Tag Archive for holiness

Human and Holy

2015-05-21 Devotional, Pictures of God No comments

from the devotional book, PICTURES OF GOD

Hebrews 9:6-14; 10:10, 14

Because Jesus is both human and holy, by His Spirit we His people can be both human and holy as well.

Under the Old Testament law, God was holy, and His people were holy because God had called them and separated them to Himself. That is, their holiness was more positional than personal. They were not necessarily holy in a moral sense.

They were called and commanded to be holy, but they lacked the ability. The law taught them what God was like and what He wanted of them. It said that God was holy, and that they should be holy as well. It taught them right and wrong, but it provided no strength to live right over wrong. It gave them rules and rituals, but it couldn’t give them the inner ability to be holy.

Romans 7:15-23 describes their predicament. They knew what was right but had no strength to do it. They knew what was wrong but had no strength to avoid it. They were trapped in their own weakness and sin, with no way out.

Animal sacrifices – the blood of bulls and goats – could not truly, permanently cleanse them of sin.

All this changes for us in Jesus Christ. His Holy Spirit within us frees us from the guilt and power of sin:

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4, NASB)

Jesus Himself is the once-for-all, perfect sacrifice that cleanses us from our sin, completely and forever:

…how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14, NASB)

As we trust in Jesus Christ, we are both human and holy.

Ezekiel: Complete Salvation

2015-05-05 Devotional, Pictures of God No comments

from the devotional book, PICTURES OF GOD

Ezekiel 36:22-38

God’s people had failed, but God’s purpose would not fail. He would bring about a sweeping, dramatic salvation for His people. He would not do it for their sakes, for they had proven themselves unfaithful and unworthy. He would do it to vindicate His reputation among the nations. Note that He was not acting out of selfish interest, but because He was determined to show His love to our entire race.

In Ezekiel 36:24-38, God gives the specifics of what He would do.

  • He would regather His people from the lands where He had scattered them (v.24). Their exile had been a dramatic show of their failure. Their regathering would be a dramatic presentation of God’s power, goodness, and faithfulness to His people.
  • He would cleanse them completely from all their sin – not by their actions or by their worthiness, but by His own doing (v.25).
  • He would put within them a new heart and a new spirit – His own Spirit – to enable them to obey (vv.26-27). He would empower them to be His holy people, from the inside out.
  • He would bless their relationship with Him. They truly would be His people, and He would be their God (v.28).
  • He would give them the gift of a broken heart and true repentance (v.31). They would see their own sin in the light of God’s goodness.
  • He would bless their land, turning the desert into a Garden of Eden, so that all the nations would know that Almighty God, eternally faithful and loving, had done this (vv.30, 33-36).
  • He would increase their men (vv.37-38). Why? To any society decimated by war and captivity, especially a patriarchal society like Israel, the restoration of its male population was key to its recovery.

How good is our God! He doesn’t abandon us to our weakness and failure. By His own power and love, He acts unilaterally to save us from the inside out. He enables us to be far more than we ever dreamed we could be. Praise to Him!

Ezekiel: When We Ruin God’s Reputation

2015-04-30 Devotional, Pictures of God No comments

from the devotional book, PICTURES OF GOD

Ezekiel 36:16-21

God called Israel to be His own special people. He had set them up as a “light to the nations”, to be a living example of God’s people. He longed for the whole world to see them and understand what a great and loving God He was.

Instead, Israel’s sin had “profaned His holy name” among the nations (Ezekiel 36:20). They had given God a bad reputation. They had shamed Him. Their sinful ways and their public idolatry had given Him a bad name among nations who knew nothing else about Him but what they saw in their neighbor, Israel.

Their sinfulness finally forced God to punish them in a very public way. He handed them over to their enemies and sent them into exile – the northern kingdom of Israel around 722 B.C., and the southern kingdom of Judah in 586 B.C. Of course, by this forced discipline, the Jews had made God’s reputation even worse. Their failure made God appear cruel and impossible.

