HOLY – WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH ME?

March 3, 2020 | lindamowles

As a child, I remember singing the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy” with great gusto in my home church with my mother and father standing by my side.

Then, as I got older in my faith walk with the Lord, I sang the hymn with less gusto and more meaning as I pondered each of the words while singing them.

Some places just evoke a feeling of sacredness, of being a special place where we feel close to God. Consider the Canterbury Cathedral, where worship services to God have been conducted for over 1400 years!

Or, consider Bryce Canyon where we see the majesty and jaw-dropping creativity of our Sovereign God. The beauty and sheer magnitude of the canyon evokes a feeling of gratitude to God for the beauty of His creation.

Bryce Canyon 1 — Bryce Canyon with its “hoodoos” – spires standing up over the base of the canyon!

Or, consider Yellowstone National Park with its geysers and pools of water that exceed the boiling point, spewing steam and sulfur continually from their fissures.

Yellowstone 083 — Yellowstone National Park. The pavement in the parking lot gave way under the pressure of the geyser beneath.

These things tell us that God is different than we are … that He is far greater than our finite minds can comprehend.

We say God is holy, that we have the Holy Bible, that Jesus foretold of the coming of the Holy Spirit, and we know that are to be holy but: “What is ‘holy’?”

The Hebrew word for “holy” as found in Strong’s concordance is Strong’s Number H6944 which matches the Hebrew קֹדֶשׁ English transliteration “godesh”. This word occurs 519 times in 382 verses in the Hebrew concordance of the NASB

The word signifies apartness, sacredness, separateness and it is used in relation to God, places and things. There is a “set-apartness” for that which is holy. In reading Leviticus we see how the tabernacle and all its furnishings and utensils were “consecrated to God”, another way of saying they were set apart for God’s use, specifically for use in their worship of Him. The clothing that the priests wore was consecrated for when they were performing their priestly duties. They were set apart for use in the worship and service of God, taken out of the ordinary and set apart for God.

We remember that when Moses was in the wilderness and saw the burning bush, he walked over to it and, when he approached the bush, God spoke and told him to remove his sandals because the ground where he was standing was holy ground. Before the bush started burning the ground around it was just regular ground, like all the rest of the wilderness. But God’s presence, His use of the bush to get Moses’ attention, set the bush and surrounding ground apart from the rest: it became holy. His sandals that were covered in the dust of the ordinary had to be removed because they were contaminating the ground that had become holy.

God directed Moses to tell the people that they were to be holy because He, their God, is holy.

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “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 19:1-2

God elaborates upon His relationship with His people in the next chapter:

You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.

Leviticus 20:26

God set apart His people for His own purposes, that they should be His and that they should follow no other god. He separated them from all the peoples on the earth and they are His. They are a holy people – not because of their own abilities or value.

For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 7:6-8

God’s people are His because He has chosen them and He is faithful to fulfill all the promises that He made to the patriarchs of old.

In the New Testament, Peter tells the Christians that they are God’s children and that they are to be “holy” in their conduct!

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:14-16

We know, of course, that we cannot be holy on our own – we need the Holy Spirit to bring us the holiness that we need so we can show God’s holiness to the world. We are sinful creatures and cannot be “holy” in our own right. Because God is holy, we are to be holy as His children. Holiness is to be a family trait!

So, what does this have to do with me, or with you? We need to remember that, as Christians, we have dual citizenship – we are citizens of the place on earth where God has put us for His purposes, and we are citizens of God’s kingdom. As much as we are involved with the workings of our homes, cities, governments, schools, etc., these take second place when we think about our ultimate, eternal citizenship.

God’s world is a beautiful, magnificent creation that reflects His glory daily. But Scripture tells us that this world will pass away, but God’s Kingdom will never pass away.

Jesus said that our focus should not be on this world, but rather on heaven.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Matthew 6:19-20

Be holy because God is holy. Think of the words of the hymn as you listen to it being sung on the album Hymns for All Saints: Adoration, Praise and Comfort, by Columbia Publishing House.

