And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”
Memory of the Month: 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Today's reading: EXODUS 23-24 MATTHEW 20:1-16
Holy
Let's try to define, as it pertains to God, the word Holy:
God's intense state of being righteous, clean, purifying, perfect in every way.
Words sort of fall short, don't they?
So what does God's Holiness have to do with our daily lives as we seek His kingdom and His righteousness? What can our understanding or trying to understand God's Holiness do for our relationship with Him? How can our better understanding of God's Holiness help us through the darkest times in our lives?
In Exodus 23 we read God's rules the people are to live by. In Exodus 24, we read of God's calling the people to Mt. Sinai. It says that God's presence was like a consuming fire at the top of the mountain. God's Holiness is a consuming fire. We hear this echoed in Hebrews 12:28&29:
28 Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. 29“ For our God is a consuming fire.”
In Isaiah 6, Isaiah saw God. He felt as though he was doomed because he had seen God-just because he had seen God. Isaiah was afraid and said, "Woe is me...I am lost...I have seen the King."
One of the flying creatures there flew and got a hot coal from the alter fire and seared the lips of Isaiah and said to him:
"...this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”(your sin has been burned away-taken away-covered-no longer an issue.)
Hebrews 12:29 says that God is a consuming fire. Are you seeing any connection? Isaiah's sin was burned away(symbolically in a vision) by an encounter with our God who is a consuming fire.
Then why do we hear in Old and New testaments to seek God?
Psalm 27:8 You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek”
Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Mt 6:33).
Why seek God's righteousness? The more we seek Him, the more of His righteousness we understand. With this statement, one might assume if we only learn more by seeking Him then why am I trying to explain it here?
This is my encouragement to you. We know so little of God's real righteousness from what we see around us even in the lives of the great saints around us and from history-from even the words of the Bible. Yes, God's word is Holy and without error-but-Isaiah did not read of God's glory. That would not be recorded. Isaiah experienced God's glory first hand-even while he felt dirty and sinful.
The message to us is this: No matter how low you are-No matter if you have been in church for decades and said and done all the 'right' things but deep down feel guilt for ignoring God's reality-nothing matters but the Holiness of God. This means that we approach His throne with humility aware of how little we really know of His holiness and confess how guilty we feel for our sins and God will do the same for us as Isaiah.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
This is never as easy as that, I know. It takes tearing away our pride and stripping naked(consciously showing all your sin and guilt) in front of our Holy God. And if you don't do it daily, if this is not your habit, the human mind finds this extremely difficult.
That is why Jesus said in Matthew 19, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
We must empty ourselves of all the 'adult' reservations-all the baggage-go to the Lord as little children.
I took something from a store at home when I was little. When I finally told the truth, the tears came as I confessed and the load was lifted. Now, I still felt guilt for what I had done, but I was forgiven. My Dad made me go back to the store and return the item and apologize. The store owner thanked me for being truthful-but I still felt the shame. The shame came from the fact that everyone still knew what I did and there would always be the question of trusting me.
Our Holy, Holy God forgives and then says "I will remember their sins no more", Hebrews 8:12. God forgives us and then, without a question of trust, says as He said to Isaiah, "Who will go for us?"
This is the time where our response is anything but perfect unless we say, "Here I am-send me". Then God says, "Go tell the people..."
How well do you understand God's holiness? As well as you want to. You understand as much as you have sought to find out. For some that is a great deal and is glorious. But for the rest of us, we have depended on our own understanding or our 'inner' strength or the teachings of some great teacher.
But-the Holiness of God is as personal as it gets. Yes, we sing together of it at church. We teach of it. We read of it together. But Isaiah was alone. Moses was alone on top of the mountain for 40 days. Jesus went off to lonely places to pray-alone. The question is, "How well do you know God alone-by yourself-no one else around?" Here and only here will you discover the real Holiness of God and what God wants it to mean to you.
God is waiting patiently. The word for us is , "DON'T WAIT". Seek His kingdom and His righteousness...DON'T WAIT".
Do it now...
...because He loves us...
Father in Heaven,
Forgive me for not seeking You alone. Have mercy on me. Fire of God, consume me.
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