Moments With God

Exodus 19

It is wonderful to know that the Lord’s presence is with us at all times. The Lord walks beside us, before us, and behind us; as we tread through the wilderness of this life. In times of difficulty the Lord also carries us in His protective love. God said to His Old Testament people, "You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself." (Exodus 19:4) We certainly can take comfort from knowing that the Lord also carries us, His children today, "on eagles’ wings."

In Exodus 19:5-6a the Lord God went on to give a wonderful promise to His Old Testament people. God said, "Now if you obey Me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." If we as believers today are submissive and obedient to the Lord God, we also are His treasured possession. What an exciting thought!

I Peter 2:9 reassures us that as believers today we also are the Lord God’s "chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God." God has chosen us for these special roles, so that we can bring honor and praise to His glorious name. We were chosen to live holy and pure lives so that in this way we would bring glory to our Lord God. As the Lord God’s holy priests and holy nation we must strive to reflect His holiness in every aspect of our lives. I Peter 1:15-16 tells us, "But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’" To be God’s holy priests and His holy nation means we are set apart from the world, set apart from habitual and deliberate sin, and set apart to live for God’s glory. Because of sin still present in our lives even as believers, we will not do this perfectly. It must be our passion, however, to always strive to live holy and God honoring lives in the Lord’s strength.

As our Lord God’s holy priests we must further offer the Lord God the sacrifice of our reverence and humility because of His perfect holiness and awesome power. We must recognize that our loving and faithful God is also a holy and pure God. As the Israelites, God’s people of old, recognized the holiness and power of God in Exodus 19:10-25; so we also must stand in awe and reverence before our God because of His perfect holiness, because of His power, and because of all that He is in His character.

Finally, as His holy priests we also must offer sacrifices of praise, worship, and service to our Lord God. Romans 12:1b commands us to offer our "bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God" as our "spiritual act of worship" to our Lord. This means that as His holy priests our Lord God deserves the sacrifice of our undivided love and devotion. Our love for our Lord must involve the entirety of our hearts, minds, and wills. In this way we will indeed be showing by our lives that we are "a people belonging to God." May it be our passion to offer the Lord God sacrifices of holy lives, lives of undivided love for the Lord, and lives of praise and gratitude for all that the Lord has done for us.