Freedom ಮಾದರಿ

Day One: You Are Holy 

Here is your identity: If Jesus is in you, you are holy! 

To be holy is to be clean, free from sin. In the Old Testament, whenever there was sin or uncleanliness, Leviticus outlines the sacrifices for sin that needed to be offered up – a lamb, a goat, or a dove. Sin brings death, and someone must pay the price for that sin. Hebrews says that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. When the offerings were presented to God the person received forgiveness for their sin. In the New Testament, Jesus came as the sacrifice for our sins. That sacrifice purchased our freedom. 

In reading through this passage in Leviticus something strikes us in the key verse for today: ‘anyone or anything that touches these offerings will become holy’. Surely that’s wrong! Shouldn't it read: ‘whoever touches these offerings must be holy’? Surely you must be holy to come near this sacrifice?

If it is ‘must be holy’ then we must be thinking there is a possibility that if we are unholy, and we touch the sacrifice, then something bad will happen to it. But we can’t make holy unholy, quite the opposite, holy makes unholy holy. You don’t change holy, holy changes you. When you touch the perfect sacrifice, you become perfect. 

This is what we do when we try to approach God, we start inspecting ourselves. Am I good enough? Am I pure? Is God going to be ok with me? Have I prayed enough this week? Have I made less mistakes today? 

The priest did not examine the person coming to present the offering, the emphasis was on the perfection of the offering. God isn’t inspecting you when you approach him – he is looking at Jesus! Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for our sin. If you’ve touched Jesus, you are holy. The natural way for us to view God is to approach him concerned that we may not be good enough to come near him. But he’s not looking at you, he’s looking at Jesus. When you accepted him as your Lord & Saviour, you are now holy. 

So you don’t need to cower in fear, you can approach God with the good and the bad and know he is a loving God who doesn’t look at your faults or failings, he sees the sacrifice of Jesus. God is pleased with Jesus, so God is pleased with you. You don’t need to change anything to stand before him. You are chosen, royal, holy, and you belong to God. 

Today, end your lonely battles and your fear that you will never be enough. In Jesus you are enough. Run to God, reach out to him, walk in freedom, know you are clean. You can overcome because God accepts you. You can find strength because God welcomes you! You can be free from worrying that you will never measure up. 

As you read the key verses for today - declare that you are holy! You are enough!