09/16/2018
You have accepted Jesus as your savior, and you have separated yourself from the sinful life you once led, but are you righteous? More than that, are you Holy? When asked, many Christians will define holy as being dedicated, or separated, to God, but this is only part of the equation... it also means for His use, righteous, and divine. These are not qualities that are part of separation, but these are the things that fill us once we have been set apart, emptied, and purified for His use.
“But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people.
And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.”
Leviticus 20:24, 26 KJV
Being Holy is not something we might or might not achieve... it is an absolute quality of the believer. God doesn’t tell us we might be holy, He tells us we “shall be” holy unto Him. It is an order, an expectation.
“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:15-16 KJV
The idea of God dwelling within us is not obscure, new, or singular within scripture. This filling of the vessel (our bodies, and selves) with God and His divine nature is written more than once. Let’s look at it in the Old Testament where He says separate yourself and I will live with you forever, and He says this repeatedly...
“Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.”
Ezekiel 43:9 KJV
We often entertain the thought of God “dwelling in the midst” as if He were a man who would wander about in a crowd, but to limit God in this way is absurd. God doesn’t walk around us and brush up against us every now and then... when we are Holy He dwells in us. Dwelling in their midst is further defined in the New Testament so let’s read it again there...
“And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”
1 John 3:24 KJV
And also...
“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”
Colossians 3:2-3 KJV
Holy, it is more than just walking away from our old sinful life, and it is more than emptying and purifying ourselves. Holiness includes allowing God to refill us with Himself, and receiving His character... it is deeding our house over to Him, cleaning and making it ready for Him, helping Him to move in, and then obeying and serving Him as His loving child.
Where are we in our personal journey towards holiness? Have we separated ourselves? Have we become clean and pure in the blood of Christ? Have we emptied our vessel of all the old temptations? Have we opened the door of our house and invited Jesus and God to dwell with us as Lord and Savior? Are we obeying Him and doing His will? Are we loving Him with all our heart soul and mind? Have we become our father’s child in Word, deed, and image? Have we reached that place in faith where people look at us and see the family resemblance we share with Jesus, and God? If so... then that is holy.
Being holy is something God says we should be, and it is more than just beginning the walk of faith by separation from the world... it is the evidence of Him within us; the aroma of the spices that waft from our windows, the rising smoke of incense from the altar of our heart. It is all of the things that one sees and senses when they stand before a House and know it is inhabited. It is God residing with His Son Jesus within us. So, are we Holy?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your Son Jesus Christ, and for your assurance that you abide in Him, and He in you, and that by this fact I know that even as Jesus abides in me, so you abide in me. Thank you Holy Father for leading me to share in your holiness through Jesus. I praise and thank you for redeeming, and completing me. I thank you for returning me to that place Adam once occupied when he walked with you in the Garden. Help me Father as I make this journey towards holiness. Help me to know and understand your character and realize that it is a part of me. Lift me up when I fall, and set me back on the path of righteousness when I stray. Let nothing I do or say disappoint you, or cause you to grieve. It is my heart’s greatest desire to be with you, and to reflect your image to all those around me... help me Father. Bless me as your child, and hear my praise as one who adores you. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my Lord, my Master, my God.
“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:19-22 KJV
Rich Forbes