Day 7/18 – Holiness

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
Holiness
Day One Hundred Ninety-nine

“But as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.'” 1 Peter 1:15-16

All religions divide the world into pure and impure. They have holy places and things that the impure and profane cannot approach. Instinctively, all people know that some things are pure and some things are impure. Religions differ on how they catalog these differences.

In the Old Testament, God describes/defines the Tabernacle and its content, in part, by declaring certain places and objects holy. In the New Testament, the believer is the holy temple of God; God takes up residence in him. Thus God declares you holy in an act of His grace, and then commands you to live your life in conformity with His declaration.

Your reactions reveal more about your holiness than your actions, for the latter can be motivated by a variety of things other than true holiness. You may want to conform out of fear of what other people may say or think. Thus purity, in the final analysis, is first and foremost an issue of the heart. God lives in you to help you become holy, but the process requires your cooperation.

Two thoughts: First, God defines holiness. You become holy as you become more and more like God. The only way I know of how to do this is by time in Scripture, learning to think like God thinks. Second, God calls you to be in the world relating to sinners as His ambassador. As you seek to “become all things to all men that by all means you might save some,” 272 only you and the Spirit of God know whether your motivation for doing this comes from a desire to be like Jesus, or because you want to feed your carnal nature. Thus our sinful nature and the lure of worldly matters makes time in Scripture vital to the preservation of holiness.

272 I Corinthians 9:22

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Psalm 20-22 Acts 21:1-17 (New King James Version)

Psalm 20-22
The Assurance of God’s Saving Work
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
20
May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble;
May the name of the God of Jacob [a]defend you;
2
May He send you help from the sanctuary,
And strengthen you out of Zion;
3
May He remember all your offerings,
And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah
4
May He grant you according to your heart’s desire,
And fulfill all your [b]purpose.
5
We will rejoice in your salvation,
And in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.
6
Now I know that the Lord saves His [c]anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
With the saving strength of His right hand.
7
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;
But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
8
They have bowed down and fallen;
But we have risen and stand upright.
9
Save, Lord!
May the King answer us when we call.
Joy in the Salvation of the Lord
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
21
The king shall have joy in Your strength, O Lord;
And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2
You have given him his heart’s desire,
And have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3
For You meet him with the blessings of goodness;
You set a crown of pure gold upon his head.
4
He asked life from You, and You gave it to him—
Length of days forever and ever.
5
His glory is great in Your salvation;
Honor and majesty You have placed upon him.
6
For You have made him most blessed forever;
You have made him [d]exceedingly glad with Your presence.
7
For the king trusts in the Lord,
And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be [e]moved.
8
Your hand will find all Your enemies;
Your right hand will find those who hate You.
9
You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger;
The Lord shall swallow them up in His wrath,
And the fire shall devour them.
10
Their offspring You shall destroy from the earth,
And their [f]descendants from among the sons of men.
11
For they intended evil against You;
They devised a plot which they are not able to perform.
12
Therefore You will make them turn their back;
You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces.
13
Be exalted, O Lord, in Your own strength!
We will sing and praise Your power.
The Suffering, Praise, and Posterity of the Messiah
To the Chief Musician. Set to [g]“The Deer of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David.
22
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?
2
O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.
3
But You are holy,
Enthroned in the praises of Israel.
4
Our fathers trusted in You;
They trusted, and You delivered them.
5
They cried to You, and were delivered;
They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.
6
But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
7
All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They [h]shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8
“He [i]trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”
9
But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
10
I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother’s womb
You have been My God.
11
Be not far from Me,
For trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
12
Many bulls have surrounded Me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.
13
They [j]gape at Me with their mouths,
Like a raging and roaring lion.
14
I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted [k]within Me.
15
My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.
16
For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They[l] pierced My hands and My feet;
17
I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
18
They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.
19
But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
20
Deliver Me from the sword,
My[m] precious life from the power of the dog.
21
Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!
You have answered Me.
22
I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23
You who fear the Lord, praise Him!
All you [n]descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
24
For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But when He cried to Him, He heard.
25
My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
26
The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!
27
All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the [o]nations
Shall worship before [p]You.
28
For the kingdom is the Lord’s,
And He rules over the nations.
29
All the prosperous of the earth
Shall eat and worship;
All those who go down to [q]the dust
Shall bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
30
A posterity shall serve Him.
It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
31
They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,
That He has done this.
Footnotes:
• Psalm 20:1 Lit. set you on high
• Psalm 20:4 counsel
• Psalm 20:6 Commissioned one, Heb. messiah
• Psalm 21:6 Lit. joyful with gladness
• Psalm 21:7 shaken
• Psalm 21:10 Lit. seed
• Psalm 22:1 Heb. Aijeleth Hashahar
• Psalm 22:7 Show contempt with their mouth
• Psalm 22:8 LXX, Syr., Vg. hoped; Tg. praised
• Psalm 22:13 Lit. have opened their mouths at Me
• Psalm 22:14 Lit. in the midst of My bowels
• Psalm 22:16 So with some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Vg.; MT Like a lion instead of They pierced
• Psalm 22:20 Lit. My only one
• Psalm 22:23 Lit. seed
• Psalm 22:27 Gentiles
• Psalm 22:27 So with MT, LXX, Tg.; Arab., Syr., Vg. Him
• Psalm 22:29 Death

Acts 21:1-17
Warnings on the Journey to Jerusalem
21 Now it came to pass, that when we had departed from them and set sail, running a straight course we came to Cos, the following day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 2 And finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. 3 When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload her cargo. 4 And finding [a]disciples, we stayed there seven days. They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. 5 When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way; and they all accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore and prayed. 6 When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship, and they returned home.
7 And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day. 8 On the next day we [b]who were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9 Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. 10 And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”
12 Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
14 So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.”
Paul Urged to Make Peace
15 And after those days we [c]packed and went up to Jerusalem. 16 Also some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to lodge.
17 And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.
Footnotes:
• Acts 21:4 NU the disciples
• Acts 21:8 NU omits who were Paul’s companions
• Acts 21:15 made preparations