Bible League: Living His Word You must be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.We live in God's world, not our world. We live on His terms, not our terms. We must do what He wants, not what we want. What does God want? He wants us to be holy. That is, He wants us to live life the way He intended it to be lived. He wants us to live life in accordance with His original intent for us at the creation and in accordance with His ongoing providential intent for us. Why does God want us to be holy? He wants us to be holy because we have been created in His image and He is holy. God is not holy, however, because He meets a standard of goodness above Him to which He must be obedient, but because He by His creative and providential word is the very origin and determination of goodness. Given that He is God, it is His prerogative to determine what is good. God's command that we should be holy as He is holy is not a command that was limited to Old Testament times. It is a command for the ages. Jesus said, "But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). And the Apostle Peter said, "But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, "You must be holy because I am holy" (I Peter 1:15-16). There is a problem, however. The problem is that we can't be holy. We are fallen creatures that are incapable of meeting the standard, incapable of obeying the command. Isaiah said, "We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind" (Isaiah 64:6). If being holy depended on us, we would die in our sins (John 8:24). God, praise His name forever, has a solution to the problem. He has provided a way for us to meet the standard. God made Jesus Christ, who never sinned and was perfectly holy, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right and holy before God through Him (II Corinthians 5:21). In Christ, we can begin to live life the way God intended from the beginning. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJeremiah 14, 15, 16 Jeremiah 14 -- Drought, Famine, False Prophets, Prayer for Mercy NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Jeremiah 15 -- Rejection and Judgments to Come; Jeremiah's Prayer NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Jeremiah 16 -- Disaster and Restoration Foretold NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 1 Timothy 5 1 Timothy 5 -- Honoring Widows and Elders NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free. Insight Paul's instructions encourage responsibility and integrity on the job. Christian employees should do their jobs as if Jesus Christ were their supervisor. And Christian employers should treat their employees fairly and with respect. Challenge Can you be trusted to do your best, even when the boss is not around? Do you work hard and with enthusiasm? Do you treat your employees as people, not machines? Remember that no matter whom you work for, and no matter who works for you, the One you ultimately should want to please is your Father in heaven. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Ruth 2:3 She gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.Her hap was. Yes, it seemed nothing but an accident, but how divinely was it overruled! Ruth had gone forth with her mother's blessing, under the care of her mother's God, to humble but honorable toil, and the providence of God was guiding her every step. Little did she know that amid the sheaves she would find a husband, that he should make her the joint owner of all those broad acres, and that she a poor foreigner should become one of the progenitors of the great Messiah. God is very good to those who trust in him, and often surprises them with unlooked for blessings. Little do we know what may happen to us to-morrow, but this sweet fact may cheer us, that no good thing shall be withheld. Chance is banished from the faith of Christians, for they see the hand of God in everything. The trivial events of today or to-morrow may involve consequences of the highest importance. O Lord, deal as graciously with thy servants as thou didst with Ruth. How blessed would it be, if, in wandering in the field of meditation tonight, our hap should be to light upon the place where our next Kinsman will reveal himself to us! O Spirit of God, guide us to him. We would sooner glean in his field than bear away the whole harvest from any other. O for the footsteps of his flock, which may conduct us to the green pastures where he dwells! This is a weary world when Jesus is away--we could better do without sun and moon than without him--but how divinely fair all things become in the glory of his presence! Our souls know the virtue which dwells in Jesus, and can never be content without him. We will wait in prayer this night until our hap shall be to light on a part of the field belonging to Jesus wherein he will manifest himself to us. Daily Light on the Daily Path 1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 2 Peter 3:7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. Psalm 46:1-3 For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to Alamoth. A Song. God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. • Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; • Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. Matthew 24:6 "You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 Peter 3:13,14 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. • Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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