God directed Moses to preach to his people about being different, or holy to those people they would encounter in the Promised Land that He was giving to them. I believe He still calls on His children today to be different, compared to those we come into contact with, so that they might see the power of God working in us. To be called ‘Christian’ we must be holy and display the attributes of our Father. If you are already ‘there’ then you may be wasting your time reading this devotional. If not, let’s attune our hearts to God as we study His Word.
By: Ed Algreen
SCRIPTURE FROM: Leviticus 20:7-8; 24; 26
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)
BIBLE TEXT: 7 Dedicate yourselves to me and be holy because I am the Lord your God. 8 I have chosen you as my people, and I expect you to obey my laws.
24 …. I have chosen you to be different from other people.
26 I am the Lord, the holy God. You have been chosen to be my people, and so you must be holy too.
APPLICATION: So what do you suppose would have happened if the Israelites went into the Promised Land without this warning from God? Don’t you think that the inhabitants would have been stirred into anger and seek unending revenge on them? So what happens when we step into our communities and in talking with friends when we tell them about our church life, and about us being a Christian, yet they continue to see us in our workplaces cheating our customers, stealing from the boss, and being very rude and obnoxious with our coworkers? Will they believe what we say, or what we do? Although being unbelievers, they would still discern our differences in character from the God they heard about. I know, you try to act as close to ‘normal’ in the eyes of your friends so that you won’t stand out, right? But what happened at your point of asking Jesus to be your Savior? Hopefully you didn’t tell Jesus that you would still have to follow your old convictions and act like your friends? My dear readers, there are multiple places in the Bible where we are told to ‘come out of the world and follow Jesus’. This means that you not only say with your mouth that you believe in God and accept Jesus as Lord, but that you have a desire to follow His commands and imitate His very character so that your life would now look like your new Master, and not burdened with the sin of this world and the desire to please mankind. Jesus said that because He rescued us from our sin, we are to be like Him – HOLY, just as He is holy. You cannot be like the world, and also like Christ. Those are complete opposites. God chose you to be His son/daughter, so He demands that we strive everyday to be just like Him – holy. If you say that there is no way you could be holy, you will be absolutely correct. It is only through the power of God, and the Holy Spirit that lives within you, that you could ever achieve holiness. For the reader who belongs to Jesus, then this will act as a reminder of what God always expects from you. For the unbeliever who has been touched by the spirit of God to surrender your life to His lordship, I am hoping that this devotional may have given you one more reason to make this important change in your life. My friend, know Jesus today and know the peace that passeth all understanding. It is only through this peace and redirection in your life, that you can ask the Master to give you wisdom and everlasting strength to live in total obedience to Him and to be holy like He expects. If you would like to know my Lord, please: see a local pastor and ask for help; or respond to me using the link in my Footnote; or simply read the Scriptures mentioned in my link ‘To Know Jesus’ included in my Footnote.
BLESSING(S) NOTED: Holiness is achievable in this life, if we place our faith and trust in the lord Jesus and allow Him to guide us into holiness – just as He is holy.
PRAYER: From a world’s perspective, being holy is totally unattainable. But I thank You Lord for the gift You left with us – the Holy Spirit. I know that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Lord Jesus, You know how challenging we have it here in this wicked world around those who want nothing to do with You. Please Lord, enrich us with a deep desire to allow Your Holy Spirit to work through us in every aspect of our lives, so that we may be holy, just as You are holy. In turn, may the world see You very prevalent in us, causing them to desire a close and intimate walk with You. Have Your way in us Lord, so that You may be glorified on earth as You are in Heaven. AMEN!