Topic: Cultivate These Kinds of Beauty [Archbishop Margaret E. Benson Idahosa] Above Only Daily Devotional 6 June 2020
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Cultivate These Kinds of Beauty
Psalms 29:2 Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tiding of good, that publisheth salvation;
1 Peter 3:4 (LB) … Be beautiful inside, in your hearts, with the lasting charm of a gentle and quiet spirit that is so precious to God.
1 Peter 3:4 (NLT) You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.
The Bible describes the holiness of God as beautiful. One of the first kinds of beauty we must desire as God’s children is the beauty of holiness. God has sanctified us and has made us holy by the sacrifice of Jesus, Heb. 10:10. The more conscious we remain of the fact that we are holy and dead to sin, the more we will practice holy living. As we adore and worship God for the beauty of his holiness, that holiness will rub off onus and we will manifest it more and more.
Like Jesus, we must love and admire righteousness as we hate and detest iniquity, Heb. 1:9. What you admire and appreciate, you also attract and activate. In Job 1:8, God boasted about Job, referring to him as perfect, upright, God fearing and abstaining from evil. I see God rejoicing and boasting even more about you.
Another thing the Bible describes as beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel – something every believer must desire. It is this kind of beauty that consistently causes shouts and joyful celebration in heaven as souls are saved by receiving the love and the life of God in Christ Jesus, Luke 15:7&10. The more you understand the gospel of God’s amazing love in Christ Jesus, the more you will be enthusiastic about running with it and sharing it with others, Eph. 6:15 (AMP).
Yes, it is necessary to look physically beautiful and decent, but more important is the kind of beauty we maintain on the inside. In 1 Peter 3:4, the Bible speaks about a kind of beauty that is very precious to God – a gentle and quiet spirit. The King James Version uses the phrase, ‘meek and quiet spirit.’ What makes our spirit gentle and quiet is our understanding of our deep need for God and our absolute dependence upon Him. This causes us to yield to Him.
Prayer Focus:
Worship God for the beauty of His holiness, Thank Him for making you holy and for the passion to preach the gospel. Yield yourself to Him.
Bible in one year reading plan:
- 2 Chronicles 28-29
- John 17