From: February 26, 2024
“Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2 ESV).
God explained to Moses the purpose behind the laws of personal conduct for the people of Israel, namely: Holiness. The Hebrew word for “holy” is “qadosh” (קָדוֹשׁ), literally meaning to be set apart for special use, to be consecrated, sacred, holy. God had chosen the Israelites to be His special people, set apart for His purpose. They were to be different than the world, showing forth the glory and holiness of God, as His image bearers.
Yet, the law was unable to change their unholy hearts. It worked somewhat to restrain their outward behavior, but its real effect was to reflect their guilty hearts and reveal their need for a Savior. No one could perfectly keep the law.
If we are to be holy as the Lord our God is holy, then we must receive His Holy One, Jesus the Christ. For Jesus is the only one who has perfectly kept all the law. And receiving Him, we are adopted into God’s family as His children and called to bear the mark of our Father, who is holy (Matt. 5:48, 1 Pet. 1:15-17).
PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, holy is Your name. Your call to holiness, to be set apart as Your children, is in our ears. For we have received Your holy Son, Jesus, into our hearts. Strengthen our will power and our working-power to follow You In all things. For You call us to pull our affections off the world and to put them on You. We are set apart this day unto You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
From: February 26, 2023
“You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s” (Mark 8:33 NLT).
After Jesus described the suffering, death, and ultimate resurrection that He as the Messiah would soon endure, Peter began to reprimand Him for such talk. Jesus saw that Satan was influencing Peter to tempt Him, so He rebuked Peter and warned him of his limited, human point of view. Peter didn’t understand Christ’s mission. He recognized Jesus as Messiah, but he didn’t yet see the Messiah’s purpose.
We often suffer from Peter’s kind of worldly near-sightedness. We don’t understand God’s purpose. We don’t understand that God cares more for our character than our comfort. He’s making us like Jesus. That’s His purpose. He chose us to become like His Son. And that means that we are sometimes called to suffer. Yet, always knowing that He will never leave us, nor forsake us. And always knowing that there is a resurrection Day to come.
Understanding God’s purpose, we can see life from His point of view.
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for revealing Your purpose for us through Jesus. We pray for Your kingdom to come and Your will to be done in us and in our world. We are Your servants. And we long to be with You someday in glory. Yet, for now, strengthen us by Your Spirit to see all things from Your point of view. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: February 26, 2017
David had learned to encourage himself in the Lord (1 Sam. 30:6). This psalm illustrates his method. When he felt down or out of sorts, he didn’t just drag on, he stopped and found a quiet place to get alone with God. He addressed his soul, searching inside for the source of his own “disquiet.” Getting in touch with his own feelings and doubts, he carried them to the Lord, confessing his soul’s condition and changing the object of his hope from self to God. He was essentially saying, “Soul, stop hoping in yourself, that’s why you’re feeling so worried. Instead, hope in God!” After a look in the mirror to see the source of his soul’s condition, he looked up to seek the “countenance” of the Lord. Like the countenance of an anxious child that brightens to a smile when seeing the face of his mother, so David sought the help of seeing the Lord’s face.
From: February 26, 2016
David described the longing of his soul for God. The brilliant French physicist and philosopher, Pascal, proposed that such a longing was present in every human heart, saying, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus” (Blaise Pascal, Pensees). People try to fill this longing with other things, which explains the misery of many. But the human soul can only find its fullest satisfaction in Christ.
From: February 26, 2015
God explained to Moses the purpose behind the laws of personal conduct for the people of Israel, namely: Holiness. The Hebrew word for “holy” is qadosh (קָדוֹשׁ), literally meaning to be set apart for special use, to be consecrated, sacred, holy. God had chosen the Israelites to be His special people, set apart for His purpose. They were to be different than the world, showing forth the glory and holiness of God, as His image bearers. Yet, the law was unable to change their unholy hearts. It worked to restrain their behavior, but its real effect was to expose their guilty hearts and reveal their need for a Savior. If we are to be holy as the Lord our God is holy, then we must receive His Holy One, Jesus the Christ. Then, our lives will “shine like stars” in a dark world (Phil.2:15).
From: February 26, 2014
God explained to Moses the purpose behind the laws of personal conduct for the people of Israel, namely: Holiness. The Hebrew word for “holy” is qadosh (קָדוֹשׁ), literally meaning to be set apart for special use, to be consecrated, sacred, holy. God had chosen the Israelites to be His special people, set apart for His purpose. They were to be different than the world, showing forth the glory and holiness of God, as His image bearers. Yet, the law was unable to change their unholy hearts. It worked to restrain their behavior somewhat, but its real effect was to reflect their guilty hearts and reveal their need for a Savior. If we are to be holy as the Lord our God is holy, then we must receive His Holy One, Jesus the Christ. Then, our lives will “shine like stars” in a dark world (Phil.2:15).