But God’s deep, burning love never gives up on His gracious purpose. He loved both His covenant people, Israel, and all the other nations who had been given a negative opinion of Him. So what did He do? He announced that He would act dramatically, in a brand new way:

“It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. I will vindicate the holiness of My great name…Then the nations will know that I am the Lord…when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight.” (Ezekiel 36:22-23, NASB)

His people had failed to show the world how holy and loving He is. So would God withdraw His blessings, His presence, and His salvation from His undeserving people? No. God’s overall purpose is always driving toward salvation, never away from it. He would make His salvation even greater and more gracious.

Isaiah 6: The Prophet’s Response

2015-04-23 Devotional with Hymn, Pictures of God No comments

from the devotional book, PICTURES OF GOD

Isaiah 6:5-8

At the sight of God’s overwhelming holiness, what is Isaiah’s immediate, instinctive reaction?

“Woe is me, for I am ruined!” (v.5). Isaiah is overcome with shame, dead, and despair. He pronounces doom on himself. Seeing and experiencing God’s holiness and awesome reality, he is gripped by the uncleanness and unworthiness, not just of himself but of his entire people. Having seen God, he has truly seen himself for the first time, and the reality is gut-wrenching.

This one realization will color Isaiah’s entire ministry. The greatness of God and the sinfulness of people are no longer vague, abstract concepts. They flow from a deep, burning, unforgettable memory.

Why does Isaiah focus on his lips as being unclean? Why not his thoughts or his hands? We’re not told, but consider these passages from the New Testament:

  • The tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell…No one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. (James 3:6-8, NASB)
  • In Matthew 15, Jesus said that what comes out of our mouth comes from our heart. Our lips are a sure sign of what’s in our heart (vv.10-11, 17-20).

God responds to Isaiah through one of His seraphim. He flies to Isaiah with a burning coal from the altar. When it touches Isaiah’s lips, his sin is taken away and forgiven.

God’s cleansing can take an unclean, self-condemned sinner and make him worthy, not only of standing in the holy presence of God, but of serving as His messenger, carrying God’s holy Word in his mouth. When Isaiah hears that God needs someone to go and speak for Him, Isaiah responds enthusiastically, “Here am I. Send me!” Having seen God and experienced His deliverance, He wants to go and share His message.

Our holy God doesn’t push us away in our neediness. He draws us near. He cleanses, calls, and uses us.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: The Fear of God
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Psalm 99: How Does Holy God Respond to Sin?

2015-04-16 Devotional, Pictures of God No comments

from the devotional book, PICTURES OF GOD

Psalm 99:8; Exodus 33:18-20; 34:5-7

When Psalm 99 says that God was “a forgiving God to them, and yet an avenger of their evil deeds” (v.8, NASB), it is affirming what God repeatedly emphasizes about Himself. He gladly, eagerly, lovingly forgives the sins of those who confess and turn away from their sin. But in His holiness, He will not simply overlook sin. God punishes those who do wrong.

Joshua warned the children of Israel about this when they chose to renew their covenant with God. Read Joshua 24:15-21.

When Moses asked God that he might know Him better, God revealed Himself both visually and verbally. As He passed by Moses, this is how He summarized Himself:

“The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.” (Exodus 34:6-7, NASB)

Many in the world today think that because God is loving, He won’t punish us. Sometimes they even suggest that if God is so forgiving, why doesn’t He just forgive what we do, without all the demanding and threatening? They want a God who will let them continue to live as they please.

But remember what sin is:

  1. Sin is a deadly disease. Our loving God cannot simply ignore it. It separates His loved ones from their only source of life and peace. God will completely cure all those who allow Him.
  1. Sin is relational. It is a broken relationship with the Living God, and He longs to restore that relationship. But like any relationship, our relationship with God has two sides. God cannot repair our relationship with Him unless we are willing and participate. Unless the relationship is repaired, forgiving past sins does no good. It’s like taking an antidote for a deadly poison, then continuing to drink a big cup of that poison for every meal. The antidote is useless. The deadly danger is still flowing through our system until we turn away from its cause.

Psalm 99: The Lord Reigns

2015-04-14 Devotional, Pictures of God No comments

from the devotional book, PICTURES OF GOD

Psalm 99

Remember that our God is holy, separate, and apart from us in two senses:

  • He is transcendent. He is an almighty, all-wise spirit being who is “wholly other” than this physical universe He has created. He is above us and our world in character, quality, and authority.
  • He is pure. He is separate from us morally, totally untainted by our sinfulness. He is perfect, above all weakness and impurity.

