February 22

“You are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God’s holy nation, His very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light” (I Peter 2:9). “You are the salt of the earth.....You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13&14). “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can goodness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the Devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?” (II Corinthians 6:14&15).
Throughout all of scripture, there is a very definite command to be different and live different from those of the world. God has not called us to be like the world, but to transform the world. As God brought the Israelites to the edge of the Promised Land, He had these instructions for them: “do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life. You must obey all my regulations and be careful to keep my laws, for I, the Lord, am your God. If you obey my laws and regulations, you will find life through them” (Leviticus 18:1-5). There was a reason God eventually freed His people from Egypt and there was a reason God was displacing the people of Canaan with the Israelites. God does not want His people living like the pagans of this world. All the laws given the Israelites were practical ways of distinguishing between the holy lifestyle God wanted them to follow from the unholy lifestyle of those in the world. And whether we fully understand each and every regulation or not, the fact is, God’s ways are not our ways and God’s thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8&9). God has reasons for the rules and laws He gives us. Faith is trusting God sufficiently to do what God commands, knowing that those who do will enjoy the blessings of their obedience to Him.