Father, I know that I cannot be holy other than by Your grace and mercy through the power granted to me by the Holy Spirit. Enable me to grow in holiness so that others may see You reflected in my life.

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD – HOLINESS

January 26, 2018January 25, 2018 | lindamowles

When you think of holiness, or of being holy, what image do you conjure up in your mind? Someone who is a “goodie-two-shoes” or a person who speaks and acts as if he is “too heavenly minded to be any earthly good”? Or do you not have any idea of what holiness is, so you don’t have any image to ponder?

I realize that holiness is not something that we think about on a daily, moment-by-moment basis but, if we want to know God, we should consider it because holiness is fundamental to God’s character.

Holiness is synonymous with God’s total purity and separation from the rest of creation. Consider Adam and Eve’s reaction after they ate the forbidden fruit and God came to visit with them in the Garden of Eden.

“And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”

Genesis 3:8

Up until this time, Adam and Eve had enjoyed God’s presence with them, but when He came to them that day, they hid. They instinctively knew that God was holy and they were not, they had disobeyed, they had sinned and God could not look upon sin. They hid among the trees.

Consider when God called to Moses from the burning bush, after Moses walked closer to see it, God said:

“”Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.“

Exodus 3:5-6

Moses surely was not afraid of a burning bush … it was a distance away from him and the flock, no threat. He went over to investigate because it appeared that the bush was not being consumed by the fire.

Why was the place Moses approached “holy” ground? It was not because the sand was any different than the sand that was all around Moses in the wilderness. It was not because the bush was different than all the others in the area. It was because God was there, so Moses was in the presence of the Holy God.

It was at that point that God spoke to him, and notice Moses’ response — he hid his face, he was afraid! Why? Because then Moses knew that he had encountered the holy God.

“Holy” is the English translation of the Hebrew word “qodesh”, and it means “apartness”, “sacredness”, and “separateness.” This set-apartness is evident in the Old Testament in texts such as Leviticus 20:7.

“Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God.”

Here God is telling the people to consecrate themselves, in other words to sanctify, to dedicate, to separate themselves for a special purpose or use.

In the Book of Acts we read:

“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.””

Acts 13:2

Setting apart for a specific task from God is one way we acknowledge that God is holy and that even people who are doing His work should be separated from that which is worldly or ungodly.

God’s holiness can be understood as moral purity, although it is much more than that. His holiness, His purity, is eternal and incorruptible, there is no time or likelihood that God will, at some point, no longer be holy or pure. This total purity, total separation from anything that is sinful, explains why God gave detailed commands in the Old Testament about the way mankind could approach God.

USED Canterbury cathedral view of the altar area — Looking toward the altar in Canterbury Cathedral,
Canterbury, England, if man can build such a glorious place, imagine what Isaiah saw!

One of my favorite passages in scripture is Isaiah 6. The prophet Isaiah had a vision of God and he described it as follows:

“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.””

Isaiah 6:1-8

Forgive me for quoting so much from the passage but I want you to get the full impact of Isaiah’s vision. Just a look at the description of the LORD. Listen to the angels, the host of heaven, calling “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts.”

What is Isaiah’s reaction in this vision? Essentially the same as Moses’ reaction to God’s presence. Isaiah said “WOE IS ME!” “I AM LOST!” “I AM … UNCLEAN!” In his vision, Isaiah was afraid because he instantly recognized that God is holy, and he was not.

Centuries after Isaiah wrote of his vision, John was on the island of Patmos and wrote the Book of Revelation, citing the same words as Isaiah heard.

“At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. … And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!””

Revelation 4:2,8

God’s holiness is one of the primary reasons why the advent of Christ is so amazing. Because of Jesus’ coming to this earth and dying on the cross, men, who were once unable to come before God, now can kneel before the throne of God and worship Him forever and ever.

Because of the cross and His resurrection, because of our faith in Him as Lord and Savior, we no longer must hide our face or be afraid of God. We now can join the heavenly chorus and shout “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty!” We can face God clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ and, rather than hiding our face, we can come to the throne of God and call Him “Abba, Father.” Praise His Holy Name!

