"BE HOLY BECAUSE I AM HOLY" - Leviticus 11:44

Seems like an impossible goal, right?  I worked in a church office once and (at least) one week didn't do a very good job proofreading and the Sunday bulletin announced the wonderful hymn as "Holy, Holly, Holy"...which we all knew wasn't the case at all!  Moses was receiving instructions from the Lord - as they were in the desert after the exodus - on clean and unclean foods.  These instructions esstablished the rules of maintaining a holy relationship with God - which was God's plan then and now.  My Quest Bible commentary says: "the law provides the standard...grace cancels our sin and provides the power to measure up to that standard".  Amos 7:7-8 calls His standard a "plumb line".  Henry Blackaby in FRESH ENCOUNTER says "Scripture serves as our plumb line for how His people should live.".

Apart from a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and the power of His Holy Spirit, we cannot attain holiness.  If we know Him and His word, then we are on the way.  To be "holy" is to be set apart, different from the world.  So what are some of the things in His word that instruct us in what holy living is:

-  Love the Lord with all your heart - Deu. 6:5
-  Forgive - Matt. 6:14
-  Spend time with the Lord and His word - John 15:5
-  Obey His commands - 2 John 4-6
-  Love others  - John 13:35
-  Tell the truth - Lev. 19:11
-  Encourage others - Eph 5:29
-  Serve others - Eph. 6:7-8
-  Give generously - 2 Cor. 9:11
-  Pray - 2 Chronicles 7:14

I recommend Rhonda Kelley's "A Women's Guide to Personal Holiness" (amazon.com).  In it she says:

"Holiness is not a status to be

achieved, but a life goal to be pursued."

Pursuing holiness will make us different/set apart and ready for the Lord's pleasure and service.  Oswald Chambers says:  "Some of us are like the Dead Sea, always taking in but never giving out".  Is there evidence in your life (and mine) of holiness?  If not maybe there are some habits that need to die.  Allow the Holy Spirit to develop some new attitudes more in line with God's holiness.  I'll be praying for you.

For further study:  Isaiah 6:3, John 7:38, Romans 12:1, Ephesians 4:22-24, Ephesians 5:3,  Colossians 3:12, 1 Thess. 4:7, 2 Tim. 1:9, Hebrews 12:10-14, 1 Peter 1:15-16, Rev. 4:8

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word..

Love,

Holly