My eyes heavy, I read over the same line again and again trying to concentrate. In frustration I repeated to myself, “Just one more chapter. Read, pay attention, stay awake.”
Reading through Leviticus felt more like reading a boring history textbook than digging into God’s word. I knew deep down that this was an important part of God’s living word, but I felt like the heart of God was buried beneath 27 chapters of not-so-exciting words like “procedures” and “instructions” that seemed to have no practical application to my faith today. Honestly, I skimmed through the chapter, checked off my reading plan, and let the seemingly boring words of Leviticus escape my mind. Until a couple of years later . . .
With a group of encouraging friends, I committed to read through my Bible over the course of a year.
As I approached the chapter of Leviticus, I heard God whisper to me to not just read His words, not just skim through the chapter, but to listen to His voice. I read with open eyes and an open heart. Sprinkled into the long list of laws, another word caught my attention: holy. The word appears numerous times through the pages of Leviticus. This word holy reaches its climatic emphasis in Leviticus 20:26 . . .
You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own.
Through these words, I realized that God wasn’t just asking this of the Israelites, but he extends this same calling to you and me today.
The word holy here can be translated as “separate from human infirmity, impurity, and sin.” God’s chosen people were entering a culture of sin, but God was calling them to be different. Can we relate? We are surrounded by a world of darkness. However, through Christ, God has chosen each and everyone of us to be His, just like He chose the Israelites so long ago.
Still, He beckons us with the same call: to be holy. This plea for holiness sets the stage for the rest of the Bible as God calls us not to conform, but to be transformed {see Romans 12:1-2}, to be salt and light {see Matthew 5:13-16}, and to be children of the light {see Ephesians 5:8}.
God’s vision for our life looks very different than what this world will try to offer us.
The world will shout loudly; God will whisper quietly.
The world gives us false hope; the Word offers truth.
The world asks us to fit in; Jesus calls us to be set apart.
Holiness is a choice.
God has chosen us and He has set us apart for His glory, all we must do is choose Him. Holiness is about so much more than a list of what we can and cannot do; holiness is about putting God’s will above our selfish desires and ways of this world. Holiness is being in this world, but not of it {see John 17:16}.
We don’t choose holiness for the sake of pride or to judge the world around us. We don’t become holy to earn God’s favor; He has already chosen us in the midst of our sin. It’s not about us at all, it’s about Christ. If our mission is driven by pride or by self-righteousness, we simply become modern-day Pharisees. Instead, we choose holiness for God’s glory, living as a loving light in this dark world as we share the compassion and grace that God has shown to us with others.
This call to holiness may seem impossible, but the disciples once asked, “Then who in the world can be saved?”
And Jesus gently responded with grace-laced eloquence:
Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God, everything is possible. {Matthew 19:26}
There is comfort in these words, we don’t have to strive anymore because God has already chosen us in the midst of our sin. Just like God tells His people in Leviticus, we are God’s very own. Rest in the assurance that you are His. Sisters, let’s run to the feet of Jesus. He has already chosen us to be set us apart as holy.
Will we choose Him?
Leave a Comment
Bev @ Walking Well With God says
Emma,
Such wonderfully insightful words from such a young follower. Yes, God calls us to be set apart. One of my favorite phrases is that I feel like a salmon swimming upstream (when all the world is going the other direction). If sometimes we feel weird or strangely out of place…that’s okay. This world is NOT our home and we will never truly “fit in” until we get there. I used to be intimidated by the call to be “holy”. “But Lord,” I would say, “there’s no way I can be holy.” On my own…yes, there is no way that I can be holy. All the striving in the world will not accomplish this. Once again, God brings me/us back to the truth that without Christ I can do NOTHING. It’s not 80% me and 20% Christ to make up the rest…it’s 100% Christ in me that makes me holy. And like you so beautifully said, that happens when we give ourselves over totally to Him and put His will above our own. Thoroughly enjoyed your post!
Blessings,
Bev
Beth Williams says
Bev,
Love the idea of being a salmon swimming upstream when the world is going the other direction. I feel the same way. Often times I ask God when are you coming back? This world is like Sodom and Gomorrah!
Blessings 🙂
Bev @ Walking Well With God says
Beth,
Guess till He comes again…we’ll both just keep swimming upstream together 🙂
Bev xx
Robyn Dykstra says
Bev,
I look forward to your comments almost as much at the blog posts. 🙂 Thank you always for your first words of encouragement to the writers.
Bev @ Walking Well With God says
Robyn,
Thanks for the encouragement!! I really hope I don’t detract from the wonderful posts…I just know how much the (in)courage writers have helped me through my trials over the past several years. The least I can do is show my appreciation…it’s been fun getting to know other readers like you 🙂
Blessings,
Bev
An says
Thank you, Bev, for this. So needed it today-some days its hard to go upstream 😛 But God is so good and gives all that we need to move 🙂
Bev @ Walking Well With God says
An,
Some days, swimming upstream is downright near impossible. Yes, thanks for God’s momentum pushing me forward even if it’s one inch upstream at a time. 🙂
Bev xx
Emma Morris says
Thank you Bev! Great points, I agree! I enjoyed reading all of your comments and encouragement 🙂
toyin says
I confess I have found the chapters of Leviticus boring but with this post, I am inspired to dig into it with a different mindset and watch God speak to me also through the pages. Holiness indeed is a call not to conform to this world and how we so need to be reminded of this truth over and over again. Thanks!
