Daily Devotional For Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Good morning Southsiders. In Leviticus 19:2, God instructed Moses to say this to the Hebrews, “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.’” (NASB). The Hebrew word translated as “holy” is [קָדוֹשׁ, qedoshim]. It means “to be set apart.” It is interesting that in Leviticus 19, 16 times God says, “I am the Lord your God.” It was God’s way of reminding His people of the covenant relationship they had with Him and He with them. The Apostle Peter quotes Leviticus 19:2 in 1 Peter 1:14-16. Peter was reminding his readers and us today that as Christians we have entered into a covenant with God to be holy, as He is holy. The Greek New Testament word Peter uses is [ ἅγιοςm hagios]. This word carries the same meaning as its Hebrew equivalent.
So, what does this mean for us today? Since the Lord was holy, the people of God are charged to imitate his holiness. Day-to-day choices should reflect the essence of who the Lord is and His claim on us as His unique special possession. Israel’s holiness was to be a witness to the cultures and countries around them.
Our holiness as disciples of Jesus Christ through the sanctifying presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives as Christians and injunction with the church collectively, we are enabled to devote ourselves to the Lord and to serve others and be a witness also. Our holiness, our choosing to be separate, serves as a witness and testimony to the world. New Testament scholar Kenneth Matthews tells this story:
“A rare coin dealer, John Feigenbaum, who purchased a rare 1894 dime for 1.9 million dollars in 2007. In transporting it by plane cross-country from Oakland to New York City, he carried the rare coin in his pants pocket. After he wondered if the dime might fall out of his pocket, he stuck it in his briefcase. Repeatedly through the flight, he checked the briefcase to ensure that the coin had not vanished. We, too, have a precious possession that travels with us. We must be aware of and obedient to the precious gift of the Holy Spirit, purchased by a price far greater than gold and silver—the blood of the Savior. We show our allegiance to our Master when we commit to a holy lifestyle, living daily as Christians who are worthy of the Lord. For the Apostle Paul the Christian life meant imitating God and walking in the love of Christ. Self-sacrifice and the absence of self-indulgence show us to be worthy of membership in the family of God” (Source: Kenneth Matthews, Preach The Word Bible Commentary, “Leviticus,” p. 169).
Paul reminds us of this in Ephesians 4:1 and Ephesians 5:1-14. When we are holy, we personify two major characteristics: (1) First, we worship the Lord. See Leviticus 19:3-8. This deals with the nature of parental authority, “revere [your] father and mother.” This is a commandment that reflects a person’s loyalty to God. Parents have received delegated authority from the Lord, and when we rebel against their moral instruction, we rebel against the authority that the Lord has over the family. When we are loyal to God, we will be respectful of our parents’ teaching. The flip side of this is that parents must be ever-conscientious in their instruction and modeling of godly living, since they shoulder the responsibility that God has committed to them.
A faithful member in a household fulfills God's demands for worship. See Leviticus 19:3-5. The peace offering in Israel brought both one’s personal worship with community worship. The peace offering brought both together since it was an offering by an individual who rejoiced at God’s goodness and who invited the community to participate in the fellowship meal. Christian living, too, means proper conduct in our worship, private personal worship and public corporate worship.
Here is an observation I have made through the years. Some parents are shocked to learn from their children’s daycare or children’s school that their little darlings are actually “monsters” or “aliens” in a child’s body. The parents have difficulty believing this because when they pick up their children, they are not any different. Why? Children know when they are in the presence of parental authority. Their children are more obedient and respectful of a parent or parents who command authority and exercise discipline.
Growing up, I would have never been disrespectful or disobedient at school because I knew I would get it at school and then really get it when I got home from my parents. So, this brings me to (2) the second major characteristic of worship – obedience to the Lord. We see this in Leviticus 19:19-32. This means as Christians, our lives must be counter-culture, opposite of lost and pagan people. If you notice in the Leviticus 19:19-32 passage, God told the Hebrews to be different from the cultures around them in several ways:
- First, there can be no mixing of one’s faith with pagan ideology and beliefs. We see today a mixing of beliefs so that we are accepted and loved.
- Second, there has to be repentance and compensation when one sinned against another. To simply say, “I am sorry,” was not enough. You have to correct the wrong or pay financially to fix the wrong.
- Third, we are to give our talent, skills, abilities, income and lives to the Lord because they are from Him and are His anyway.
- Fourth, day-to-day choices should reflect who the Lord is to us and His claim on us as His children. As His children, we are not just to be different to be different. We are different due to our new birth. The old us is gone and there is a new us. Our moral compass needs to come from Scripture, not society.
Assignment: This week ask the people who know you well – your family and your closest godly friends – if your attitudes, actions, and words are holy and do they see that you live in the reality that God knows all, sees all, and rewards and/or disciplines based on what He knows. Ask them if they consider that you are holy by God’s definition, not their definition.
Scripture To Meditate On: 1 Peter 1:15-17, “But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; (16) because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (17) If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, please help me be holy as You are holy. Please forgive me when I act and think as if You my heavenly Father do not know my thoughts and actions. Lord, I do not want to disgrace Your name and character and cause someone to stumble or reject Christ because of me, especially my family. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly