September 22

Read: Leviticus 18:1-5

Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein (Leviticus 18:4).

I Am The Lord Your God

“I am the Lord your God.” This is the beginning and the end of the holy life. Could any message be clearer than our Old Testament Bible reading for today? “You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. You shall do my ordinances and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God” (R.S.V.).

The life of holiness sets us apart as different men because we serve a different Deity. The Egyptians and the Canaanites were unholy people because they served unholy gods. The holiness of Israel was rooted in her covenant relationship to God. He had chosen them to be His people; they had accepted Him as their God. When we accept God, we agree to obey Him.

Walking according to the divine law means a life of separation from former sinful practices. Paul reminds us: “among them we all once walked, as we indulged our fleshly desires and carried out the inclinations of the lower nature and the lower thoughts” (Ephesians 2:3, Berkeley). But serving a holy God separates us also from the unholy practices of our current society. As a Christian I do not thoughtlessly pattern my life after my neighbors — even when they are upper-income, cultured neighbors. I serve the Lord, God. Always my test in the life of holiness must be, Is this the will of God for my life?

Affirmation For Today

I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart (Psalms 40:8).