Wholly Wholly Holy

Do you want to be special? Do you crave to be distinguished? Then you must be wholly holy.

That which is holy is set apart for the service of the Lord. It is spiritually special. The Levitical high priest was the most special person in God’s special people. So engraved in gold and tied around his head was the inscription: Holy to the Lord. That was the only place such a distinction was found.

Until now.

Zechariah prophesied that a time was coming in which even the bells of horses and every cooking pot would be Holy to the Lord. Even the most commonplace of items could become special and distinct.

He wasn’t talking about horse bells or cooking pots. He was talking about you.

No matter how common or unclean you have been, you can now be Holy to the Lord. You can be cleansed and sanctified for His purpose. You can be special to God.

Reading: Zechariah 13-14

Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts!

Today’s reading is Isaiah 6-10.

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3, ESV).

“The sinner hates nothing as much as he hates the holiness of God. It judges him and threatens him, and often drives him to atheism because he would rather believe in no God at all than in a holy God.”[1] While we are happy to serve a loving God, a gracious God, a merciful God, sometimes we forget that we serve a holy God. Read God’s Word from beginning to end and note that no other characteristic of God receives a treble declaration like His holiness. Every other aspect of His character comes from this transcendent, majestic, ontological, practical, ethical holiness. His love, His power, His knowledge, His judgment, His benevolence, His wrath, His mercy, His discipline, His grace all extend from and serve to support His holiness.  May we love our God’s holiness, magnifying it as the seraphim of Isaiah 6 did. May we never pursue modern perversions that believe some other characteristic of God undermines His holiness or paves the way for unholiness in His children. And may we be humbled that His holy grace paves the way to bring us into His holiness. Praise the Holy Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Isaiah 11-15.

[1] Cottrell, Jack, What the Bible Says about God the Redeemer, Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, 1987, pp. 254-255. Quoting from Stephen Charnock, The Existence and Attributes of God, Kregel, Grand Rapids, 1958, pp. 500-501.

Search Me, O God

Today’s reading is Psalm 136-140.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!”
Psalm 139:23-24 (ESV).

My favorite passage in all the Bible. It used to scare me because I thought David was saying, “Search me and see how awesome I am.” I was certain I could never measure up to this passage; that if God searched me He would find the real me, be disappointed, and cut me off. But, that is not the request. David is admitting there are still parts amiss in his heart, but the only way to overcome is to enlist God as the cleanser. Instead of waiting until we’ve cleaned up our hearts and then asking for God’s searching, we can ask God to get in the nooks and crannies. He won’t cut us off, He’ll clean us up. Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 141-145.

Do Not Defile the Dwelling of God

 

Today’s reading is Numbers 31-35.

“You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the people of Israel” (Numbers 35:34, ESV). God did not deliver Israel from their bondage in Egypt so they could pursue their passions and pleasures in impurity. He delivered them to be a holy dwelling place for Him. In like manner, Jesus did not deliver us from our bondage in sin so we could pursue our passions and pleasures in impurity. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (I Corinthians 6:19-20, ESV). I can’t say it any better than Moses and Paul, so I’ll just say it again: today, glorify God in your body.

We’d love to know what you got out of today’s reading or if another part of the reading stood out to you. Let us know in the comments section.

Tomorrow’s reading is Number 36; Deuteronomy 1-4.

You are What You Worship

 

Today’s reading is Leviticus 19-23.

“You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” We become what we worship. When God becomes our delight, we will become more like God. When we worship the holy God, His holiness impacts us. Here is the challenge. Look at your life. What does it say about what you are worshiping? Worship God today.

We’d love to know what you got out of today’s reading. Let us know in the comments section.

Monday’s reading will be Leviticus 24-27.