Day Ten: What is Holiness?

READ:  Today's reading is Leviticus 22:1-8, but the extended passage is chapters 19-22.

In this passage, God informs Moses that he needs to tell Aaron that he and his sons need to remember to treat the holy offerings the Israelites consecrated to Him with reverence so they won't desecrate God's holy name, because He is God.  Then, He proceeds to lay out a series of rules that tell what all could make them unclean and what they must to do avoid becoming unclean, as well as what they will need to do to become clean again.

THINK:  In this section we are asked to read the passage again, noticing our reactions toward God about what we've read.  It asks if we feel drawn closer to God or repelled from Him, and then, we are encouraged to talk with Him about it, exploring what could be the possible causes for our response.  Then, the challenge comes to ask God to show us more of ourselves -- "the memories, opinions, and feelings you bring to him on this day."

This is where I began to wonder just what holy actually meant.  So, I looked it up.  I had what I thought was a rudimentary idea, but I wanted to make sure I knew for sure.  It means consecrated, set apart, separated.  Another definition is "set apart for a special purpose."  That definition I could grasp.  But then:  why the urge to be holy as God is holy? 

I know how to set apart a thing or a person for a special purpose.  But how does that apply to God?  How does one define God as holy, when He is the one who does the defining?  If he is above all things, and has created all things, and therefore, has dominion over all things…is that what makes Him HOLY?  Is He holy because He is unchangeable?  Because He is omniscient?  Omnipresent?  Omnipotent?    I think I've discovered that the answer to all of these questions is: YES. 

But what really struck me about that passage is just how unattainable true holiness really is apart from Christ.  With all the rules the Levites had for being able to approach the Holy of Holies, it was no wonder they had to enter with a rope tied around their wastes.  If they forgot even one thing, the Holy and Just God would have to punish their sin.  Therefore, the only way that person was going to get out was by being dragged out.  But, because of Christ, the veil to the Holy of Holies has been rent from top to bottom and, now, we are all free to enter in, to have a personal relationship with God, because Christ's death and the shedding of the blood of the perfectly pure, sinless sacrifice paid the price for every sin for the rest of eternity.  So long as we accept it.  We no longer have to worry about whether or not we have asked forgiveness for every single one of our sins before we can go to God.  We can come to Him with those sins, known and unknown, and ask Him to show us where we need to ask forgiveness and He will tell us, and then we can ask forgiveness for all of them and repent. 

That is the only way that we can be holy as God is holy.  Because, without Christ, we can never be seen as sinless.  Without Christ, the best we could do is hope we hadn't forgotten any of the rules, and had covered all of our bases, before we approached God. 

You see with the God of the Bible and Christianity, there is no such thing as "good enough" or a balanced scale.  You can never attain a state where the scales tip heavier on the side of your good works because as long as there is even a speck of dirt on the other side, you are all bad and deserving of an eternity in Hell, because a Holy and Righteous and Just God cannot and will not wink at sin.  The wages of sin is death.  Plain and simple.  That is the holiness of God.  And that is why we need Christ.  Because of His sacrifice on the cross at Calvary, the debt of our sins has been paid.  If we accept Christ, God will look at us and only see His Son standing in our place, saying: "His sins are paid for.  I took care of that bill.  He can come in."  Without Christ as our vouchsafe, we would all be doomed to Hell. 

But as harsh as that sounds, it was God who provided that way out.  God, who cared so deeply about His creation that He said, "He is not willing that any should perish" and that "whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  God must punish sin because He is Holy, but He doesn't want to because He loves His creation. 

PRAY:  This section challenges us to (maybe) ask God to help us increase our belief that He is holy, and then to ask Him to show us how this truth interacts with our first reaction. 

LIVE:  "Use this silent time to rest in the presence of the holy God, who has just made himself known to you.  Let go of your own words and let yourself enjoy the experience."

And with that, I will leave you.  Take some time and let the weight of what the word HOLY means to you.  See what God wants to show you.  Then, if you'd like, drop on back by and share, if you'd like.  I'd love to hear from you.

Good night,

Patty

DAY SIX: GOD REVEALS HIMSELF

The title I used this time is actually the title of today's devotional as it appears in the book.  Hmm…I wonder…Coincidence?  I think not.

READ:  Today's passage is Exodus 33:21-34:7.  This is the story of God shielding Moses from His Glory while they were on the mountain, and includes Moses cutting the stone tablets upon which the Ten Commandments would be inscribed.

What struck me today?  Verses 21-23.  Here are those verses:

     God said, "Look, here is a place right beside me.  Put yourself on this rock.  When my Glory

     passes by, I'll put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I've passed by. 

     Then I'll take my hand away and you'll see my back.  But you won't see my face."

THINK:  This part of the devotional encourages us to listen for a word or phrase that especially impresses us and let it interact with our thoughts, feelings and desires.  And this is where I find myself parking today.

I think about my own situation, what my family is going through, and I have often wondered where God is.  This passage makes me think about it a little differently.  What if God has not abandoned us?  What if His Glory is passing by us and He has hidden us in the cleft of the rock and placed His Hand over the opening so we cannot see what's going on outside?  Or…what if, He has passed by, but has turned His back so we cannot look full upon His face and I am merely mistaking that for Him turning His back on us?  I realize that last bit might sound a bit like mincing words, but I'm hoping you hear the spirit of the words.

PRAY:  "Deeply ponder the quality of God that the word or phrase portrays.  Share with Him what's striking to you about this aspect of his character.  Explore what makes you desirous of someone with this trait."

Reading this passage, I envision a God who cares so deeply about His people that He desires to shield them from anything that might overpower them.  And the Glory of God would certainly overpower me.  These verses make me want to try to look at my current situation in a different light.  Maybe I can't see what He's doing because it is too powerful to fathom.  Maybe He's shielding me from being able to see or understand because I wouldn't comprehend anyway.  Maybe I would just get in the way.  But, maybe, and possibly, most likely, He just wants to develop my faith a little more, asking me to trust that while He has me hidden, or while His back is to me, I can believe that what is on the other side of Him is going to be something that is indeed good for me.

LIVE:  Here we are asked to envision the ways God is present to us right now, the posture He has and what expression is on His face.  We are also asked to listen to His tone of voice, if He is speaking to us.  And we are challenged to ask Him to enhance, or correct, this picture of Him, through the passages we read and through our experiences.

To say that I have been seeing God through the glass darkly (not dimly, but darkly) would be an understatement.  I've not been trying to see much of Him at all.  I think that's what made these last two weeks so powerful.  Not only has He revealed Himself to me, but He has done so in such a way that He has also unveiled much of my own character for me to see myself more clearly, as well.  I've discovered that I cannot have an accurate picture of myself without an accurate picture of my sin.  And I cannot have an accurate picture of God without spending time in His Word.  And when I spend time in God's Word and get a more accurate picture of Him, my sins come into full, crystal-clear resolution, and I am left seeing that the idea that I could make it in this world on my own steam is foolishness.

So, for now, I am going to keep plugging away, spending time in the Word by reading this devotional, and sharing it with you, trusting that God will continue to meet me here.  My prayer is that He will continue to crystalize my image of Him so that I can relate to Him from my proper place:  worthy of dying for and unable to make it through this life without His help and provision and protection. 

Abba Father,

Thank you for answering my prayer and for meeting me right where I was, and how I was, these past two weeks.  And thank You for revealing Yourself to me.  Please help me not to forget about this time and how sweet it was when I return home, and give me the courage to tell others about it IN PERSON so that they, too, can see that You dearly long to show Yourself to them as well.

In Jesus' Holy Name, I pray, Amen.