These two aspects of God’s holiness are brought together in Psalm 99. It pictures God as King – not just a king, or even a great king, but as the sovereign King over all the earth. He is transcendent: both the earth and all its peoples tremble in His presence (v.1).

His throne is above the cherubim (v.1). The immediate image is perhaps the mercy seat, the lid of the ark of the covenant, which was in the Holy of Holies in the temple. It was in “Zion,” a poetic name for the temple mount, considered God’s dwelling place on earth. But the image is actually more vast than that. Cherubim were winged creatures that suggest the power and mobility of God. Our transcendent God’s throne is not an earthly one, but is the mighty, winged creatures of heaven itself.

He is not a local god or a national god, but the sovereign God, king over all the earth. All peoples of every nation are called to worship Him.

He is exalted above all the peoples (v.2). He is high and lifted up, and our only logical response to His greatness is to exalt Him and worship Him (vv.5, 9). We worship at His footstool (v.5), for how could we but humble ourselves before such a magnificent Being?

Consider this: How do you respond to God day by day? How could you respond to Him in a way more appropriate to who He is? One of the keys to stability through life’s ups and downs is to remember who He is. On days when you are prone to anxiety, how could you remind yourself about the sovereign love, wisdom, and power of the God you trust?

Holiness

2015-04-09 Devotional, Pictures of God No comments

from the devotional book, PICTURES OF GOD

At times “holiness” has seemed an unattractive word to me – rigid and unfriendly. How could I be “holy” and still live freely and naturally? How could I ever relax and be myself?

At times “holiness” has been a theological word. The Bible convinces me that God wants us to live a holy life and has made that life available to us. But when I’ve listened to theological teaching and compared it to the Bible, I don’t always hear the same things. “Holiness” has involved some theological struggle for me.

And at times “holiness” has been a frustrating word. What Bible verse is more intimidating than this one? “Like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior.” (1 Peter 1:15, NASB). Any who have tried to discipline themselves into a holy life have known plenty of frustration.

But “holiness” has changed for me over the years. It’s not unattractive or frustrating. As I’ve begun to know Christ better and enjoy Him as a living Friend, I find I don’t want to interrupt that relationship. It means too much to me. I’ve experienced the difference He makes in me, and I want to be led by Him and molded by Him alone. I like myself better when He is shaping me.

Holiness has become a living relationship with Jesus as a personal being. It is the freedom of being guided and formed completely by Him. Do you know how exciting that is after years of struggling with my own weakness?

I’m not perfect. The more I know Him, the more I realize I fall short. But when I do, it’s because I’ve not prayed and depended on Him. When I don’t look to Him, I grow self-centered, and my thoughts and actions reflect it.

But forgiveness is immediately available. And when I trust Him, He responds to me and helps me respond to Him. He changes my feelings and reactions toward Him and toward those around me.

That makes me love and trust Him and desire His constant working in me all the more. Our relationship keeps growing. Praise to You, Lord!

Living as God’s People

2015-04-02 Devotional, Pictures of God No comments

from the devotional book, PICTURES OF GOD

Leviticus 20:7-8, 22-26; Joshua 24:15-21

God is holy—transcendent…high above us…separate…pure. We were sinful…contaminated…corrupt. Yet instead of pushing us away, the holy God drew us toward Himself and into His holiness. By His own choice and doing, He separated us unto Himself. He made us His holy, separate people. What a privilege to be the holy, chosen people of holy, sovereign, Creator God!

But privileges carry responsibilities. We must live lives that are holy, separated entirely to our holy God. Moses warned the people:

“You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. You shall keep My statutes and practice them…so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not spew you out. Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you…You are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.” (Leviticus 20:7-8, 22-23, 26, NASB)

Later Joshua similarly warned the people that the holy God would not overlook their sin.

“If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.” (Joshua 24:19, NASB)

God will eagerly forgive sin if we confess and repent – that is, turn away from it. But He is holy, and He will not simply overlook sin. As with the children of Israel, we cannot live like the people around us. We are the holy people of a holy God, separated entirely to Him as His own.

