Holiness

‘More spiritual progress can be made in one short moment of speechless silence in the awesome presence of God than in years of mere study,’ wrote A.W. Tozer. Worship is coming into ‘the awesome presence’ of a holy God on his holy mountain. Our God is ‘a consuming fire’ (v.29). You are called to be like him: ‘Make every effort… to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord’ (v.14b). As Mother Teresa said, ‘Our progress in holiness depends on God and ourselves – on God’s grace and on our will to be holy.’ You can decide to let Jesus make you holy. Relationships really matter: ‘Make every effort to live in peace with everyone’ (v.14a). Don’t do anything that could cause you to miss out on the grace of God (to miss out on his holy presence). ‘Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time’ (v.15, MSG). Pull out the roots of bitterness as soon as you detect them.