Emma Morris says
Toyin,
God is continuing to remind me of this lesson again and again. It’s always exciting to read the Bible with a new perspective. Prayers as you dig into Leviticus. Thank you!
Gretchen Matthews says
I loved this! It’s right along the lines of what I’ve been thinking about for days – how to live His mission for me in a world which would have me do anything but that. Beautiful writing. Thank you.
Emma Morris says
Thank you Gretchen!
Michele Morin says
This emphasis on choice is so wise and “real life.” And I’m finding that it’s easier to say, “I want to be holy,” than it is to say “I will hold my tongue” or “I will say no to over-eating.” Big picture holiness is all well and good, but it’s the little choice we make that impact on our life of holiness before God.
Emma Morris says
Thank you! That’s very true, holiness is definitely a mindset.
Melinda says
This is the icing on my cake of the week ! Covers beautifully so many devotionals, snippets of things I’ve seen or read this week. I don’t know why it still amazes me each time it is so clear that my Father is working directly with me in my life. He has done it so often over the years, especially in answer to prayers for my children. Those cakes sometimes took years to ice, but WELL WORTH the wait and continued prayer.
Thank You for this encouraging word & may all my sisters in Christ keep their head up & their heart warm. Melinda
Emma Morris says
Thank you Melinda! It’s awesome to see how God speaks to us. I’m glad He could use this post to encourage you 🙂
Angel Przybylski says
This.is.awesome.!
Emma Morris says
Thanks so much!
Kelli mcknight says
I think holiness is the point of our sanctification journey. It’s a process and it should be our primary goal. Thanks for such a beautiful reminder!
Emma Morris says
I think so too! Thank you Kelli!
Adeola Odutola says
I remember too, when I read Leviticus, about 25yrs ago, I wondered what then but read it all the way. The first time what I read was returned to memory was when I had to witness to a Jewish lady during our Alpha weekend away in 2004 all the sacrifices were brought back to my memory and I was able to speak to her in a language she understood. I thanked God that day for making me read His word for though my understanding was limited, yet His plan for her and I never wavered for our ministry leader now in Amsterdam said, he would never have known how to approach it from the approach I took in explaining how Jesus became the sin offering for us. His name truly is holy.
Emma Morris says
That’s an amazing story! God really works through His word!
Becky says
“A salmon swimming upstream” another commenter said. Yes, that is exactly how I have often felt. However, lately, I have noticed that feeling manifesting in a MUCH different way. While growing up it showed itself more in the number of things I did NOT do. For example: No, I don’t go to parties with sex and alcohol. No, I don’t want to watch those particular movies. No, I’m not going to show quite that much of myself. Now, however, it seems to show up in the form of a happy smile when all around are stressed and grouchy, a laugh of joy when frowns surround, a peaceful calm because I know Abba Father has it all under control and is holding me close when others only have the word of the news media and their own strength to rely on. I no longer feel as if I’m the only one not going to the party anymore; now it’s as if I’m one of the few enjoying life because of God inside. Now I am odd because I have something good to share in the middle of so much difficulty and chaos. Amazing Grace. How sweet the sound. It’s kept me safe in the holiness of God. Thank you for sharing this marvelous truth.
Bev @ Walking Well With God says
Becky,
What a praise for the change from the “I cannot’s” to the “Here’s what I CAN do’s”. The world could use a lot more people like you these days that have something good to share in the middle of turmoil. Keep gracing others with His love.
Your sister salmon,
Bev
Emma Morris says
I love that analogy too! Choosing holiness in the small things can be hard, but it does bring joy and peace. Thank you!
Kathy C. says
Examining God’s holiness is always humbling to me and it is when I am also reminded that He humbled Himself to come to earth to die for us and pay for our sins.
Emma Morris says
It really is humbling! God is awesome 🙂
Pearl @ Look Up Sometimes says
Emma, what a beautiful “grace-laced” (love that word!) message about holiness. Thank you!
Emma Morris says
Thank you so much for the encouragement!
Crystal Storms says
Emma, your words are a confirmation of what God is speaking to me. Live set apart for Him. Not striving but surrendering to His calling. Thank you for the encouragement. : )
Emma Morris says
I’m so glad God used my words as confirmation for you! This is a lesson God has been and is continuing to teach me too. Thank you Crystal!
Rebecca L Jones says
Only Jesus can make us holy, and reading about the sacrifices in the Old Testament gives you a whole new perspective on what the Lamb of God really means and what He went through for us.
Emma Morris says
So true!
Mary Hood says
Emma, what a beautiful post. I love it when we listen to read and God reveals great truths to our hearts. So true that we are not our own. We are so loved!
