“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’ ”
(1 Peter 1:13-16)

“Christ calls men to carry a cross; we call them to have fun in His name. He calls them to forsake the world; we assure them that if they but accept Jesus the world is their oyster. He calls them to suffer; we call them to enjoy all the bourgeois comforts modern civilization affords…He calls them to holiness; we call them to a cheap and tawdry happiness that would have been rejected with scorn by the least of the Stoic philosophers.”
(A.W. Tozer)

“The destined end of man is not happiness, nor health, but holiness. God’s one aim is the production of saints. He is not an eternal blessing machine for men; he did not come to save men out of pity; he came to save men because he had created them to be holy.”
(Oswald Chambers)

“The whole purpose of God in redemption is to make us holy and to restore us to the image of God. To accomplish this He disengages us from earthly ambitions and draws us away from the cheap and unworthy prizes that worldly men set their hearts upon.”
(A.W. Tozer)

It is indeed a sobering reality to see the standard we are being called to. May it not be that we are content with a life of casual indifference or outright disobedience, but that we would actively pursue transformation into the likeness of our great, perfectly just, supremely loving, relentlessly pursuing, completely holy God.

This weeks readings are:
Leviticus 11:1-23:44, Mark 5:21-10:12, Psalm 38:1-44:8, Proverbs 10:8-19.
Feel free to post any thoughts, comments, questions, etc. about these readings as a comment to this post.

Leviticus gives us job descriptions (and qualifications) for the Levites and priests of Israel, also instructions for carrying out Israel’s five main offerings, and celebrating its seven annual feasts.

As you read Leviticus, remember the principle of “repetition” in studying and interpreting the Bible, which basically says if we see a word used over and over, God is making a point.

In Leviticus, the word “holy” is found 91 times. Words associated with “cleansing” occur 71 times. References to uncleanness? 128 mentions. Are you getting the picture? God’s a holy God, and he calls his people to “be holy, as I am holy.”