live a sanctified life. Amen.

Source: Devotional