Emma Morris says
Thank you Mary! I love that too, it’s a wonderful truth.
Beth Williams says
Emma,
Such wise words from someone so young. .” God’s chosen people were entering a culture of sin, but God was calling them to be different. Can we relate? Oh very definitely I can relate. Each day it seems this world becomes more and more like Sodom and Gomorrah. It seems harder now than ever to stand up and be a Christian in our world, but that is what God is asking of us. We need to be “in not of” the world. Love others-don’t judge! I just wonder how much longer God is going to wait before coming back to get His own.
Blessings 🙂
Emma Morris says
Thank you! It is hard to stand up, but I’m so thankful we have hope and confidence in God.
ELIZABETH-ANNE says
I choose holiness every day, and every morning when I go to bed ( I am the opposite of most people, I go to bed in the morning and sleep all day ), I know that in a million ways I have fallen short of the mark, only to get up the next day, try again and fall again, which is why the book ‘ God without religion’ helpled me so much, as I will never reach the mark, so I am trying harder now to live in grace and acknowledge my chronic imperfection and brokeness.
The OT offers very little hope or comfort for me, it is all dogma and I always feel like Lots’s wife, waiting to be turned into a pillar of salt for not listening or not being good enough, which I never am. Three free sins also has helped me to move away from a God who follows me around with a list and a baton to bash me with for not ‘ getting it right ‘, yet again.
Bev @ Walking Well With God says
Elizabeth-Anne,
Welcome to the “We have ALL fallen short of the mark” club!! I, too, used to look at the Old Testament as just more laws that I couldn’t uphold…who needs that. Finally it brought me to the point of admitting, “No, I CAN’T follow all those laws on my own and keep them perfectly. It reminded me that without Christ I can do nothing. The Old Testament now reminds me, and is the proof of how much I need to Christ and how thankful I am that God saw I couldn’t do it and so He gave me the new covenant in the New Testament. Christ came to fulfill all the myriad of laws in the Old Testament because I CAN’T (Neither can you). Now, knowing, through the promises of the New Testament, that I am saved due to grace and grace alone, I can look back on the wisdom and instruction of the Old Testament and use it as a guideline to help me live in the sweet spot of life, but not as a means to earning my salvation. I also have learned to love to read it and all the prophecies that pointed to the Savior that needed to come to fulfill the Law of the OT. Over and over again the Old Testament brings me back to the reminder of how much I need Christ. I hope this helps….been in your shoes…OT = law….NT=grace.
Blessings and prayers,
Bev
ELIZABETH-ANNE says
Thanks Bev, it feels glorious to be part of a club with people who ‘get it ‘ and have walked in my Crocs ( I don’t wear shoes, so had to substitute Crocs, which I wear all the time when I am not barefoot !! )
My prayers lately have been because I have no friends, family or anyone apart from my pets and my 86 year old father, for the Lord to send me people even if just in passing, that are good for me, that won’t discard me like garbage or make me feel worse about myself than I already do, and that prayer is coming to pass, new people online in the last few weeks have been so incredibly loving and warm towards me, all I do is cry when I read what they say to me.
God bless your soul
Bev @ Walking Well With God says
Elizabeth-Anne,
I wear crocs a lot too….Here’s a scripture just for you from the Old Testament:
“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take GREAT DELIGHT in you; he will no longer rebuke you, but will REJOICE OVER YOU WITH SINGING.” (emphasis mine) Zephaniah 3:17. Put this one on your mirror and know the Lord loves you dearly and delights in you, His daughter.
Love and Sunday blessings,
Bev
ELIZABETH-ANNE says
I will do that Bev, I will get some nice colored paper or something pretty and creative and also add my very favorite passage of all, the one that gives me the most hope and sense of relief. Romans 8:1
Happy Sunday.
6:40 am NY time, still wide awake !
Emma Morris says
Elizabeth-Anne, I think we all can relate. I’ve learned we will never be “good-enough” or holy on our own, it’s only by grace. Thank goodness God sent Jesus to “fulfill” the law and be the sacrifice for our “not good-enough.” The OT shows us what a gift that is and how faithful God is in His promises. Jesus died for sinners like you and me and you are so loved! Thanks so much!
Bev @ Walking Well With God says
Elizabeth-Anne,
Romans 8-1 has been a go to for me because I struggle with condemning thoughts at times. One thing I’ve learned is that God does not condemn…He does not heap guilt upon us – instead He gently leads, guides, and disciples us in His life-giving ways. So if you have thoughts that make you feel guilty, condemned, not worthy, like you’re disappointing God, those are NOT from Him, they are from the enemy and you can (and God would want you to as well) toss them out and slam the door on them because they are lies. That’s not God’s voice. He doesn’t speak in tones that condemn, berate, cast down, or produce guilt and condemnation. Praying that you will be able to discern and listen to the voice of Truth.
Praying for you sweet sister,
Bev
Theresa says
Wonderful thoughts about holiness and how we are to live set apart. What a privilege to be chosen.
Emma Morris says
Thank you Theresa! It is such an amazing privilege!