the Lord our God is holy

 Psalm 99:1–9 (ESV): 

1 The Lord reigns: let the peoples tremble!

He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! 

 2  The Lord is great in Zion; 

he is exalted over all the peoples. 

 3  Let them praise your great and awesome name! 

Holy is he! 

 4  The King in his might loves justice. 

You have established equity; 

  you have executed justice 

and righteousness in Jacob. 

 5  Exalt the Lord our God; 

worship at his footstool! 

Holy is he! 

 6  Moses and Aaron were among his priests, 

Samuel also was among those who called upon his name. 

They called to the Lord, and he answered them. 

 7  In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them; 

they kept his testimonies 

and the statute that he gave them. 

 8  O Lord our God, you answered them; 

you were a forgiving God to them, 

but an avenger of their wrongdoings. 

 9  Exalt the Lord our God, 

and worship at his holy mountain; 

for the Lord our God is holy! 

How do you know God is holy?

1) Firstly, consider where He resides and rules (v1-3). Cherubim, the creatures of heaven, sit around His throne. They attend to God, to be near Him signifying His power, authority and goodness. When you read the Bible and see the cherubim described they sound like fantastic beasts, so how incredible must be the one who is enthroned 'upon the cherubim'! God is in heaven in authority, yet He is also exalted over, 'all the peoples'. His jurisdiction is seen and known in heaven and on earth. He influences both realms - it takes an incredible ability to do that, something significantly different, powerful, yet relatable to rule both realms well. God is set apart as He is significantly different. He does not have the responsibility and authority to rule because of wise and persuasive words or physical might, but because of His goodness, love and purity - His holiness. There is no-one like Him because He is completely good.

2) God is The King - the One King that all others are under. God is not just a king who has been endowed with authority and influence, but He is The King who ‘loves justice’, has ‘established equity’ and is righteous. This surely sets God above any other ruler! He rules with justice in mind at every step, meaning that He is fair. Plus He also treats people with equity. This is a term now becoming common in society, it is not about treating people equally, but ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to access to the same things. Providing support, equipment, training etc so that a person has the potential to achieve. God didn’t need any training to tell Him to do that. He created the notion that we should all be treated as the individual’s we are so that everyone has what they need. God establishes equity, justice and righteousness. God knows what is good and right inherently. He doesn't need teaching to do the right things, He was never taught about equity or equality, justice or righteousness because He is those things. He created these facets, and He models them due to His holiness. 

4) You will find nothing wrong in Him. No sneaky motive, selfish ambition or wrongdoing. He will not fail to be good, righteous, kind, loving, establish equity or justice. You can look, but you will never find anything wrong in Him - read the Bible from beginning to end and you will see His love, purity and holiness all the way through. He is pure in all of His desires and His actions, He is completely good. God does what He says He will in a fair, honest and right way each and every time. You can trust Him in that. Surely such a One is holy!

5) The psalmist mentions 3 patriarchs of the Jewish faith; Moses, Aaron and Samuel. Men known to have heard God and followed Him. They actively sought Him and lived their lives doing God's will to the best of their ability. Men credited with instilling faith to the nation of Israel during their lifetimes. They were so set apart that they had private conversations with this Almighty King and Holy God. In their private audiences with Him, He gave them direction and confidence for what they needed to do and say. They were so special that God favoured them because they were obedient, and faithful. Yet they were just men. Even though some may even say they were great men, and they must have been pretty special for their life stories are still read and admired thousands of years later, but they were still just men, and they still needed forgiving. Moses, Aaron and Samuel got things wrong even though they were great leaders, so they needed forgiveness. God had to be ’an avenger of their wrongdoing’. Only one who has done no wrong can forgive. Only God has the character and the will to provide forgiveness for the least and the greatest of us because He is the only one who has never erred. He never makes a mistake or sins, this is why He can forgive all people, the great men and women of faith like Moses, Aaron and Samuel, down to the prostitute at the feet of Jesus. God can forgive because He is holy. He alone is ultimately good, righteous, faithful and holy. Even the best person alive today who demonstrates faithfulness to God, like these patriarchs, they still get it wrong. When they do, where do they go, who can forgive them when they still get things wrong and fall short of the holiness, righteousness and justice? All men and women, no matter the signs and wonders, the pillars of cloud or fire that follow or precede them, they all need God’s forgiveness and vengeance of their sin. Therefore, in order to forgive them and make recompense for their wrongs, God has to be greater. Greater in His ability to forgive due to His holiness and greater in His desire to forgive. There is no-one and no sin that He will not forgive. His desire for equity, justice and righteousness extends to all people, no matter what. That is why, in God's great holiness and love, He sacrificed His Son so that we could all know forgiveness. So that we can all be restored to the standard God models; perfection and holiness. For Jesus is God, and human, and He lived the perfect, righteous, just, holy life which he gave up so that His life was exchanged for all sin. So you now, and anyone who chooses to turn and believe in him can be forgiven and can be made holy. This is only made possible through God's kindness, justice, authority and holiness.

