We are asked to take time to be holy.

The Lord commands us to be holy.

But what does this look like?

One of my favorite phrases that has entered the gospel vernacular recently is: “higher and holier”.

Instead of going to church to learn a lesson about the scriptures, our eyes are lifted to see a goal of higher and holier personal gospel study and responsibility.

Instead of visiting someone once a month and calling it good, our eyes are lifted to see how ministering in real, normal, meaningful ways is much more effective.

Instead of keeping the commandments because we are in trouble if we don’t, our eyes are lifted to see the higher and holier purpose of obeying out of love and alignment of wills.

We look for higher and holier ways to worship.

And I think what has surprised me the most is how meaningful it is to find holiness in everyday moments.

To drive down my street and allow my heart to be filled with awe for the people and nature that surround me.

To make lunch (again) for little kids and look into their eyes and think about their eternal potential.

To lie down in my bed, filled with gratitude.

“Holiness… invites us to infuse daily living with the sacred—to rejoice in daily bread amidst this world’s thistles and thorns.” – Gerrit W. Gong

Holiness and lasting happiness are tied together.

The Lord invites us to sanctify our lives and find peace because He is holy.

“Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.” – Leviticus 19:2

I think it’s really about becoming more Christlike.

Finding more Christlike ways to serve, learn, love, and live.

How can you add more holiness, happiness, and Jesus to your life this week?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post How to be holy  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Instead, the usher actually drew a comparison to the tabernacle of ancient Israel. ⁣

The Israelites set the pattern of using the best materials that they could, spending countless hours preparing every detail, as a symbol of their sacrifice and dedication to the Lord! ⁣

If the tabernacle was going to be used to worship the Lord, then they wanted to put forth their best effort in every single detail. ⁣

“And he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a crown of gold to it round about.” (Exodus 37:2) ⁣

This lesson from my temple open house usher really stuck with me. ⁣

Am I giving my absolute best to the Lord as a symbol of how I feel about Him? ⁣

Or is He getting my leftovers from whatever else I have going on that day? ⁣

Don’t get me wrong, life is busy and crazy and insane. ⁣

With everything I have going on as a mortal human being, it’s not really possible to spend all day every day giving Him my best. ⁣

And I hope those questions don’t weigh you down with shame. ⁣

Instead, I hope they inspire you to do a little better in some small way. ⁣

Can I give more of my best self to the Lord?⁣

Can I make sure He isn’t ever the one getting pushed off my to-do list due to over scheduling?⁣

Can I give Him time when I know my mind is in the best shape it can be?⁣

Do I make sacrifices to give Him time?⁣

My little inspiration, my little nudge from the Spirit in response to these questions probably looks different than yours. ⁣

“My best” changes every day. ⁣

But just like ancient Israel, I think I can do a little better at choosing to give my best to the Lord as a symbol of what He means to me.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Only the best  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Moses described Bezaleel by saying:

“And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass.” (Exodus 35:31-32)

Those sound like pretty cool gifts, right?!

Bezaleel was talented and had probably worked hard to hone in on his crafts over the years.

But the Lord had something extraordinary in mind.

Bezaleel’s specific talents and abilities were needed to help build and beautify the tabernacle.

And Bezaleel willingly used his gifts, all given from God in the first place, to serve the Lord in building His holy house. 

What are some of the talents and gifts you’ve been given from God?

What are skills you’ve worked hard to develop?

How have you been able to use those abilities to help give back and show thanks to the Lord?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post What is your talent?  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I love teaching, I knew I connected well with my students, and I felt really fulfilled from my job. ⁣

So when I prepared to return to work after taking maternity leave with my first child, and I received a strong prompting to resign from my job at the end of the school year, I was shocked. ⁣

That wasn’t my plan. ⁣

That wasn’t what I wanted. ⁣

But I also could not deny that prompting— resign from teaching at the end of the year. ⁣

I realized that when I told people about my resignation at first, I would “blame” it all on God. ⁣

“I wanted to keep working, but I got a super strong prompting to quit so I guess that’s what I’m doing!”⁣

I had my own will.⁣

I had learned God’s will. ⁣

And I guess I was going to let His will win. ⁣

Then one day, it clicked. ⁣

God didn’t want me to grudgingly follow this prompting, blaming Him for giving up what I really wanted. ⁣

He wanted me to do it willingly. ⁣

And so I started to pray.⁣

I prayed for the desire to WANT to quit my job. ⁣

(Kind of weird, I know.)⁣

But that desire came. Pretty quickly, too. ⁣

And suddenly I felt so much more at peace about my decision. ⁣

I wasn’t “giving in” to what God wanted for my life. ⁣

My will and God’s will had become one. ⁣

We wanted the same thing, even though I wasn’t sure about the WHY yet. ⁣

“Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it”. (Exodus 35:5)⁣

God doesn’t want us to come dragging our feet and blaming everything on Him. On His promptings, on His commandments. ⁣

He wants us to come and sacrifice willingly. ⁣

And I’ve learned that if I truly come to the altar of prayer with a desire to have our wills become the same, He will always help my heart get to the right place. ⁣

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Praying to want to quit  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.