However, we cannot and will not be holy in our own strength. God has not abandoned us to the weakness of our own willpower. As we will see in the New Testament, in Jesus Christ God has offered to us the beautiful gift of holiness by faith. We can be holy as He is holy, by His holy Spirit within, as we simply trust Him.

Made Holy or Becoming Holy?

2015-03-31 Devotional, Pictures of God, Uncategorized No comments

from the devotional book, PICTURES OF GOD

Deuteronomy 7

At times, God told Israel that they were a people holy to the Lord. They were holy because He had chosen them and made them so. For example:

You are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 7:6, NASB)

At other times, they were commanded to be a people holy to the Lord. Being holy was their own responsibility.

I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. (Leviticus 11:44, NASB)

How can we reconcile these approaches to being God’s holy people? Were they holy because God had made them holy, or were they to be holy by their own decision and effort? What makes God’s people holy?

  • First, they were holy by God’s decision and God’s doing. God had separated them to Himself. He had chosen them as His own (v.6). Why?
    –Not because they deserved it, but because of His great love (vv.7-8);
    –Not because they had been faithful, but because He was faithful to His promises to Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob (v.9).
    They were holy because God is holy. Whatever is God’s, whatever is separated to His service, is holy.
  • In response to God choosing them and separating them to Himself, they were called to live as His holy people. They had to obey and separate themselves from the ways of the people around them (vv.2-3). They must not serve their gods (vv.4-5). They must obey God (v.11) and trust Him in times of need (vv.17-23).

God is holy, and He is the only source of holiness, so holiness is always His choice and His doing. But we must respond in faith and obedience. Those who did enjoyed all the continuing blessings of being God’s people (vv.12-15). Those who disobeyed were judged and buried in the wilderness. They never received God’s promised blessings (Hebrews 3:12 – 4:3).

Holiness is a living relationship with the holy God. Only He can initiate the relationship, but we must allow God to be our God in our thoughts, words, and actions.

The Crucified Life

2014-08-17 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Jesus said:

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24, NIV)

Jesus spoke these words to His disciples on His way to Jerusalem to be crucified. Standing at a safe distance, I can understand what He was telling them. But what is He saying to me? And what is the Apostle Paul telling me when he says:

Count yourselves dead to sin. (Romans 6:11, NIV)

Or what about this?

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live. (Galatians 2:20, NIV)

I’m comfortable with the concepts as long as they’re aimed at somebody else. They make sense. But if my personal interests are being crucified, I get very uncertain. I can stand back and admire the beauty of these truths until I actually have to deny myself. When I have to lay aside my ego and my rights in a relationship and act only in the other person’s best interests, then suddenly unselfishness doesn’t seem so sensible.

Sometimes I see Jesus’ footsteps leading me to the Calvary, just when pursuing “the good life” seems so natural.

I feel the weight of the cross when I realize that I’m here to serve God, not my comfort and career.

I feel the nails in my hands when I ask what He wants me to do with His money and His time in this world of suffering and need.

I feel the spear pierce my side when I realize that my whole life—all my energies and every dream—are to glorify Him, not me.

When I honestly address these deep demands of discipleship, I choke. How can I even begin to measure up? Is this one of those guilt trips I have to either avoid or rationalize away?

But then I face my Savior, who is here with me now, and I realize it is His voice I hear and His heart that is speaking to me. I am reminded that like all His commands, these words are gifts of love. They are invitations to remove everything that separates Him and me, to enjoy a deeper fellowship with Him and a more complete rest in Him. And with Jesus speaking the words, I start to hear them differently.

Yes, I have to count myself dead to sin. But then I am alive to God in Christ Jesus, and the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:11, 23, NIV).

When I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20, NIV).

As I trust Him, Christ lives in me! I rejoice in His presence and eagerly listen for His voice. I start to taste His freedom from selfishness and begin bringing all my needs to Him.

As I turn my life-style over to Him, my love for Him grows warmer and more personal. I begin to release my fears and embrace Him with my whole heart.

As I embrace Him, I find He takes away, not my freedom, but my slavery to myself. He doesn’t take my dignity, but only my empty pride. He doesn’t lessen the excitement of life. He helps me enjoy more and more of the full life that He wants for me.

Jesus Christ offers each of us freedom and wholeness, if only we will lay down our lives daily and let Him live through us.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15, NIV)

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: Hear His Call
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