Only God is holy.

In God’s holiness He deals with wrongdoing, avenging your sin. He reigns in righteousness and equity, displaying authority, power, love and justice because He is holy. 

Would you want to follow or worship something that wasn’t holy? If you wanted someone to rule over you, wouldn't you want them to do the right things, make just decisions and be able to fairly exercise their power and influence? Surely a holy God is the kind of king you want to follow!

God is waiting for you to join Him.

 Psalm 24:1–10 (ESV):  

1  The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, 

the world and those who dwell therein, 

2  for he has founded it upon the seas 

and established it upon the rivers. 

3  Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? 

And who shall stand in his holy place? 

4  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, 

who does not lift up his soul to what is false 

and does not swear deceitfully. 

5  He will receive blessing from the Lord 

and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 

6  Such is the generation of those who seek him, 

who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah 

7  Lift up your heads, O gates! 

And be lifted up, O ancient doors, 

that the King of glory may come in. 

8  Who is this King of glory? 

The Lord, strong and mighty, 

the Lord, mighty in battle! 

9  Lift up your heads, O gates! 

And lift them up, O ancient doors, 

that the King of glory may come in. 

10  Who is this King of glory? 

The Lord of hosts, 

he is the King of glory! Selah 

The King of Glory, Our God and Lord is the creator of all things. Everything that exists was created and designed by Him from rocks and seas to every creature. Each human life has been handcrafted by God, no matter how great, insignificant, good or evil people may seem, all have been created and given breath by Almighty God. That includes you, your neighbours and your nemesis. Everyone has been made in the image of God, created to bear a resemblance to the King of Glory in appearance and character. Yet, even though we are crafted into His image and are a result of his handiwork - none of us deserve to be in God’s presence. Not one of us can match up to God's standards and therefore are not good enough to stand in His holy place (v3) or ascend His hill (v3-4). It is not as if God has made it difficult for us, this psalm shows that He has two requirements; clean hands and a pure heart. Yet who has lived a life of such innocence and purity? Have you ever lied, been led astray, done or said anything wrong? If so then you do not have clean hands or a pure heart so how can you stand in front of a holy, pure, majestic God? How can you even step foot onto His holy hill or peek into the holy place when there is such unworthiness in you? You do not deserve to be in God's presence, and you have no right to even consider it because you have not led an innocent, pure, sin-free life.

Yet, there is a promise that the one who enters God’s presence, ‘will receive a blessing from the Lord and righteousness’. How can you ever pertain or aspire to this if it is impossible because of sin? There must be a hope that it is possible, otherwise why would this be written? God is not mean or spiteful so He does not give false hope or promises that can never be fulfilled. Verse 6 assures that, ‘the generation of those who seek him’ will be able to enter God’s presence and will receive blessing and righteousness, but how? Still you remain rotten in comparison to God’s standards, and you cannot undo what has been done. It is so difficult to live a pure life, so how can anyone ever gain the righteousness and blessing of God? In your own strength and capability it is impossible. You cannot live a pure, honest and innocent life, you have failed before and you will again, sin easily entangles and temptation is hard to run away from. You can try your best, but you can never live a life that is good enough to enter God’s presence. However the promise of entering God's presence was made and still stands. 

God fulfils His promises. There IS a way for you to enjoy God's company as well as His righteousness and blessing. You CAN enter the presence of God if you, ‘seek Him’ and let ‘the King of glory’ into your life. Jesus is the King of Glory and so accepting that Jesus has made a way for you to connect with God is the only way that you can have access to all that God promises. Jesus is the one, the only one, that has ever lived a life with clean hands and a pure heart. He is the only one that has refused to give into temptation and sin and so never lied or gone the way he shouldn't. Jesus can ascend the holy hill and enter the holy place because he has lived a life worthy of being there. He can enter the presence of God and he invites you to go with him! Jesus sacrificed his pure, innocence life so that you can take it instead of your rotten, sinful one so that you too can enjoy God's presence! All you need to do is acknowledge that Jesus has made this exchange for you, accept it and take advantage of it. Jesus knows that you have sinned and gone your own way before and he knows that you still struggle with temptation and sin. Yet he still wants to exchange all of that for his innocence and purity so that you can have the privilege of spending time with Father God! Have you taken up Jesus offer of exchanging his life for yours?

