Re: POWER of PRAYER- No Matter Which Faith You Follow=GOD is With You
Holy as God is Holy
The Old Testament is full of types and shadows of New Testament truth. Whenever I have difficulty understanding a truth from the New Testament, I turn back to its foreshadowing in the Old Testament. In fact, I believe every single episode or story in the Old Testament is full of ripe truth for New Testament believers.
One such example is the passage concerning Moses at the burning bush. This particular story is full of profound New Testament truth on the subject of holiness.
While Moses was alone on Mount Horeb herding his father-in-law's sheep, a strange sight suddenly grabbed his attention. A bush was burning brightly, as if on fire, yet it was not consumed.
Moses decided to look closer, and as he stepped nearer, God called to him out of the bush. "Then Moses said, 'I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.' So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, 'Moses, Moses!' And he said, 'Here I am.'" (Exodus 3:3-4, NKJV).
That bush was burning without being consumed because God was present in it. It was a visual representation of God's holiness. Indeed, wherever he is present, that place is holy.
The New Testament tells us we are called to be holy even as God is holy. "But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.'" (1 Peter 1:15-16). In other words, it is written, recorded and settled once and for all: We are to be holy, as our God is holy.
"For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness" (1 Thessalonians 4:7). God has not called us just to salvation, to heaven, or to receive his pardon. Rather, these things are the benefits of our one true calling, which is to be holy as he is holy.
Every believer in the church of Jesus Christ is called to be pure and blameless in God's sight. If you have been born again, the cry of your heart must be, "God, I want to be like Jesus and walk holy before you all the days of my life."
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I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people -- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4
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