Tag: holiness

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Cleaning House

Daily Reading

Nehemiah 12-13

Daily Thought

Nehemiah led the effort to rebuild Jerusalem. He returned the Word of God to public reading, reestablished the worship, the Sabbath, and the festivals of the Jewish faith, and rededicated a confessing people to follow their God. 

Then he left for a time, traveling to Babylon to visit her king. 

He returned after who knows how long, but it was too long, because sin had moved back into the city. Eliashib the priest had invited his cousin Tobiah, an Ammonite enemy of Israel and God, to live in a room in the temple, but purity cannot mix with the unrighteous. Evil doesn’t have to be in charge, but merely tolerated to do its work. Soon enough. the temple was neglected, the Sabbath was ignored, and the people were marrying foreign women who worshipped foreign gods.

In a fit of rage, Nehemiah attacked, “Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin” (Nehemiah 13:26).

So Nehemiah cleaned house, literally. “And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber” (Nehemiah 13:8). There is a time for tantrums because there is such a thing as too much tolerance. “And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair” (Nehemiah 13:25). Not unlike a man who walked into a temple and began turning over tables.

Daily Prayer

Holy God, I love Your Word. Everything in it tells me about life, how it should be lived and Who it should be lived for. It displays Your goodness, Your righteousness, Your holiness. Your grace and mercy. Your love.

God, I commit myself to You. Set me apart from the sin around me. Surround me with others who love what is good. Keep me good, keep me righteous, keep me holy by Your Word. Forgive me when I stray, and lead me back to the right path.

Amen

Daily Question

What makes you angriest? What does your answer reveal about you?

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Purity Doesn’t Mix

Daily Reading

Ezra 4-7

Daily Thought

When the northern kingdom of Israel was taken captive by Assyria in 722 BC, the scattered remains of Israelites left behind intermarried with many other nations, producing a mingled people and a mangled religion. They claimed to worship the same God as Judah, “for we worship your God as you do” (Ezra 4:2); they failed to mention the many others, “they feared the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away” (2Kings 17:33). They became another nation, a mixed breed called the Samaritans, “the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River” (Ezra 4:10). They also became adversaries of the southern kingdom of Israel, Judah.

Judah was returning to rebuild the temple, but building the temple of God was a daunting task for the smallish number. Samaria offered, “Let us build with you” (Ezra 4:2). It seemed a neighborly gesture, however when adversaries offer help, it is reasonable to suspect their motive. Judah could use the help, but then their temple would become “our temple,” and Judah would become part of the blend. Purity doesn’t mix. The nation of Israel was to be holy, set apart to the one true God, and so Judah issued an unneighborly response, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel” (Ezra 4:3).

The bond of unity with other nations may have an appearance of strength, allies joining together, but Israel’s strength is their God. Those who follow God serve the world, not through partnership with the world, but through purity in the world.

Daily Prayer

Holy God, every good thing comes from You. You are righteous and just, full of grace and mercy. You give the world hope through faith, and show us what love truly looks like. Your love is not indifferent to my sin, but recognizes the sin and responds with care. Even while I sinned against You, You hung on the cross for me.

Protect me from temptation to sin, or even tolerance toward it, and keep me holy, set apart for You. When I fall and fail, I love Your grace, because I require it, but I long more for Your righteousness and goodness, that these would mark my life. I look forward to Your kingdom come, when righteousness and goodness will reign. May my life be more and more a display of these qualities of my King of kings, my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Amen

Daily Question

Which has been stronger, the world’s influence on the Church or the Church’s influence on the world?

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War and Peace

Daily Reading

Joshua 12-15

Daily Thought

God made it clear, the land is filled with evil. Drive out all of the evil from the land, “yet the people of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, but Geshur and Maacath dwell in the midst of Israel to this day” (Joshua 13:13). They drove out a lot, but not all. Not everybody. Sometimes some cities didn’t appear worth the battle and they allowed them to remain. They allowed some people to live among them.

God’s church, like the nation of Israel, is called to be holy, yet sins linger. Gossip, gluttony, lust, greed, compromise, hypocrisy, pride. They seem tolerable, not worth the battle it would require to remove them, so we allow them to linger. Scripture warns us to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13), but we fear the war when we should fear the peace.

