Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – June 27, 2014
Pray, therefore, like this: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed (kept holy) be Your name. Matthew 6:9, The Amplified Bible
The holiness of our heavenly Father cannot be completely comprehended by the human mind. His purity burns so brightly, it lights up the eyes of our faith. The dross of our sinful deeds melts in the presence of His pure character. Just as Moses took cover in the cleft of the rock as God passed by, so we take shelter in the refuge of our Savior Jesus to be able to handle the glory of our great God. His name is above all names, not to be spoken in vain, but evoked in humble adoration.
His Holiness–our Father in heaven, is to be feared. We surrender to our Sovereign Lord. We bow on hallowed ground in His presence. To a small degree, the respect we show those buried in a national cemetery is likened to our honor and approach of our heavenly Father in prayer. We are not rushed into rote prayers, but in reverent repentance, we first come clean in confession of our sins in the presence of perfection. We seek Him alone in worship, none other is worthy of our radical devotion.
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3).
Our heavenly Father’s holiness is not a standard, but the standard of sinless perfection. Though we will never achieve perfection in this life, His Holy Spirit continues to perfect our faith and character to become more like Christ’s. As children of the Holy One we are set apart to be holy as He is holy. However, be careful not to fall into the ‘holier than thou’ attitude trap. Sin is never comfortable in the presence of purity. We are only a channel for the Spirit to convict the hearts of those we love on behalf of Jesus. Thus, we pray for His holiness to shine through us.
Therefore, we pray the prayer of Jesus when we keep holy the name of our heavenly Father. We are friends with Jesus and we partner with the Holy Spirit, but we are submissive children of our Father, the Most High–our great and glorious God. We bow now in individual preparation for the day after our death when we pray with all in glorious acclamation. Can you taste and see His holy aura in your reverent worship of your heavenly Father? In prayer, by faith, esteem His holy name!
“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I bow down in the glory of Your holiness. Break my heart for what breaks Yours.
Related Readings: Isaiah 52:13; Daniel 7:14; Acts 2:33; 1 Peter 1:15-16
Post/Tweet today: Our heavenly Father’s holiness is not a standard, but the standard of sinless perfection. #wisdomhunters
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© 2014 by Boyd Bailey. All rights reserved. www.wisdomhunters.com
