Tag Archive | holiness

Leviticus 11 & 12 – Acceptable in Gods eyes

May5

Good afternoon y’all. Today I’m combining Leviticus 11 and 12 together.

A common theme runs through both chapters (actually, it’s through all the chapters for this week).  The theme is: being acceptable by God and being holy.

As I read the chapters, I realised that God takes the issue of being clean/holy very seriously. He gives specific instructions on what makes the Israelites clean and unclean. He didn’t just stop there though,  He made provision for how to become clean, if in case they ever get themselves unclean. What a loving God He is 🙂 .

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God demands holiness from us because He is a holy God. In verse 44 and 45 he tells the Israelites :-
“I am the Lord your God, and you must keep yourselves holy, because I am holy. I am the Lord who brought you out of Egypt so that I could be your God. You must be holy, because I am holy”. (Leviticus 11:44-45 GNT)

I believe the same applies to us today, yes we are no longer under the law but the truth is God never changes. If He demanded holiness from the Israelites back then, He is also demanding the same from us today. In 1 Peter 1:15-16 we see Peter repeating the same instruction to us.

“But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16 NLT)

God has standards for us. Throughout the scriptures He tells and shows us what is acceptable and unacceptable by His standards. The blood of Jesus cleanses and makes us holy and acceptable before God but I believe we also have a part to play to ensure we do not defile ourselves by going back to the lifestyle or things we used to do before we met Jesus. That’s why Paul urged us in Romans 12 to offer our lives to God as pleasing sacrifice, holy and acceptable in His sight.
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him”.(Romans 12:1 NLT)

The same Paul also tells us in Eph 5:1 to copy God in all that we do.
“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are His dear children”.( Ephesians 5:1 NLT)

Sin is the main blocker to living a holy life and according to psalms 119 verses 9 & 11, one of the ways we can prevent ourselves from sinning against God is to keep his word close to us and obeying them.

“How can young people keep their lives pure? By obeying your commands. I keep your law in my heart, so that I will not sin against you”.(Psalm 119:9, 11 GNT)

Today, lets pursue holiness in all that we do and let’s get rid of all that makes us unholy.

“With promises like this to pull us on, dear friends, let’s make a clean break with everything that defiles or distracts us, both within and without. Let’s make our entire lives fit and holy temples for the worship of God”. (2 Corinthians 7:1 MSG)

Thanks for joining today.

Have a blessed day 🙂

***With God all things are possible***

Exodus 19

Jan29

Good morning y’all. Today we are looking at Exodus 19.

Be blessed 🙂

“Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me”.(Exodus 19:5 NLT)

We are Gods special treasure. A treasure is defined as ‘a valuable or valued item’. To God, we are very valuable and important.  The amplified version says “… My own peculiar possession and treasure…”. Even though God owns the whole earth, He has decided in his mercy to make us his own treasured possession. This is awesome to know that God who created the whole earth delights in us and sees us as people to be treasured 🙂

Before we get carried away, there is a condition to the above promise. The condition is OBEDIENCE. The beginning of verse 5 says “Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant….”. That is, we have to yield ourselves in obedience to God. We have to follow his instructions and do all he has commanded us to do, then we can enjoy all of the promise that He has for us.

“And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”(Exodus 19:6 NLT)

A kingdom of Priests – Priests are Gods representatives to the world. As christians we are to represent God here on earth like Jesus did. We are to yield ourselves in obedience to him and let him use us to evangelise the world.

A holy nation – That means we are to be set apart for his use. As christians, we are called to holiness. 1 Peter 1:15- 17 says:
“But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.”(NLT)

Verse 5 and 6 of this chapter reminds me of 1 Peter 2:9.

“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light”.(NLT)

Gods desire His children is to be priests and a holy nation who serve him in obedience and holiness.

The question today is: are we being a representative of God and living in the holiness he has called us to or are we spending our time serving and representing the kingdom of this world?

Remember the condition in verse 5 to obey Him. Let’s be people who will use our freedom to obey God.

“Then the lord told Moses, “Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing. Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch”.(Exodus 19:10-11 NLT)

God is a holy God and as such when we approach him we must do so with holy reverence. Jesus has made it possible for us to have access to God 24/7 but we still need to show God the honor and reverence due His name whenever we come into His presence.

God asked for them to be consecrated. That is, they needed to be set apart from those things that distract them from seeking God wholeheartedly. It’s the same for us too, we need to daily consecrate ourselves to God and set ourselves apart from anything that distracts us from God. We are called to holiness.

“On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled”.(Exodus 19:16 NLT)

God said He was going to come down on the 3rd day and He did just that. He came down on the third day to meet with the people. This tells me that God is reliable and dependable. He can be trusted to do exactly what He says He will do. God has integrity. So whatever God has told you, know that He is able and will do just that. Numbers 23:19 says:
“God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?”(NLT)

Prayer:
Dear Lord we thank you for today. Thank you for delighting in us and choosing us to be your treasured possession. We ask for grace to yield ourselves in obedience to you. Pls help us daily consecrate ourselves to you and rid us of anything that distracts us from you. Thank you dear Lord. In Jesus Name we prayed. Amen.

Thank you for joining today.

Have a blessed day 🙂

***With God all things are possible***