Eighty-five years young, Caleb remains ready for battle. Those of old age speak more often of past victories, but Caleb is ready to fight yet again. His confidence was not in himself, but in his God. The years had not dimmed his trust in the Almighty, nor his resolve to drive out evil, no matter how formidable. “So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said” (Joshua 14:12).

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ~Colossians 3:5

Daily Prayer

Holy God, You called me to be perfect just like You. Which I cannot do… on my own. Help me keep my repentance true. I’ve chosen to turn away from my sin, and God, I need Your Spirit to give me guidance and strength not to turn back. Thank You that even when I fall and fail, I can return and confess, and the once-for-all death of Your Son, Jesus Christ, covers all my sins.

I am so glad You are perfect and that Your standard is holiness. What other kind of eternity would be good? Thank You, Father, for doing the work that makes my holiness possible. It is only in the Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Amen

Daily Question

What sins do you allow to linger more than others?

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One Piece Missing

Daily Reading

Joshua 5-8

Daily Thought

God says to his people, “For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45). Israel is to be holy, and God is teaching them what holiness looks like. 

As Israel defeated the strong and fortified city of Jericho, God instructed them to destroy everything except the silver and gold and bronze and iron, which were to go to the treasury of the Lord. The next town in line was little Ai, but Ai prevailed against Israel. Joshua was dismayed, tore his clothes, and fell on his face before the Lord, but God said, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings” (Joshua 7:10-11).

What was their sin? “But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel” (Joshua 7:1). One person disobeyed, attracted to the glitter of gold rather than the glory of God.. One person stole, and the entire nation was brought to account. Think of a jigsaw puzzle. 7,500 pieces, and 7,499 in place. One piece missing harms all others. 7,499 pieces get tossed. When God said “they,” he was referring to all of Israel, but he was pointing at one man, Achan.

Achan’s sin stood out but it is little different than our own. All sin is personal, but no sin is private. My sin is a piece missing and so is yours. Our sin taints the community and we are neither whole nor holy and we need a Savior. This is what sin teaches us.

Daily Prayer

Father, thank You for life, for creation, for this world, for my family, for work to do and a purpose to live. Thank You for all the blessings You pour on me. Thank You for my church family, for worship, for Your Word, for the wonderful time in prayer, for communion, for service, for love.

Sin corrupts every good thing. I’m sorry that I find it so attractive. God, forgive me and cleanse me for the sin I do. I so desire life and life abundantly. How dim gold glitters beside Your glory. I pray that I will be so filled with Your love and Your goodness that sin will no longer look desirable. God, please put Your desires in my heart.

Amen

Daily Question

When you sin, who else gets hurt?

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One Who Is Eternal

Daily Reading

Numbers 35-36

Daily Thought

No sin unpunished, but each and all shall be atoned for in proportion to the sin. This is the substance of the Law of God, and in Numbers 35, this means the blood of the murderer is required for the blood of murdered. To leave a sin unaccounted stains the land. “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).

Our sin is not only personal, but eternal. It is always an affront to the One who created us to be holy. An atonement for an eternal sin, and all sin is eternal, must itself be eternal–eternal separation from what is holy, from God. It requires eternal death. Paul cries, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24). Or it requires the death of one who is eternal. “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25).  

“The blood of Jesus, God’s Son cleanses us from all sin. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:7, 9). No sin unpunished, but each and all shall be atoned for in proportion to the sin, and this was accomplished in Christ Jesus, so that “we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). 

“You shall be holy, for I am holy” (1Peter 1:16).

Daily Prayer

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. We worship You, adore You, praise You. But how, then, do we approach You? For we are not holy. Far from it.

By the blood of Jesus Christ, who bore our sins, we are made righteous with his righteousness. We may approach You, O God, with confidence, through a holiness not of our own, but through our Savior, our Lord, our God, Jesus Christ.

Amen

Daily Question

Are you holy as the Lord God is holy?