Have you done what is necessary to be in His presence - have you opened the gates of your heart and your life to Jesus and let him reign in your life? Jesus is the only one that has overcome the things that separate you from God and made it so that they no longer stand in your way. Jesus has got clean hands and a pure heart, he never led a false life, lied or committed any sin, therefore he can get you into God’s presence. He can transfer his purity to you because he fought with evil and won, in fact he put it to death! He did it so that you can enter into God’s presence alongside him. When you acknowledge the power of the death and resurrection of Jesus, he transforms your hands to clean ones and sanctifies your heart to become pure. Therefore you may now enter the kingdom of God. 

Today you can, ‘ascend the hill of the Lord’ and receive the fullness of salvation, righteousness and blessing whenever you want. What a gift! You no longer need to be deprived of God’s presence or righteousness and blessing. Have you taken up Jesus offer? God is waiting for you to join Him. 

Are you religious?

Throughout his letter, James is calling you and I to account for the faith we profess. He carries on inviting us to look at ourselves honestly to assess where we are with following God. It is great when brothers and sisters challenge us in our faith, if we allow them to without taking offence. Then we can grow and develop into good, obedient disciples. How are you at taking instruction from others?

The next couple of verses are aimed at the 'religious' people. We sometimes have negative, pre-conceived ideas about the type of people this entails, but really, if you are someone that says or thinks that they are a christian, one that follows God, then this means you. Do not automatically discount yourself from this category of being a religious person as James is speaking to those of faith, not those outside of it. So even if you think you have it all together, are you ready to see if you really have, and if you are being obedient to God's call on your life?

*26*If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. *27*Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. 

James 1:26–27

• ‘Bridle the tongue’
• ‘Visit orphans and widows in their affliction’
• ‘Keep oneself unstained from the world’

Are you doing these things? 

‘Bridle the tongue’ - Are you carefully considering your communication? If not, James is quite clear that you are deceiving yourself and that the faith you have is worthless! That's pretty harsh! Yet, do you not think this makes sense? If a person says they are a follower of God, but they are not mindful of how they communicate, in fact they speak like most other people, isn't there something wrong with that? If you trust and believe in Jesus, then that faith should effect every area of your life, including how you talk. No unwholesome speech should come from you. In fact, you should try your best to think before you speak, so that your communication is clear, kind and useful for building up others. Do you make an effort with how you communicate? Is your tongue bridled? If so then you are displaying the faith you have by doing so. Your faith is useful and you are living with integrity.

'Visit orphans and widows in their affliction’ - Do you care for others? Are you serving others who have nothing, or very little? Do you even know of others who society shuns or overlooks? Are you bothered by poverty? Here James calls for your faith to be faith in action. 'undefiled' faith is giving to those and loving those from whom you will get little or nothing back from. Who are those people in your community that you can step in to help and how can you interact with and help them? Can you sit and chat for a while with someone who is lonely and left out? Can you provide a meal for someone who cannot afford to eat and pay the rent? Could you look after someone's children so they can do something else? Pure faith requires you to put what you believe into action, and that will look inconvenient and maybe even messy. Are you doing it? Are you displaying 'pure and undefiled' faith?

‘Keep oneself unstained from the world’ - Are you living a life undistinguishable from those around you? Do you stand out in the crowd or blend in? Do people notice when you are around non-believers that there is something significantly about you? If not, why not? If you are a believer in God, and you trust in Jesus for your salvation, then you have been given a life unlike anyone else. Do people know and see how your character, decisions and lifestyle are different to theirs? Or are you getting mixed up and messy with the things that the world offers? How are your relationships? Do you manage the desires of your heart? Do you live a life honouring Jesus or a life fitting in with those around you? You cannot do both. If you try to please the world, you are displeasing Jesus and you are becoming 'stained'. Jesus saved you from that not for that. He died to the world so that you could be free from the influences of it, is that how you are living?

As a 'religious' person, how are you doing? Is your character developing along these lines? If you are a believer in God and a follower of Jesus, your faith should be living and active and noticeable, in a good way. The expectation is that you are growing and developing in your walk with God. Is the life and death of Jesus really changing you? 

