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Holy

Holy Defined
What do you think of when you hear the word holy?

For me, when I hear 'holy' I tend to think of being very quiet, almost solemn, and to be honest, kind of boring.  But holy is actually better defined as 'set apart.'  It means that something or someone is on a whole different level.  You wouldn't compare the Kansas City Chiefs to a stinger football team.  The only thing they have in common is that they play on the same size field, they don't even use the same ball.

The same is true with God.  When we say that God is holy, we need to be sure that we're not just saying it because we've heard it before.  We need to remember that He is on a different level from us in power, wisdom, and oh boy especially grace.

Think about it - when God, the Creator, made the world, He didn't even have to gather materials for it.  He literally spoke it into existence.  For comparison, have you ever cooked a meal that you didn't search the pantry or go to the store to get ingredients for first?  "He is the Creator; we are the created."  By keeping that in proper perspective, it helps us revere him as the holy one that he is.

Holy Remembered
In Isaiah 40, God used the prophet to remind the Jews that He's there for them - "Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth.  He never becomes faint or weary; there is no limit to his understanding" (v28).  God sent these words to the Jews when they had an army threatening to attack.

Isn't that when we are more likely to question or doubt God too?  When the plans we've been working on go awry?  Or when we're facing pressure or are under attack?  When we get squeezed and start feeling pressue is when we start to doubt or forget about God's holiness.

We start searching for answers, often in all the wrong places, and can become overwhelmed by the number of voices out there offering opinions.  But the only one that we really need to be listening for is God's.  "God is set apart from all the other voices because He is the only One who knows all things and has wisdom about the right course of action...His knowledge is unmatched in the world.

Holy Practiced
Based on God's holiness, how do we put that into practice this week?

Be thankful.  Thank God for his holiness, his wisdom, and his power.  We get so lost in the bad things that happened that we often fail to thank God for all the crazy things He did protect us from this week.

Be holy.  "God is holy, and He calls us to follow Him and be holy as well."  Remember, holy is set apart, on a whole different level.  Are you prepared to take it to the next level this week with God?  If you're not feeling it just yet, go read Isaiah 40:31 and prepare to "soar on wings like eagles."

Being holy doesn't mean that we aren't going to make mistakes, lose our cool, or let others down.  It means that we are going to trust God, and rely on Him for the wisdom and strength that we need to thrive in this thing called life.

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