Separate but Distinct

Greetings All,

I have been using a particular model for quiet time for a couple of years now that involves making a list of the things that need to be accomplished today, followed by answering the question of "How will this day be different without God?" I then consider how I am doing, anything that I have not fully abandoned to God's will and power, followed by reading scripture, sitting quietly before God and then reading other Christian authors. I end the time with prayer. This model has served me well and keeps me in touch with both myself and God, as well as forcing my prayers to be very deliberate. I started a new journal today though, one that lists a devotional model by Wayne Cordero, a renowned church planter from Hawaii. It is a model that focuses on scripture and uses the acronym SOAP (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer) and comes out of the daily time spent in scripture. I thought I might mix these two models for a while and see how it goes with the expectation that this model will take me deeper into Scripture rather than simply being focused on reading it.  This mornings observation was worth sharing, so here you have it. Let's begin with Scripture

Leviticus 20:24b-25a I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from the nations. 

You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds.

 As I read this I couldn't help but connect with these words from God regarding the nature of Israel and ultimately the purpose of the laws of Leviticus.  God has set them apart from the nations.  They are meant to be clean, pure, and holy as God is holy and it is that holiness, coming from God, that sets them apart from the rest of the nations.  The scripture goes on to describe how it is imperative that the high priest does not defile himself, or make himself unclean in any way because he is the person who can approach God on behalf of Israel and if he is unclean, if even for a day, Israel finds themselves in the peculiar spot of not having one to intercede for them with God.  Israel serves the same function for the world that the High Priest serves for Israel.  They are to be set apart so that there is always a people who can intercede for the world and be in a constant state where they can approach a Holy God.  Separate and distinct is not about being better or favored or more important, it is about being in a constant state of readiness for the purpose of intercession. 

As Christians we fill that seat of Israel, we too are to be set apart, not better but in a way that keeps us in a position where we can not only approach God on behalf of others, but where others can see God in us.  The difference between us and the High Priest is that he was to stay at the temple so as to not risk defilement, we on the other hand have to live in the world, but not be of the world.  We have to have relationships with the people that we have been set apart from so that we can intercede for them with Our God.  This should give each of us pause today as we consider how we live our lives in front of others.  Are we in a constant state of readiness to be able to intercede on anothers' behalf?  Are we living out our lives in a distinctly God focused way so that others can see God in us and ask us to intercede on their behalf?

Let's pray,
Father you have set us apart to be in a constant state of readiness to intercede for the world that they may always have someone to connect them with You.  We ask you this morning to help each of us live our lives in such a manner as to reflect this truth.  Help each of us to pursue holiness so that we can be distinct, separate, but always ready to serve the world.  In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron