By Paul Dhinakaran
Dearly beloved,
In the Bible, we read that God chose a young man called Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land after the death of Moses.
When the Israelites Crossed the Jordan River, they camped at a place called Gilgal. This was the place where Joshua sanctified himself along with all the armies of Israel.
In Joshua Chapter 10, we read that God gave Joshua and his men a great victory over their enemies. Yet he did not stay behind to celebrate the victory that the Lord gave him, but came back to Gilgal, the place of sanctification. The Bible says, “Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal” (Joshua 10:15). He and his men marched all night long to that place of sanctification to pray again; they honoured the Lord. Desiring sanctification, they returned to the place that was pleasing to the Lord.
Thus should you guard yourself holy.
We read in Revelation 22:11,12: “Let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy. "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.” The Lord Jesus says, Behold, I am coming quickly. He who is holy, let him be holy still. I want to command still more blessings…” Today, open your heart to the Lord and return to holiness.
In Joshua 3:5, Joshua tells the Israelites, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you." Holiness is turning to God, waiting at His feet and obeying His Word, and this is what I have learnt. I obey the Lord when He speaks to me. The Holy Spirit gives me the grace to do this. We need to leave the worldly desires, wait at His feet and be truthful and faithful in our deeds, words and thoughts in order to obey Him. The Holy Spirit will help us in our weakness (Romans 8:26).
The Lord says, "Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). He is holy in nature and expects us to be holy since we are His children and belong to Him. When we fear Him and walk in the path of holiness, He will be our strong refuge; we shall have everlasting protection under His mighty hand.
