January 4th
Separation
It is written: Be holy, for I am holy.
1 Peter 1:16
Do you know that you cannot serve God unless you are set apart ? In the Bible, that word refers to being set apart for a specific task or purpose.
The Lord said to Moses: “From the first thing you knead, you shall offer a cake as an offering” (Num. 15:20). God wanted the first fruits of the earth to be separated to honor him.
The Lord also said “I, the Lord, am holy, and I have separated you from the peoples that you may be mine” (Lev. 20:26). God took the nation of Israel and set it apart from all other nations for his glory.
In each of these passages in the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament), the word refers to separation in the most complete way. The apostle Paul knew that once he was called as an apostle, he was disconnected from his past. When Paul was the most ardent Pharisee, he was set apart, or separated, from the traditions of the Jewish people (Phil. 3: 5). Now he could claim that he was a Pharisee set apart for the gospel of God.
Are you cut off from your previous life?