Listen now to the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty” s on the album “Hymns for all the Saints: Adoration, Praise, Comfort” from Concordia Publishing House.

Father, I pray that I would never lose sight of the wonder and glory of Your holiness. I praise Your name that Jesus Christ died so that His righteousness would cloth my sinfulness, so that I could join with the heavenly chorus and praise Your Holy Name.

WHERE DO YOU LIVE?

October 18, 2016October 17, 2016 | lindamowles

Remember when you were young, and one of the questions you would ask when you met someone new was “What is your name and where do you live?”

Even as adults we ask the same questions, although we often add “What do you do for a living” and “How long have you lived in our city?”

I have been going through hundreds of slide pictures taken by my father before his death and I came across several that prompted thoughts about houses in which my forefathers lived. My grandparents’ house in California, for example.

grandparents-house-in-california — Grandparents’ house in California.

Or my grandparents’ house in Wisconsin. I loved that front porch!

clyde-smiths-house-in-neenah-60 — Grandparents’ house in Wisconsin.

But then there are houses that I can’t even contemplate living in … houses that are so big that I don’t think I could count the rooms. This Louisiana plantation house is one such building.

louisiana-plantation-house — Louisiana plantation house.

To top it off, there is the house that is currently for sale in our city … a house with its own name, Villa Collina. The newspaper says that it is “glorious” with over 50 rooms and is 37,000 square feet. I simply cannot wrap my head around a single family residence that size.

But, all these houses are here, they are material, they are temporal, they are subject to rust and decay. While I don’t live in any type of house like that, I am confident that I will live in a truly glorious house one day … my Savior says so:

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

John 14:2

Jesus is telling his disciples that he will be leaving them, not for a frivolous purpose or to get away from people who just did not get his mission in this world. No, He is going home to His Father and he will prepare a place for them in heaven.

This place will be massive because there is room enough for all the believers in the world. It is a place for those who shall be saved, who were ordained unto life through belief in Jesus Christ and His atoning work on the cross. These mansions were to be sprinkled with His blood just as the tabernacle and all the ministry vessels were sprinkled by the blood of the sacrifice. Hebrews 9:21. By His resurrection from the dead, by His ascension into heaven as our forerunner [Hebrews 6:20], and by His sitting at the right hand of God interceding for us, He prepares our place in heaven.

Just pause for a moment and imagine the glory that will surround these dwellings and the incredible sound of millions of voices singing praise to the Father for the work that He did through Jesus Christ, His Son and our Savior, and to the Holy Spirit who sealed us for our salvation. Glory, power and praise is due to our God and we will participate in giving that glory to Him in eternity.

I pray that the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty” as sung on the album Hymns for All Saints: Adoration, Praise, Comfort, from Concordia Publishing House was a blessing to you.

I don’t know if we will sing this in heaven, but I am sure that singing songs of thanksgiving that give honor to God will be as natural as breathing.

So, “Where do you live?” Or, more importantly, “Where will you live for all eternity?” Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and your answer will be certain … you will live in the place prepared for you before the foundation of the world together with the saints from all ages. Praise God for such hope and grace.

Father, if there is one who does not know You or your Son, I pray that the Holy Spirit would use these words to convict of sin and to comfort those who fear death. Thank You for sending your Son as our Savior and your Spirit to effect salvation in your people. Thank You too for the sure confidence of faith in Scripture and the truth of Your words.

HEAVENLY PRAISE, HERE AND NOW

June 7, 2016 | lindamowles

What do we do in worship of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and of the Father, Creator of the Universe and Lover of our Souls? Some of us go to large churches with beautiful scenes depicted in stained glass and a carillon ringing from the bell tower.

Church with stianed glass window — Large, stone, church with beautiful stained glass windows.

Others of us go to neighborhood churches that do not have the same type formal adornments but which provide a family atmosphere among the members.

