Dear Church Family,

In Exodus 19, right before the giving of the ten commandments on Mount Sinai, God speaks to Moses and tells him to consecrate the people in preparation for His appearing. He would come down on the mountain in a dramatic way: in a thick cloud, with thunder, lighting, and a loud trumpet blast. The people needed to be prepared for His arrival.

Consecration is a word we don’t use very much. I love the hymn, “Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to Thee.” What does it mean to consecrate ourselves to the Lord? The Hebrew word in the passage, Kadash, means to set apart as sacred or to dedicate. It is used four times in this passage, calling on the people to set themselves apart and dedicating themselves to the Lord. The people needed to be prepared for the Lord’s arrival.
In our study in 1 Peter, in chapter one Peter calls on us to be holy in all of our conduct and quotes Leviticus 11:44. This Old Testament verse uses the same Hebrew word, Kadash:

Leviticus 11:44 (ESV) 
For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.

Instead of appearing before us in a thick cloud of smoke, God now actually makes His home in us as believers. We are temples of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (ESV) 
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

We are called to glorify God in our bodies. We cannot do that unless we consecrate ourselves to Him. Take some time to stop and ask, “Is there anything in my life that is not set apart to God? Is there any sin I’m holding on to?” Pray, as David did:

Psalm 139:23–24 (ESV) 
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

-David Bronleewe