“And you shall be holy unto Me—for I, the Lord, am holy. . .”
Leviticus 20:26a
Remembering this will help us live in holy reverence and righteousness.
“I Am the Lord.”
That’s the essence of the Name God gave to Moses that day in the wilderness when he asked Him, “What is Your Name?” and He replied “I Am Who I Am” (Ex. 3:13-14). Forty-five times in Leviticus we find that phrase “I am the Lord” or “I am the Lord your God.” And, in each one of those cases it was a call to remember Who He was and what He had done.
Sadly, how quickly and easily we forget this!
How shallow we are in our worship and service, forgetting that the great God of the universe is our Object and Focus. And, in the process we substitute ourselves. . .our own thoughts and imaginations. . .while patting ourselves on the back in pride over how spiritual we are.
Oh, Lord God, have mercy upon us!
Until we “see the Lord sitting upon His Throne, high and lifted up and His train filling the Temple” (Is. 6:1), we’ll not “worship Him in spirit and in truth” (Jn. 4:23-24); instead, we’ll offer Him our sinful substitute and then wonder why we never see “the fire fall and the Glory fill” (II Chron. 7:1-3).
Truly, it is our consciousness of God’s Greatness that leads us to a conviction of our sinfulness (Is. 6:5). And, it’s only in that brokenness that we experience His cleansing and hear His call and commission (Is. 6:6-8).
Likewise, it’s only when we realize that “He is the Lord”—and “He is holy”—that we move to the level of surrender. Until then, we continually listen to the devil’s lie and inwardly yearn “to be as God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5), congratulating ourselves on our own spirituality and superiority.
But such sinful self-worship always leads to guilt, shame and separation (Gen. 3:6-9).
And, it’s only in our acknowledgement of our condition that we “cry out to God” as some seasick sailor and He brings us “to our desired haven” (Ps. 107:26-30)—which is at the feet of Jesus.
Oh, dear Pilgrim, true worship begins with remembering “He’s the Lord” and we’re not. It’s coming to Him with a “broken and contrite heart/spirit” (Ps. 51:17). . .crying “Be merciful to me a sinner” (Lk. 18:13). . .and then allowing the Christ of Calvary to “cleanse our conscience from dead works so we may serve the living God” (Heb. 9:14).
Only then can we truly sing “From sinking sand He lifted me. With tender Hands He lifted me. From shades of night to plains of light, Oh praise His Name—He lifted me!” (Ps. 40:1-4). Hallelujah!! And, it is only in this condition that we’ll truly desire to live “holy lives because He is holy.” We’ll want every thought, word and deed to bring glory to Him because of Who He is and what He’s done in our lives. Let it be, Lord. Let it be.
By Tom Smith Morning Manna Dated November 23, 2010