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Chapters of Wrath

Daily Reading

Jeremiah 46-48

Daily Thought

God utilized the enemies of Israel to discipline his children, but it does not make virtuous the enemies’ violence. These nations were all too willing to strike God’s chosen, and lest they glory in their victories, the Lord executes the promise of retribution he gave to Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse” (Genesis 12:3). God’s sword now turns toward justice against the Egyptians and the Philistines, the Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites, Damascus, Kedar, Hazor, Elam, and Babylon.

These nations assaulted Israel and ought fear the looming wrath of God and run. And run they will, but “he who flees from the terror shall fall into the pit, and he who climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare (Jeremiah 48:44). Out of the frying pan, into the fire, so to speak, and God’s judgment is sure. There will be no place to run, hide, or escape. 

God’s terror of righteousness against those opposed to righteousness creates an awful clamor, and Jeremiah cries, “Ah, sword of the Lord! How long till you are quiet? Put yourself into your scabbard; rest and be still!” (Jeremiah 47:6). The Bible is a book of love, yet there are chapters of wrath, and this must be. A holy love demands a holy hatred of evil. “How can it be quiet when the Lord has given it a charge?” (Jeremiah 47:7), responds the Almighty. These nations desired neither grace nor God, and thus, the sword.

Daily Prayer

Righteous God of Justice, You are holy. Thank You for salvation, because I deserve Your wrath. My righteousness does not measure up–it is as filthy rags. And my unrighteousness, well, I’m good at that. You have covered my sin by the blood of Your Son who took my sins and, thus, bore Your wrath. There is, therefore, now no condemnation because Your justice is true and satisfied and the righteousness of Your Son is now mine. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2Corinthians 5:21). Thank You.

Amen

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Ding

Daily Reading

Psalm 51-57

Daily Thought

David displays a desperate desire to deal with his sin and be restored to righteousness. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me,” he pleads. “Restore to me the joy of your salvation” (Psalm 51:10, 12). You hear in his cries the shame of sin, but it is not that which drives him. He misses his Father, “Against you, you only, have I sinned” (Psalm 51:4). Inside all sin is a sadness, a scarred remembrance of the holy wonder of our creation.

A friend in college, Craig, bought a sporty little 1978 MG Midget. Sweet car, nice looking, good paint. And then he got a ding, a 4-inch gash on the left front fender. Several weeks passed and I asked if he was going to fix it, but it was a lot of money and his insurance would go up, and, “well, no,” he said. “Maybe I can put up with it.”

“How often do you notice it?” I asked.

“Every single time I get in the car,” he said. 

“For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (Psalm 51:3). 

I gave him the number of a good body shop. 

“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered” (Psalm 32:1).

Daily Prayer

My God and Savior, what an amazing love You have for me. You sent Your only Son, the only sacrifice sufficient for my sins, so that I might be made righteous. You created me in Your image, and yet I turned to the pleasure of sin and away from the joy of paradise. Still You are willing to forgive me, to invite me back in the family, to create in me again a clean heart.

Restore right desires in me. Renew my love for righteousness and justice. I am sorry for my sins. I will turn away from them and follow You. Make me new again.

Amen

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War and Peace

Daily Reading

Joshua 12-15

Daily Thought

God made it clear, the land is filled with evil. Drive out all of the evil from the land. “Yet the people of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, but Geshur and Maacath dwell in the midst of Israel to this day” (Joshua 13:13). They drove out a lot, but not all. Not everybody. Sometimes some cities didn’t appear worth the battle and they allowed them to remain. They allowed these people to live among them.

God’s church, like the nation of Israel, is called to be holy, yet sins linger. Gossip, gluttony, lust, greed, compromise, hypocrisy, pride. They seem tolerable, not worth the battle it would require to remove them, so we allow them to linger. Scripture warns us to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13), but we fear the war when we should fear the peace.

Eighty-five years young, Caleb remains ready for battle. Those of old age speak more often of past victories, but Caleb is ready to fight yet again. His confidence was not in himself, but in his God. The years had not dimmed his trust in the Almighty, nor his resolve to drive out evil, no matter how formidable. “So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said” (Joshua 14:12).

