Ezekiel 42:1-43:27; James 5:1-20; Psalm 119:1-16; Proverbs 28:6-7
God is Holy! It is as much a part of His nature as love. God cannot stop being Holy; if He did, He would stop being God. The same is true for God’s love. It is part of who He is. If you take love away He would no longer be God.
Because He is Holy (pure, without blemish, perfect), God can only have Holy things and Holy people in His presence. The way this was accomplished in the Old Testament was through cleansing rituals and sacrifices. Performing the ceremonies the way God instructed enabled one to enter God’s presence.
But, once Jesus came and died for our sins, we no longer need those rituals to make us worthy to be in God’s presence. Jesus’ blood does that. This is what is called Righteousness— being made right with God. God makes us righteous so we have nothing to do with it except believing. However, God still expects absolute holiness from us!
Are you really striving to give God the best in your actions and words? Is it your heart’s desire to please God in your behavior? If we give God our best efforts then when we miss the mark, His Blood cleanses us. Let us not live based on the low moral code of our culture. Since our God is holy, let’s be an example of right living which matches our right standing with God. In this way, God’s presence will remain with us all the time.
Tomorrow’s Reading: Ezekiel 44:1-45:12; 1 Peter 1:1-12; Psalm 119:17-32; Proverbs 28:8-10