Holiness is an attribute of God that he desires that we emulate. In Leviticus 11:44 “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.” We can only do this through His power. In the Old Testament, Moses was instructed by God on Mt. Sinai to have the Israelites observe the Sabbaths and worship Him regularly. In Exodus 
31:13 God tells Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.” God alone has the power to make us holy. During Old Testament times they performed sacrifices and brought offerings that all pointed to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus was the great High Priest and brought the need for sacrifices to an end. Hebrew 7:27 “Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.” Our pathway to righteous and holy living is through Jesus alone.
So how does one ‘be holy’? When we believe in Jesus we need to continually seek His forgiveness for the sins we commit daily. 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.” Coming to God often to seek His cleansing is very important. Then we need to fill ourselves and our thoughts with good things. Philippians 4:8 “ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” We need to stay in God’s Word, Psalm 119:9 and 11 “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.” “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Fellowship with believers, worship and serving others are all ways to immerse oneself in activities that point towards personal holiness in Jesus. Lastly, 1 Thessalonians 5:22 admonishes us “ Abstain from every form of evil.”
Being holy is a life-time growing process that can only be achieved through faith in Jesus. It is not an option as God commands us “be holy because I am holy.” We can take heart in Jesus’ words, “But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26
Striving to be more and more like Jesus,
Linda
asked where the sacrifice was going to come from and Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” Genesis 22:8 Then they proceeded up the mountain together. This story has always troubled me as God had asked Abraham to do the unthinkable, sacrifice his only son. It is a picture to us of the anguish God must have felt in sending Jesus to die for our sins. He provides for us the ultimate sacrifice to remove our sins forever through His only Son’s sacrifice in Jesus’ death on the cross. I have thought that Abraham knew and trusted God’s promise of becoming a great nation, children as numerous as the stars and blessing the whole world which God had given him in Genesis 12 and 15. He trusted God to provide whatever was needed and even to the point of resurrecting Isaac if needed. Genesis 22:13-14 tells us what happened. “
in God’s hands. “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7
questioned who God is, His name. Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 
We too can be assured by the great I AM
appearance, but the 
Our challenge today is seek His transformation for our lives from a heart filled with obedience and love and then to seek to see others as God does. We are limited and can’t see the heart of others but we can learn not to judge by outward appearances and seek to reach out to others with love and kindness. We can ask God for insight and wisdom in dealing with others.
Prayer
I love this verse in 1 Peter because it holds me accountable and tells me where my commitment needs to be. God wants us committed to Him, loving and acting in our world with words of Hope for unbelievers and words of encouragement in that Hope for fellow believers. Who will you tell today about the HOPE you have in Jesus?
Proverbs 3:5-6 is a well quoted verse that speaks of God’s power to lead and guide if we will trust and acknowledge Him in our lives. “
Psalm 34:18 “
open heart. Seek Him today and tell Him about your broken heart, your crushed spirit or your desire to be guided by Him. God can and will answer your prayers, just as He promised.
The psalmist reveals how he knows and sees God in this Qoph portion of Psalm 119:145-152. He is struggling with persecution and fears for his life, but he stands on the truth of God’s Word and character. Read this section from the Message and let it speak to you. 
The psalmist was confident God would answer as he laid his heart open before Him? Will you present your difficulties and fears before God today and call upon Him for help? He will answer and bring you peace and comfort as you cling to the truth of who God is and what He can do. God is totally trustworthy and keeps His promises.
that the Word will lead him to victory. He claims God as his guide and redeemer! He refers to being ransomed or bought back from evil. This is what Christ did for us. In Paul’s letter to Titus he puts it this way, “He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.” Titus 2:14
rejection of the truth of God’s Word and His ways bring me to tears? Do I sorry for those that do not believe or those that profess to believe and do not live by the standards God desires? If I am brought to tears, then my response should be one of love and restoration not condemnation. Pray, pray, pray for the light of God to be made known to them. God has ways of reaching those who we consider unreachable. Look what He did to confront Saul, the chief persecutor of early Christians. He brought him to his knees and to faith in Jesus. Read his miraculous story in Acts 9. Lift your tears up to God and ask Him to work on the person who you are concerned about, to bring them to faith and change their life. Many times I have heard stories of people praying for individuals for years and years before they came to faith. God calls us to be persistent and filled with hope at their redemption. 
How do you recover your resolve when you struggle with hard people, difficult circumstances or your own unbelief? The psalmist resolved to trust God and stand on His Word. Even when we do not understand we can make up our minds to believe God for who He is and what He says. This will give us hope and bring us through those hard times. Resolve today to stand with God and believe His Word. He always proves Himself faithful.
Fearless Living 