Are you becoming more concerned with your communication, with those who are on the fringes of society and your own struggle with sin? 

James is showing you here that faith is not just inside of you, a notion or an understanding in your head or heart. It is to be lived out and demonstrated to the world around you through how you interact with others and how you keep yourself away from certain things. In reality, if you are a believer, other people should be able to see it from these things. Your behaviour, character and communication speak more about what you are really living for than the words you say. What are you showing others about what you believe through how you act? What can you do today to grow and become more of a person after God's heart? Do you need to consider your communication, take care of others or keep yourself away from worldly influences? James is helping you learn how to be an obedient disciple, demonstrating the love and power of Jesus, are you going to take up the challenge?

Old and New Covenant

Chapter 8 of Hebrews sums up some of what has been discussed about the two covenants God made with His people -  the first  (Old) covenant, and the New covenant made through Jesus.

This chapter reiterates that the Old covenant is basically worn out. From it’s inception it was becoming obsolete.
The way of the Old covenant was never intended to last forever. For a start there had been many High Priests who served for a time and then expired. Therefore the High Priest’s office is in itself a temporary thing. Temporary people can only serve a temporary system. The service of the High Priest  is finite, just like the Old Covenant. The Old covenant also required constant renewal, just like the renewal of the High Priest -when one died another would take his place - so too the offerings needed to be re-given. They were continually required, because people continually sin. Yet, before the High Priest could bring an offering to God, he first had to cleanse and atone for his own sin before he could give the offerings for the sins of the people.
These aspects clearly show that the Old covenant system was not perfect. The priests lived, served and died showing their temporal nature and the offerings that were given had to be provided again and again and again. There was no long-term solution to the problem of sin in the Old covenant, Even those working within the priestly system had faults as they had their own sin to atone for - they, although elected to godly duties, they in themselves were not innocent or pure, therefore their offerings could not be either. Even the best intentioned offerings were faulty because all of humanity have sinned. Sinful people cannot offer pure sacrifices no matter how hard they try. Therefore the estrangement between God and man could not be resolved through any of our own means. There could be no pure, eternal solution provided by sinful, temporal man.

A New way was needed and promised, God says through Jeremiah, ‘I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel’. God knew the need for a greater resolution, and he had another way planned, a way where sinful man and holy God can be united.
So a different way, a New covenant was required. One which established a final, eternal solution to deal with the destruction of sin.
A perfectly pure, blameless,  everlasting willing sacrifice was needed.

That’s where Jesus comes in.

He alone could do it and has done it.
He lived a perfect, blameless, pure and holy life, and died a perfect, willing, holy, blameless death.
He went through the most horrendous experience of becoming the ultimate pure, spotless sacrifice for all sin.
As Jesus was sinless, his sin offering on our behalf brought a complete end to sin - a holy sacrifice given to eradicate all impurity. His one offering is enough. Enough for all eternity. Jesus has brought a New covenant that is living, complete and eternal.

Jesus, our High Priest still lives and is continually mediating on our behalf before God. Jesus rule is not wearing out and will never become obsolete because he lives for all eternity, so there will be no end to his office. Jesus will not vanish or wear out. The New covenant he has created will not die out. The New way Jesus has brought is forever. Jesus has made away for you to be with him and have relationship with God no matter what you do. No sin can separate you from God now, no matter how much or how often you mess up. Jesus has sorted it. He is eternally standing before the Father petitioning on your behalf.

Do you believe and trust in this Jesus? Do you know that you are given a sin-free life? Are you living it?

Jesus has given a way for you to have a new life - you don't have to continually make amends - Jesus has done it. Are you living with the security of that? Are you taking into your own life the reality of the New covenant and your freedom from sin, and your freedom in relationship with God? What has this New covenant given you that you didn't have before?

Who is Jesus?

Just from the opening lines of Hebrews, we can see the richness of who Jesus is. It is by no means an exhaustive list, but here are the things we can pick out from the very start of this book in Hebrews 1:1-4:

Jesus is;
God’s son
Appointed
Heir of all things
Creator
Radiant
Glory of God
Exact imprint
Upholder of the universe
Powerful
Purifier
Majestic
Superior to angels
Excellent

Number 1, Jesus is God’s son. A son has a duty to follow his father, to reflect who his father is and carry out the father’s work and continue his reputation. It carries a responsibility and expectation that seeing the son means you see aspects of the father. As a result of Jesus’ sonship, many of the following attributes listed can be ascribed - like the fact that Jesus has been appointed by the father.

