19The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2 Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
11 You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another. 12And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God: I am the Lord.
13 You shall not defraud your neighbour; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a labourer until morning. 14You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling-block before the blind; you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
15 You shall not render an unjust judgement; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbour. 16You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbour: I am the Lord.
17 You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbour, or you will incur guilt yourself. 18You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord.
God calls us to be holy. Sometimes that sounds scary. How can we be holy?
Holy means set apart, or different. God wants us to be different than other people. God wants us to live to in a way that reflects his love. God calls us to live righteously. Through his word, God teaches us how to live a life that is holy. When we live our lives reflecting God’s love, we live with joy in our hearts and lives. Joy overflows into our relationships and others can see that our relationship with God changes who we are.
When we live holy lives, we live not only at peace with God, but at peace with others. We become living witnesses to the power of our God and we are people set apart, holy. May you live holy this day.
God bless,
Pastor Mandy