October 11
Happy Thursday Everyone,
 
The scripture for today is Leviticus 19:2
 
Leviticus 19:2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, You shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.
 
On the sixth day of creation, God created man. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them." Genesis 1:27When we think of an image we usually think of the physical attributes of a thing. The Bible however tells us that "God is a Spirit" John 4:24, so the image of God would not be speaking to physical attributes, but rather attributes of spirit and character. God made man to be like Himself so that He and mankind could enjoy fellowship and communion with one another. God loved His creation and desired to be loved in return.
      
Of all of the attributes of God, the most pronounced is His holiness. God is holy. That is, He is sacred and clean; totally without defilement. This is how He made man; sacred and clean, totally without defilement.  He was able to have fellowship with man as long as they remained in their Godlike state of holiness.  
 
Sin separates us from God because sin is the defiler of that which is holy. God's requirement for us today is the same requirement that He has always had for mankind, holiness. "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" Hebrews 12:14Without holiness we cannot enjoy a personal relationship with God.  It is the expressed desire and strategy of the enemy of our souls to keep us from that relationship through the defilement of sin.  He works every strategy at his disposal to bring this defilement between mankind and God. God directs us to be holy, but Satan wants us to be sinful. Why? Because he hates both God and man. Sin is the outworking of Satan's pride and his hatred for God and His creation.
      
Fortunately for mankind, God made provision for us to be holy in spite of the deception of Satan that caused mankind to sink into a sinful existence. God sent His Holy Son, sinless and perfect just like the first Adam, to pay the penalty for our sin and to provide the means through His blood for us to be cleansed from sin and to be holy once again. It is through the blood of Jesus that our sins are washed away and we regain the state of holiness that God intended for us in the first place. We can once again enjoy fellowship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. What a wonderful God who not only created us, but also redeemed us back to Himself. Thank God for His matchless love and grace!
 
God bless you as you continue in His service.
Tim