The appointment Jesus received means he has been; given authority, entrusted and ordained. Jesus not only carries the Father’s attributes, as the consequence of being God’s son, but he has also been commissioned. Jesus has work to do.

For Jesus, the job he was commissioned with was no easy task. His duty was to draw God and people together again. To bridge the gap between divinity and unsacred man. To breach the wide chasm of the holy, pure God, and sinful mankind. What a job! His father entrusted him to carry out this task, knowing that Jesus is the only one able to do it. No-one else bears the; characteristics, capabilities or commission to achieve this task. No-one can work hard enough, try hard enough or be enough to reach God without Jesus. God knew Jesus could and would do what was required. He knew Jesus carried the weight of sonship and his appointment. Only Jesus could bridge the gap, even if it would result in torture, abandonment and death.

Doesn’t that sound strange?
The fact that although Jesus is, ‘the heir of all things’, he suffered. He bled, he died, he felt pain and loneliness. Jesus -  the one who deserves complete honour, respect and adoration, the one who owns all of creation, the one who has unlimited power - was still living under duty and obedience!

Jesus has all power and authority, possession of the whole universe, yet he acknowledges and accepts the will of the father. Jesus still did things he didn’t want to do, he still acted in obedience even though all of creation can’t exist without him - What a contrast! A powerful, mighty, creator, and an obedient, loving, sacrificial son.
Jesus not only demonstrates his power through mighty works, miracles or creation, but he also displays incredible power through his obedience, sacrifice and forgiveness. No wonder that God’s glory is demonstrated in him!
God’s presence is perceived and felt when Jesus is present - the beauty, perfection, wonder and magnificence of God is shown through Jesus. Many people who met him know he was different, the people, the outsiders, those in power and authority, even the religious people realised Jesus was different - there was no denying it. No-one could quite pinpoint his ‘otherness’, but it was clear that he was different to all other people. That must of been because he showed the glory of God - no-one had seen or experienced it before. It was weird and different, inspiring and scary. Jesus could show the glory of God because he is, ‘the exact imprint’ of God. Jesus is an exact reflection of God, not a fake or a cheap alternative, but the genuine article - 100% God. Total holiness, power, goodness and righteousness walking the Earth. Jesus showed who God is all the time. He, as the; son, anointed, heir, creator, imprint and glory of God, is also the one who, ‘upholds the universe by the word of his power’. Wow! Not only was Jesus involved in creation, but this phrase shows that Jesus is continually sustaining creation. Jesus is interested and invested the continuance of what He has made, and still works to uphold his creation. He is just as interested and invested in your life now as he ever was - are you as interested and invested in him?

So, to recap - Jesus is God’s son, 100%, He has authority and power. He was around at the beginning of the universe, and he is still involved in it’s functioning. So how does this effect us?
The very next phrase answers this as Jesus has made, ‘purification for sins’. Not through some ritual, but this obedient son of God, this 100% God-man, the anointed creator made it possible for us to be cleansed and restored relationship with God. He did this through love. He loves God and us more than himself, so this powerful and majestic Jesus gave up all he had in order to give you the chance to know freedom from all you’ve done wrong. Jesus is not a distant eternal entity, but completely invested in all that he has made, and that includes you. He is so invested in fact that he willingly gave himself over to be beaten, tortured, disowned and separated from his Father in order to give you the opportunity to see his Father. Jesus was killed because he wanted you to know something of the purity he knows. To give you the chance to know the Father he knows. You don’t have to live anymore with the stigma or reputation of your wrongs if you accept that Jesus has got it covered. He took all your punishment to allow you to walk free. Are you?

Then, after Jesus had completed the job, just to make sure that we realise the awesomeness of who Jesus is - he goes and sits on the heavenly royal throne, right next to his Father!
Jesus now sits in heaven, in his rightful place. Surrounded by heavenly beings and angels whom he is greater than.
People can have an awe about angels, we hear accounts of people meeting them, both past and present and we are impressed and probably a little jealous! Yet, these heavenly creatures, these messengers, protectors who sit in the presence of God are much less than Jesus. Jesus is, ‘much superior’ and ‘more excellent’ than they. Let us treat with reverence and awe the name of Jesus as those in heaven do. Let us be more inspired by Jesus than we are by anything else.

So, today, consider the power of the name of Jesus, what does he mean to you? What should he mean to you? How does your acknowledgment of who he is effect your life?