Category: holy

Hallow: To Make Holy

. . . simply concentrate on being completely devoted to Christ in your hearts. Be ready at any time to give a quiet and reverent answer to any man who wants 
a reason for the hope you have within you. 
(1 Peter 3:15-16)


Jesus directs us to venerate the name of the Father. Yet, there is so much more here than an old-fashioned word that we often translate as honor. To make God’s name holy is synonymous with asking that His kingdom come. To acknowledge God’s holiness is to admit our need for heavenly intervention. 

For any human to make God holy would be an absurd request. Jesus knows this, and so He asks us to make God’s name holy, and again this borders on ludicrous, because God alone is holy. Amazingly, He offers us the privilege to represent His reputation.

His very name is part of our identity. Christians are Christ ones. Just as Jesus was sent into the world, we are sent into the world to “hallow” God’s name and character in order to live a life that reflects His holiness and draws others to glorify Him. (Matthew 5:16)

Hallowing God’s name is more than just praising Him with words and accolades, it is setting Him apart in our hearts as the one most worthy of honor and reverence. To revere God is more than just assent, it is actively responding and living out our faith. 

In the original language the impact of this word takes on a sense of action that I have often overlooked. I thought if I just proclaimed excellent things about God’s name and character, then I must be hallowing His name. However, a deeper look at the origins of the word, require more than proclamation. Our lives must emulate our words.

Mounce’s Expository Dictionary explains it this way: “This expression [hallowed be thy name] means not only to treat God and his name with reverence and honor but also to glorify him by obeying his commands.” The essence of “reverence” used in this phrase is “specifically setting apart Jesus in our lives as Lord and honoring him as such.”

Praying these familiar words take on new meaning, not just mere words to recite, but a call to obedience motivated by love for our holy and loving Father.
How are you “hallowing” God with your words and actions?

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Tenets: Principles to Hold Us Together

On the tenth day of Christmas my True Love gave to me,
ten tenets for holy living.
 
 

1. You must not have any other god but Me.

 
2. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.

3. You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.

4. Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

5. Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

6. You must not murder.

7. You must not commit adultery.

8. You must not steal.

9. You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.

10. You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.
 
 
(from Exodus 20:3-17 NLT,
renumbered for the purpose of this blog post)
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Proclaim: To Praise or Glorify Openly

The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5 ESV
On Halloween, a profound sense of holiness and awe came over me. As the holiday season approaches, my heart yearns for the sacred One.
We often associate Halloween with darkness, goblins and ghosts and candy. Yet the word hallow merged with eve means holy night. The word holiday has become common enough, yet I see holy plus day in there, and I remember that each day can be filled with the distinctive character of God.

As I pursue a season of rest and solitude, this slowing down of the pace and this shortening of days that pours in more darkness than light, I am strangely comforted. My heart desires to wander through the shadows and see if there is any good in the dark.

As I contemplate the holy entrance of winter and Thanksgiving and Christmas, I discover this quote over at Seasons with Soul:

“Humility, like the darkness,
reveals the heavenly lights.”Henry David Thoreau

And a deeper appreciation for darkness invades. A longing to comprehend how the contrast of dark and light mingle. How a light entered the world and overshadowed the darkness. A miracle of light playing off the night sky, a star leading us to a Savior.

Words taken apart, distilled to parts, broke open a fresh perspective—a need to embrace the holy, the sacred, to sing with hope a carol of redemption. To proclaim a Savior’s birth. To fall on my knees in humility.

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
‘Til He appear’d and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
 
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.
 
(John Sullivan Dwight)
 
 
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Word Filled Wednesdays

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Voice: Medium of Expression

The voice of one crying in the wilderness…the cry of an infant…the cry of anguish…my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Prepare ye the way of the Lord! shouts the prophets over the pages…through the years…in the voice of a multitude preparing the way in song…sing…sing a song…make it simple…to last the whole year long

Hallelujah chorus…broken hallelujahs…voices raised in acclamation and praise…shouting, hooting, hollering…raising hands…joining in on the chorus…what does

my voice add in the strains of a million other voices…expressing words wrought from synapses and snapshots of memory and experiences and teachings and lives of living example

Creating together…voices of a thousand angels…cry Holy! Holy! Holy!
 
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky displays what his hands have made.
 One day tells a story to the next.
Psalm 19:1-2 (GOD’S WORD Translation)
 
 
 
 
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Welcome:To Accept with Pleasure the Presence of

Welcome to my world. The sign on my front door beckons. Come in and see. I have a place for you, set at the table. I want to share a meal. A conversation.

What will we talk about? Well, first I want to say I love you. And I hope you still love me as much as you did when we first met. I hope you love me more and more. The more we spend time together; I want to reveal my thoughts and intentions to you.

When you enter my world, you can leave your cares behind. I want you to have a carefree life. I went where you could never go, so that you could be welcome forever in my realm.

Now you have concerns, then you will experience joy unending.

The same way I have welcomed you, so you must also welcome others.

Thanks for stopping by, you are always wanted here. When you leave make sure you leave the door unlocked. I never shut you out, but I know you have to go back out to your world for now. One day, I will come back, and usher you into the scenes of glory like John described.

Then we will let out all the stops. You will join the chorus of “Holy, Holy, Holy!”

I can’t wait to gather everyone together in one welcoming place. Remember, I always love you!
 

 
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