Daily Prayer

Holy God, You called me to be perfect just like You. Which I cannot do… on my own. May my repentance be true. I choose to turn away from my sin, and God, I need Your Spirit to give me guidance and strength not to turn back. Thank You that even when I fall and fail, I can return and confess, and the once-for-all death of Your Son, Jesus Christ, covers all my sins.

I am so glad You are perfect and that Your standard is holiness. What other kind of eternity would be good? Thank You, Father, for doing the work that makes my holiness possible. It is only in the Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Amen

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As Far As East Is from the West

Daily Reading

Leviticus 16-18

Daily Thought

There were two goats used on the Day of Atonement. One was slaughtered and its blood was carried into the Holy of Holies by the high priest. That was the blood that covered the guilt of the people in the sight of God. Now their conscience was purified and they could serve the living God.

The other goat was held at the entrance of the tabernacle until the high priest came out and laid his hands on its head. Acting on behalf of all the people of Israel, the high priest confessed the sins of the people and transferred their sins to this animal. This second goat is the “scapegoat.”  Nowadays, that is what we call someone who takes the blame for everyone’s mistake. This goat not only received the blame but also took the guilt, carrying it far away into the wilderness–as far as east is from the west.  

Together these two goats picture the redemptive work of Jesus. His blood has covered our sins in the sight of God, just as the blood of the first goat did once each year, but now, in Jesus, once for all time. And Jesus became the scapegoat for all his people. Jesus our Savior was loaded with all our sins and carried them far, far away–as far as east is from west. That’s how much he loves us.

My children would tell me how much they loved me by stretching out their arms as far as they could and shouting, “This much …and more.” So did Jesus. As far as east is from the west …and more.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, 
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 
as far as the east is from the west, 
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
~Psalm 103:11-12

Daily Prayer

God, thank You doing all the work. You were innocent of sin and yet you died for mine.   I sin a lot. But more than that, you keep walking with me. You keep shaping me into the person you created me to be. I’m free from the guilt of sin because of you, but you keep working on me, freeing me day by day from the presence of sin. Help me to hate my sin as much as you do. I know that happens as my love for you continues to grow, this much and more. Jesus, I love you. 

Amen

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Kosher

Daily Reading

Leviticus 11-13

Daily Thought

Question: What were God’s reasons for declaring some food clean and some unclean, or certain conditions such as childbirth, menstruation, and leprosy unclean?

Lots of reasons have been offered. Perhaps there is symbolism in the choice of animals. The clean animals represented virtues, the unclean vices. Or maybe the unclean animals were the ones that the godless countries around Israel used in their pagan worship. One idea is that the unclean animals and the unclean conditions were psychologically repulsive. Others argue that certain animals, scavengers mostly, and the blood of childbirth and menstruation, and, of course, the diseases of chapter 13, were unclean because they were literally unclean. They were unhealthy and lacked hygiene.  ut all of a sudden, in Acts 10, God told Peter that he could eat everything, that God had declared all these animals clean. Did they suddenly become healthy, too?

Here’s what I think, and I am just speculating here, because honestly, I don’t know. There is a similar question that may help. Why did God choose Israel? Why didn’t he choose the Egyptians or the Canaanites or some other people group. Certainly, it wasn’t because the Israelites were better or healthier or less repulsive than the others. They weren’t. God chose them because he is God and he gets to choose. He may have his reasons (he may not), but he does not have to tell us, and he didn’t. He simply chose. It may sound arbitrary, but I’m eternally grateful he chose me, and I didn’t give him a good reason to do that, either.  

He called his people to be holy. To be holy is to be set apart, to be distinguished from what is common. The declaration of clean and unclean reminded the Israelites that God demands purity through obedience and sacrifice. We obey God, not necessarily because it makes sense or benefits us (it does), but because of who he is, the holy, good, righteous, full of grace, all-loving God of the heavens and the earth.

Daily Prayer

Holy God, You are good. May my life be holy, set apart for Your purposes. You have made me a saint, righteous because of the work of Your Son. You have filled me with Your Holy Spirit. Work Your salvation through me from the inside out. Take my desires and make them Yours, so that what I do will reflect Your character.

God, I have choices in front of me everyday, clean and unclean. May I discern the difference and choose wisely. May I trust in Your ways and follow closely.  

Amen