Church in neighborhood — Neighborhood church with large cross adorning the front of the building.

There are a variety of activities that we engage in as we worship in our local church, and those activities vary with the denomination of which we are a part.

However, I suggest that we could look at the worship in heaven and take that as a guide for our worship here on our spinning globe.

We have a beautiful description of the praise that is given to God in the vision that Isaiah had of the Lord, sitting upon His throne. Read the words of Isaiah and then close your eyes and picture what he saw. The heavenly creatures whose function is to praise the Lord because the Lord is deserving of all praise and glory:

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

Isaiah 6:1-4.

Scripture continues to say that, in response to the incredible vision of the Lord, Isaiah fell to the ground proclaiming that he was a sinner, that he had unclean lips. Then, he was cleansed when the angel touched his lips with a coal from the fire, thereby allowing him to stand before God. [I submit that a true understanding of who God is and who we are will result in terrible awe as we recognize that we cannot stand before God, without His intervention to cleanse us of our sin. A holy God cannot look upon sinful creatures nor can a holy God tolerate or excuse sin. However, back to the topic of praise!]

Isaiah is not the only one in Scripture who had a vision of the Lord and the praise rendered ceaselessly to Him. This praise to the Lord is described by the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation:

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Revelation 4:8-11

Clearly, we should praise God with our lives, our words and actions as well as the motives of our hearts. But, our praise to God also extends beyond ourselves, even to our corporate worship each Sunday, for it is there that we glorify God in the presence of other believers as the Holy Spirit is present with us. In fact, Scripture exhorts us to worship the Lord and give Him glory in all that we do, whether it is in church or not.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31.

So, the question becomes: “Do I praise the Lord every day?” Do you? Not with a plastic sneering grit your teeth mantra of “praise the Lord” whenever something bad happens, but with heart-felt humbleness as we remember all that God has done for us through Christ our Lord. Even if a trial comes our way, if distress raises its head, we have the calm assurance that God is in control and He is sovereign. He will use even the things we consider negative to teach us something about Himself and to draw us closer to Him.

Go ahead … join David when he says “Praise the Lord!” In fact, the exhortation to “Praise the Lord” is found 49 times in Psalms alone. Clearly, praise is important to our God! Here are just a few verses from Psalms about praising God:

Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 106:1

Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments!

Psalm 112:1

Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights!

Psalm 148:1

In fact, make praise the default position of our spirit no matter what comes our way. Anticipate that God will use each situation for His purposes, and praise Him for having you in His hands and for Him being with you all the way.

How can I praise the Lord? Sing. Not only do Scriptures exhort us to praise the Lord, but we are told to sing to the Lord. Here is a sampling of verses with this directive:

Sing to the LORD, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day.

1 Chronicles 16:23

I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

Psalm 104:33

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre!

Psalm 147:7

Singing to our God is exhibited in the New Testament as well.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, … .

Act 16:25

… addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, …

Ephesians 5:19

Praise God. Sing a song, out loud. [You don’t even need to be in the shower!] Go ahead and let out your praise in prison, at home, in the car, in church, in the choir, wherever you are. It matters not whether you can carry a tune or read music … your song will be transformed by the Spirit into heart tones that are pleasing to our Father and that will bounce back to you in enriching joy and peace, filling you with His comfort throughout the day.

Here is Integrity Music’s Scripture Memory Song entitled “O come, let us sing” which features the text of Psalm 95:1-3. This song was composed by Joey Holder and is on the album entitled The Power of Thanksgiving. I pray that you will listen and memorize these verses so you will be reminded as you go through your day that the Lord desires praise and we can rightfully provide that praise because He is a great God and a King above all gods.

Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

Psalm 95:1-3

Go ahead, praise Him even now. Lift your voice in song and praise the Lord!

Father, forgive me when I have gone through the day with a grumpy spirit, or with a frown on my face rather than the glow of your love. Forgive me when I have forgotten all that you have done for me through Jesus Christ. Accept my petition and enable me to give You praise today, through my words, actions and thoughts.