Holy: January 28, 2011

TODAYS WORD FOR FRIDAY JANUARY 28, 2011

HOLY

DEFINITION:

Sacred; characteristic of God; spiritually pure; devoted to the service of God; religious; devout.

SCRIPTURE:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” Isaiah 6:3

Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His Holy Hill; for the Lord our God is holy. Psalm 99:9

It is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” I Peter 1:16

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

When people hear about something out of the ordinary, we often hear them say, “Holy smoke,” or “Holy moley,” or “Holy mackerel” to indicate that they are surprised to hear it. We also have often heard the term, “holy terror” to describe an out of control child. When these expressions are used there is really nothing “holy” about what is being referred to as “holy.”

Only God is truly holy. God is perfect in goodness and righteousness and without sin. He alone is worthy of our worship and devotion. As the psalmist says, we exalt the Lord our God and worship Him because He is our God and He is holy. In reality the word “holy” should only be used to refer to God Himself and His Holy Word and to those things that relate to God.

The word “HOLY” also means to be dedicated or set apart. When applying the word “HOLY” to places, persons or things it means being set apart for the service of God and thus sacred and removed from the realm of ordinary. In the Old Testament everything associated with worship is set apart in this manner, and thus is considered sacred or “holy.” “HOLY” is God’s realm and God is to be honored supremely so everything associated with “HOLY” was to be treated with the utmost of respect and care.

We no longer, since the death and resurrection of Jesus, worship God with the Old Testament rituals. The fact that these Old Testament rituals were regarded as “HOLY” because of their association with God should be a healthy reminder to us today of the holiness of God and that we must show Him our utmost respect.

Today we as believers who are in Christ are called to His royal priesthood and serve as His priests to carry on His ministry. In the verse above from I Peter we are reminded to be “HOLY” in all of our words and deeds because God is “HOLY.”

So how do we who are unholy become holy? The believer in Jesus Christ becomes holy by being obedient to all of God’s commandments and following Christ’s example. As believers it is necessary to separate ourselves from the evil ways of the world. We should “stand out in the crowd’ because our life exemplifies Christ-like qualities. As believers we are set apart from this world and should be totally dedicated to serving our “HOLY” God.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 4:4.

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice.

PRAYER:
Help me to be aware daily that I serve a “HOLY” God. Keep me faithful so that I set myself apart from the things of this world so that I can serve You in all that I do. Help me to be obedient to Your commandments and to live my life according to Christ’s example.