Genesis 2:1-3 (NKJV)
1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished.
2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
The word “Sanctify” seems like a big Christian word. But it is really a simple definition for what seems to be a complicated process. It just means for something to be made holy (acceptable to God) and set aside for His use.
In the verses above in Genesis, God blessed the seventh day and set it apart for His use. It was later referred to as the “Sabbath”. It was to be the day that was set aside to rest and acknowledge worship of Jehovah. If you go to Israel, you will see the sabbath still set apart each week.
Does that word still apply to us? It does. As believers, we are told that Jesus took our sin and gave us His righteousness. He sanctified us.
Hebrews 13:12 (NKJV)
12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
This just means that Jesus died for us outside the gates of Jerusalem so that we could be made holy and set apart for God. He exchanged His life for our life. He took the brutal punishment so we would not have to. All we need to do is receive what Jesus has done and He will help us live in the revelation of it.
The problem is this. We tend to go our own way. That is why we need to pray for each other. That is why we need to pray for us as families, individuals and even as a church. We need to pray that we won’t wander. We need to live in God’s Word that has a perpetual sanctifying affect. Prayer for each other will help us live in God’s best place, close to Him.
John 17:18-19 (NKJV)
18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.
I hope you will pray with me today. Put your name or the name of your church in the places where I pray for my church. Being set apart and holy (sanctified) is the most wonderful place to be.
Blessings,
lisa
© Copyright Lisa Swayze 2019