Holy: Leviticus 19:2 “Speak ye unto the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.”              

Leviticus 20:7 ” Sanctify (consecrate) yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God.” Hebrews 12:14 “Follow peace with all men, and HOLINESS, WITHOUT WHICH NO MAN SHALL SEE THE LORD.”

HOLIER: Isaiah 65:5 …”which say, stand by thyself, come not near unto me; FOR I AM HOLIER THAN THOU. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.”

The condition some are stricken by, and through their self-righteous attitudes have made others dread the word HOLINESS and the type of worship it involves.

HOLIER is a religious superiority rivaling the Pharisees’ attitude toward Jesus. Obviously above ever having committed a sin or any wrongdoing, they sit perched atop the pedestals of self-proclaimed righteousness, as they stare down their noses at the sinner peasants, quite comfortable spewing out a barrage of judgments against those they look down upon. “He’s just an old drunk” “She’s a slut” “They will never amount to anything.”

And my personal all time favorite, and yes, I have heard this and I have heard it in a church, “Well, you know, not all of them are going to be saved.”

Really? That is odd because when one of THEIR family members fall into a snare then suddenly it becomes “Pray, pray, pray.”

And when a minister of God falls into temptation, they are ever ready to spread the juicy details to every ear that will hear, NEVER considering that we are warned in the Bible that they who do this will one day find  that they ARE SNARED by the same net that caught their brother or sister.

I also remember reading that Paul said, in times past we were all some of these things!

The Lord said he had no pleasure in the death of the wicked, he doesn’t, he doesn’t want to see anyone lost to hell.

It “is not his will that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

HOLINESS: The relationship of the heart, mind and soul of the believer to the heart mind and soul of God.

Perfection, not in human form but perfection of our heart and will perfectly submitted unto his. The setting apart of  us as vessels exclusively for his indwelling and use.

So why should we want it and why do we need it?

Isaiah 58 details God’s ideas and thoughts on holiness, fasting, how we should show charity to others, keeping the Sabbath and the rewards thereof.

Of course, I can only highlight it but please read it for yourself, you will be glad you did!

Isaiah 58:6-10 “Is not THIS the fast that I HAVE CHOSEN? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? (The things that Jesus said ONLY GO by fasting and prayer) Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that is cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh” think this “such as we have, we give unto thee”)

We are to fast not only for our spiritual breakthrough but so that others may get their breakthrough also.

And when we see another with a need we are to do everything we can to take care of that need.

And anything we do for others, every act of charity we are to do secretly as possible, as the saying goes “Discretion is the finer part of valor” I may not have quoted that to a T, but you dig what I’m getting at. Often when people need help the most they are most unwilling to ask.

No one wants to feel embarrassed, so if you do something to help out someone, give them something or loan them something, don’t tell about it.

Keep it as much as possible between you and them. So now if you do all these things, here is His promise to you: Picking back up at verse eight, “Then shall thy LIGHT BREAK FORTH AS THE MORNING, and thine health spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness ( right standing with God ) shall go BEFORE THEE; and the glory of the Lord will be thy rereward (rear guard) Then shalt thou call and I WILL ANSWER; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am, IF thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, putting forth of the finger and speaking vanity; ( the judging and belittling others becomes a yoke of bondage on US ) and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall THY LIGHT RISE IN OBSCURITY, AND THY DARKNESS SHALL BE AS NOON DAY:”

Could it get any better than that?  He will go before you, he will have your back, he will answer you when you call and the darkest spot in you will be as bright as noon!

Now that is about as good as it can get! Finally, James 4:8(a) “Draw nigh to God, and HE WILL draw nigh to you…”

So as we press toward that mark, please let me suggest a couple of things, get in your secret prayer closet, God sees in secret but he will reward you openly, anoint yourself, you can use olive oil or any oil really, just pray and ask him to consecrate it holy for you.

If you choose to purchase it retail, be very cautious read the label, there is one out there that prides itself on being created from the original Mosaic formula given from God to Moses in the Old Testament, BUT it is absolutely FORBIDDEN of God to recreate that oil.

A good place to purchase online is abbaoil.com they have an excellent selection and reasonable prices ( And no, they are not paying me, nor do they know I am recommending them) And above all, take communion, most never realize the power in it, I hope to do a little something soon on the subject, but if you will notice when bread was broken and meals taken THAT was when Jesus revealed himself!

You do not need anything fancy as some would try to have you believe ( because they like selling their wares and making money from the Kingdom )  Read Luke 22:17-20 for more about it. Just remember to have a pure heart before him ( having repented ) and ask him to bless what you have and I do believe you will be amazed! Φλογιζω/ original post date: 06/13/2014.

All rights reserved. Rev. Nina BrownJohnson 2015