{"id":852,"date":"2012-03-14T06:00:01","date_gmt":"2012-03-14T06:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/03\/moses-isaiah-and-the-holiness-of-god\/"},"modified":"2012-03-14T06:00:01","modified_gmt":"2012-03-14T06:00:01","slug":"moses-isaiah-and-the-holiness-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/03\/moses-isaiah-and-the-holiness-of-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Moses, Isaiah, and the Holiness of God"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Weekly Overview:<\/h2>\n<p>God\u2019s presence is real, full of love, and completely transformational. It takes what was broken and brings healing. It takes what was lost and guides us to our rightful place in the Father. It satisfies the weary, brings light to the darkness, and pours out the refreshing rain of God\u2019s love on the dryest, deepest parts of the soul. Scripture contains story after story of God coming down to meet God\u2019s children where they are, and your heavenly Father has the same heart for you as he did them. He longs to make the reality of his presence known to you. He longs to refresh you with his nearness. You were created for encountering God, and you will never be satisfied until you continually live in the experience for which you were created. Allow your desires to be stirred up to encounter the living God this week as we read powerful stories of God\u2019s people encountering his manifest presence. May you respond to God\u2019s word by seeking out that for which you were made: continual encounter with your heavenly Father.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Scripture:<\/h2>\n<p><em>\u201cAnd the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.&#8221;<\/em> Exodus 3:2<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"worship\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Worship:<\/h2>\n<h3>Revelation Song by Kari Jobe<\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: auto auto 30px auto; width: 100%; float:left;\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: block; margin: auto; float: left; border: 1px solid #000000; background-color: #484846; padding: 2px; -moz-border-radius: 3px; -khtml-border-radius: 3px; -webkit-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px;\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8-Gxjtd6Wp4?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<h2>Devotional:<\/h2>\n<p>Two of the most powerful recorded encounters of God\u2019s presence are found with Isaiah in Isaiah 6:1-7 and with Moses in Exodus 3:2-6. Let\u2019s open our hearts to both learn from these encounters and allow them to guide us into a powerful encounter with the living God ourselves.<\/p>\n<p>Isaiah 6:1-7 says,<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<p><em>In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><em>\u201cHoly, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;<\/em><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">\n<p><em>the whole earth is full of his glory!&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<p><em>And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: \u201cWoe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: \u201cBehold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.&#8221; <\/em><\/div>\n<p>Isaiah demonstrated that experiencing the holiness of God and seeing our own sin in light of his holiness are consistent and important parts of encountering God\u2019s presence. Time after time in Scripture, God\u2019s people see their own sin, repent, and are healed after having an encounter with the presence of God. In fact, Moses has a similar response to being in the presence of God for the first time in Exodus 3:2-6:<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, \u201cI will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.&#8221; When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, \u201cMoses, Moses!&#8221; And he said, \u201cHere I am.&#8221; Then he said, \u201cDo not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.&#8221; And he said, \u201cI am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.&#8221; And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.<\/em><\/div>\n<p>In light of God\u2019s astounding holiness, Moses was filled with fear to look at the face of God. These two descriptions of God\u2019s presence illustrate an important truth for all: the light of God\u2019s holiness has the ability to pierce into the depth of our soul, bringing to light the darkness that destroys us from within. My prayer today is that we would follow the examples of Moses and Isaiah and allow God\u2019s holiness to shine light on our sin and draw us to repentance. And may we experience healing today the way Isaiah did as the angel of the Lord cleansed him with the coal.<\/p>\n<p>God\u2019s presence casts light on our sin and brokenness because in order for us to live the fullness of life God desires, we must walk in righteousness. It\u2019s because of God\u2019s love that he reveals our sin. It\u2019s because God longs for us to experience a life of holiness and freedom as his children that he shines light on our darkness and draws us out into the glorious light of righteousness.<\/p>\n<p>God promises in Isaiah 42:16, <em>\u201cAnd I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.&#8221;<\/em> And 1 Peter 2:9 says, <em>\u201cBut you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.&#8221;<\/em> God\u2019s desire has always been to lead his children into his righteousness. God\u2019s longing for us to partake in his divine nature has been a chief desire of his from the first sin of Adam and Eve. And through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ our nature has been transformed. Ephesians 2:1-6 says,<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience\u2014 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ\u2014by grace you have been saved\u2014 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.<\/em><\/div>\n<p>You have been set free from what once separated you from your heavenly Father. But the key to experiencing this freedom is allowing God to shine light on what does not belong to you anymore: your sin. You must walk as a child of the light, not as a child of wrath, and it\u2019s spending time encountering the holiness of God that will transform you from the inside out. Spending time on holy ground as Moses did will heal you from the sins that entangle you. Spending time allowing God to reveal your sin and purge it from you as he did with Isaiah will empower you to choose the light over the darkness. A vital part of encountering God is repenting of our sin in light of his wonderful, holy love for us.<\/p>\n<p>Experience the holiness of God today as you enter into guided prayer. Repent of whatever is in you that\u2019s not in line with your new nature in Christ and walk as the child of God that you are in light of his wonderful and powerful grace.<\/p>\n<h2>Guided Prayer:<\/h2>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<p><strong>1. Meditate on Moses and Isaiah\u2019s encounters with the holiness of God.<\/strong> Put yourself inside the story. Imagine yourself as their character. Feel what they would have felt. See what they would have seen. Allow the stories of Scripture to come to life around you.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cAnd the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, \u2018I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.\u2019 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, \u2018Moses, Moses!\u2019 And he said, \u2018Here I am.\u2019 Then he said, \u2018Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.\u2019 And he said, \u2018I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.\u2019 And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.&#8221;<\/em> Exodus 3:2-6<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cIn the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:<\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>\u2018Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;<br \/>\nthe whole earth is full of his glory!\u2019<\/em><\/div>\n<p><em>And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: \u201cWoe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: \u2018Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.'&#8221; <\/em> Isaiah 6:1-7<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Allow the holiness of God to shine light on the darkest parts of your soul.<\/strong> Where do you have unconfessed sin? What\u2019s holding you back from walking fully in the light? What sin does God want to heal you from today?<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Confess your sins to God.<\/strong> Repent from any area of darkness and turn fully toward the light of holiness. Rest in his forgiveness and allow it to be the foundation on which you can live in the freedom bought for you by the blood of Christ.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Psalm 30:11 says, <em>\u201cYou have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.&#8221;<\/em> When we give our sin over to God he turns what the enemy meant to harm us into our greatest source of gladness. Forgiveness is something to dance over, to sing about, and to enjoy wholeheartedly. Our God takes what was dark and makes it light. He took what tied us to this world, placed it on the shoulders of Jesus, and put it to death with the last breath of his perfect Son. May you discover today a freeing joy in the presence of the God of holiness and forgiveness. And may you live your life in light of the glorious grace you\u2019ve been shown through the love of God.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Extended Reading:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Romans+8&#038;version=ESV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Romans 8<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Weekly Overview: God&#8217;s presence is real, full of love, and completely transformational. It takes what was broken and brings healing. It takes what was lost and guides us to our rightful place in the Father. It satisfies the weary, brings light to the darkness, and pours out the refreshing rain of God&#8217;s love on the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":636,"featured_media":855,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-first15"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Moses, Isaiah, and the Holiness of God<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Weekly Overview: God&#8217;s presence is real, full of love, and completely transformational. It takes what was broken and brings healing. It takes what was lost and guides us to our rightful place in the Father. 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