“Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.’”—Leviticus 19:2
There are many ways in which we cannot be like God; we’ll never possess attributes such as omniscience, omnipotence, or omnipresence. But one way in which we can, in a measure, be like Him, is in the matter of holiness. “You shall be holy, for I am holy” is a scriptural refrain.
In a word, we are to be imitators of God in matters of holiness. Holiness should be the goal of …
“Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.’ Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”—Exodus 20:18-20
Is it true that the fear of God is simply an Old …
“Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.”—Exodus 14:19-20
Think of the drama! The Israelites, two million strong, were trekking toward the wilderness when they found themselves trapped.
“I do not ask that you take them out of world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in the truth.”—John 17:15-17, 19
Many parents who bolt the door of their house at night, nevertheless allow thieves to come in to their homes and steal their children’s hearts. The body of the child is there but the heart is being stolen …
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me… By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”—John 15:4, 8, 9
We should be shocked to realize that Jesus says that if we are not fruit-bearing Christians, we are really of no use whatever to God! Even more sobering, He says that if anyone does …
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”—John 14:27
Keep in mind the context of Jesus’ promise. He had just told His disciples that He was about to go away, leaving them on this earth while He returned to “His Father.” The disciples were devastated and confused. After all, as long as Jesus was with them, He would take care of every situation as it developed: He could quiet storms, provide instant food for multitudes, …
Often when we pray for others, we either fall into meaningless repetition, or submit a grocery list of requests to God, hoping that He’ll respond to our wishes and desires. When we’ve finished praying, we end up being unsatisfied, fretful, and uncertain as to whether or not we can trust God with the assignment we’ve just given Him.
My personal experience has been that such “need-based” praying is often boring, filled with uncertainty, and reduces prayer to a meaningless exercise.
What if we changed our perspective on prayer and began to pray Scripture? What if we echoed back to God …
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”—John 12:24-25
When Satan rebelled, there were now two “wills” in the universe. From now on, one of God’s creatures would oppose the Almighty—unsuccessfully, to be sure—in all that he would do. And a drop of Satan’s rebellion has fallen on every human heart. If we expect to be mightily used by …
Imagine what this short prayer means! The children of Israel were delayed in their journey because of idolatry. While Moses was on Mount Sinai, they made a golden calf to have a “god” like the other nations. God was very angry, and Moses—bless him—threw down the stone tablets that were written by the finger of God. After confronting the people about their sin, the perpetrators were put to death.
Moving forward, God made this suggestion: that His Presence—the fire during the night and the cloud during the day—would no longer accompany them, lest the …
“Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today…The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” —Exodus 14:13,14
Pharaoh has finally let the Israelites leave Egypt after the firstborn sons of that nation were put to death by the Angel of the Lord. Now that the waters of the Red Sea have parted for them to walk though, they see the chariots of Egypt pursuing them, intending to capture them to return them to slavery, or worse. The Israelites are terrified and God gives Moses …
