Worshiping in the Beauty of Holiness
By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe
"Then the Lord
spoke to Moses saying, 'Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and
say to them, you shall be holy because I am holy.’" (Leviticus 19: 1-2)
We
are to be holy because God is holy. What
is holiness? We have seen the artistic
renditions of holiness: saints, serenely
enveloped in halos of purity and light.
But somehow, we cannot put ourselves and our daily lives into that
framework. God knows our frailties, our inability
to be holy within ourselves. Therefore,
He has made provision for us so that we may be holy as He is holy. God is spiritually whole. He is perfect. He is complete. Because in these earthly bodies, we cannot
become spiritually whole, God has become our wholeness. Because on earth, we cannot attain
perfection, He has become our perfection. He is not only our example of
holiness, He is our pathway to holiness.
The
psalmist encourages us, to “worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble
before Him all the earth.” (Psalm 96:9 NKJV)
When,
through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, we stand in His spiritual wholeness, in
His perfection, in beauty of His holiness, we can truly worship Him.
God
is holy. Through the sanctifying work of
the Cross, He has set us apart to worship Him in holiness. To worship the holiness of God is to
understand the nature of God. To
understand the nature of God is to obey His commandments, the greatest of which
is to love Him with all our heart, soul and mind. (Matthew 22:37) It is in our
love for Him that we worship in the beauty of holiness.
Lord,
we lift our hands in temple of our hearts and worship You. You are holy God,
worthy of adoration, and yet desirous of fellowship with Your children. Anoint us, empower us that we may walk in
obedience and love and holiness. Father God, we receive Your wholeness within
ourselves. Though we are imperfect, we
stand in your perfection so that we may worship You in the beauty of holiness. Amen.
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