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“Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

 

Today’s scripture made me wonder if there’s any “holy ground” in my life. Do I look for it or even desire it? Have I let the bad “holier than thou” connotations dissuade me from seeking that sacred ground or even from the desire to present myself as holy, set apart to do God’s will? Perhaps, today, I will reconsider the benefits. But how would I ever deserve to stand on holy ground? How would I even start to be more holy?

As usual, so many better writers have gone before me. I feel privileged to echo their words. In the 1800s, William D. Longstaff wrote “Take time to be holy, speak often with thy Lord; abide in him always, and feed on His word. Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak, forgetting in nothing, His blessing to seek.” In subsequent verses the writer goes on to tell us to spend time in secret with Jesus that we may grow more like him. He also encourages us to follow Jesus and trust him in times of joy or sorrow, and to place our thoughts and motives under his control.

For our own wellbeing and for the good representation of our Lord, this pursuit seems a worthy endeavor. But how do I keep from having a “holier than thou” air about myself? The Apostle Paul tells us to put on the gospel armor of righteousness, peace, salvation, faith and knowledge of God’s word. Could something be missing?

As I study scripture and consider all the teachings that were intended to be spoken in ways that the audiences would be able to hear and accept (for example, Jesus and Paul and so many other teachers and prophets used words that were garnered for their hearers), I can only believe that we are to continue to represent God in such a manner. To do this, to let mercy triumph over judgement, to let the spirit of love dominate over legalism, I believe we have to extrapolate at times, to project and say what will resonate with our “audiences” of this day and age, as long as we don’t leave out the truth!

We live in a time when Christians are often perceived as harsh and dogmatic. Kindness doesn’t seem to top the world view list of Christian characteristics. Therefore, I think it is worth considering the possibility of adding one article to our holy gospel armor, and that’s HUMILITY, big and bright! Our world needs to see us revere our holy God. Our world needs to see us show steadiness through storms. Our world needs to hear us give God glory for successes. A little humility CAN’T go a long way, but perhaps a lot of humility can! Humble holiness might be a great trait to portray to the world around us!

The good old song writers even gave me a prayer for today. This one from Brian Doerksen: “Purify my heart, cleanse me from within, and make me holy, purify my heart, cleanse me from my sin, deep within. Refiner’s fire, my heart’s one desire, is to be holy, set apart for You, Lord, I choose to be holy, set apart for You, my Master, ready to do your will.” And, knowing that our efforts to be better will never let us hold a candle to Your holiness, help us seek some holy

ground in our everyday lives. I pray in the only name through which I can attain any holiness at all; I pray in Jesus’ name.

Juli Hampton

Ham10five@gmail.com

 

Prayer Concern - People who don’t feel loved or worthy of being loved