Holiness: Prayer

You shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. -- Deut. 6:7

Time has always fascinated me. The way it speeds up and slows down. How we choose to spend each of the twenty-four hours we are allotted each day. The way no matter how hard you try to hold onto a moment, it always slips away. And I wonder, how does God see time?

I like to imagine time spread out like the universe full of stars--moments in time that shine with the light of eternity. Life is full of these sparks, the little things that make life worth living. But too often we miss them. An opportunity to do a good deed, a moment of beauty, they simply pass us by as we go about our busy lives. That's where prayer comes in, I think.

The verse quoted above is traditionally understood to be a commandment to recite the Shema in the morning and the evening. I take it as a calling to set apart time with prayer. At the beginning of the day and at the end, in our work and in our rest, our eyes should be turned to our Father in heaven.

When you lie down and when you rise up

I've been trying to set apart some time every morning and every evening for prayer and reflection. I'm not perfect at this by any means and often miss this time (especially in the evening). This week I want to add a small element to my daily prayers.

In the morning: "What can I do to bring out the holiness of today?"
God has hidden opportunities everywhere for us to fulfill a mitzvah, to encourage a friend, to create something beautiful. These are the things that set apart time, that raise it up above the mundane. Ask God to show you those opportunities and to give you the courage to act on them.

In the evening: "What has God revealed to me today of His holiness?"
How has God showed you His love, His beauty, His glory today? Reflect on these things and thank our God for His infinite goodness.

When you sit in your house and when you walk by the way

Prayer sets our focus for the day, but we cannot relegate God to our "prayer time." His presence is with us always in our work and in our rest. I'll touch on this more later as I want to talk about Sabbath in a separate post (this one is already getting quite long).  But for now, think about how you use your time, working and resting. Where are the sparks of holiness in your work and in your rest? Where have you sown seeds and where have they born fruit?

Sparks of Time

There's one more thing I want to touch on, something God showed me in my reading this morning. I think it's relevant because it touches on my tendency to obsess about using time "efficiently." In Mark 14, there is a woman who pours a flask of costly ointment over the head of Yeshua. The disciples complain that she could have sold it and given the money to the poor--she could have been more efficient in her work. As if God's work depended on us. Really, we can give nothing back to God (for it is all His already). Rather, He gives us opportunities to play a part in His story. Yeshua said to the disciples, "She has done what she could"--she found a spark in time and acted upon it. So, don't worry about being inefficient or not good enough. Just do what you can and thank God for the opportunities He has given you to perform a good deed.


There is so much more that could be said about prayer, so much that I've learned over the last several years. And yet, still I feel that I am only scratching the surface. Still, it is important to never forget what prayer is at it's core--a connection between man and God.

What are your thoughts on prayer?

Back to Holiness Challenge

Holiness Challenge

Today is First Fruits and the beginning of the counting of the omer--fifty days that lead up from First Fruits to Shavuot (Pentecost). We are commanded to mark each of these days as we count toward the offering of first fruits of wheat. Traditionally, this is considered a time of preparation and spiritual growth, culminating with the giving of the Torah and the Holy Spirit at Shavuot.

One of the things I've been studying recently is holiness. So, I've decided to take these fifty days as a sort of "holiness challenge." I've divided these this out so that each week would correspond with certain "holiness" commandments. My hope is that this will not only help cultivate holiness, but also bring out some understanding of those commandments that are often regarded as purely "ceremonial." Things like kosher and tzitzit and Sabbath--I believe these are not only symbols, but practical boundary markers set in place to help us maintain a standard of holiness.

That being said, I don't claim this to be the best way to divide up holiness and I am almost certainly leaving something out. Nor is my understanding of holiness perfect. But I hope that this is a start in the right direction. You are welcome to join me on this adventure. I'm going to try to post something to the blog each week--I'd love to hear your thoughts as well. After all, challenging and encouraging each other helps us to grow. At any rate, I hope that this will be a season of spiritual growth and learning for all of us--growing closer to our Father and learning His ways as we prepare to receive His Spirit. The chase is on.


Week 1: Time (Sabbath & Prayer)
--focus your day with prayer
--six days of work, seventh day is a Shabbat

Week 2: Home (Mezuzah)
--let nothing unclean enter your gates

Week 3: Relationships (Tzitzit)
--know who you are
--conduct yourself with purity

Week 4: Tongue (Blessings / Leprosy)
--let your mouth and your deeds speak only blessings

Week 5: Possessions (Tithe)
--set apart the first part of everything God has given you

Week 6: Friendships (Kosher)
--maintain proper boundaries in friendship

Week 7: Selflessness (Light)
--do unto others as you would have them do unto you

Meaning of Holiness

What is holiness and why do we need it?

Literally, the word "Kadosh" (Holy) means "set apart." It implies distinction and boundaries. Scripture says "Be holy for I am holy" implying a sort of Godliness in this idea of holiness (1 Pet. 1:16).

Stopping here, some have taken holiness to mean "isolationism" or "religiosity." Isolationism comes from a fear of being polluted, of losing your status of holiness. Religiosity stems from pride, the "holier than thou" attitude. The problem with both of these ideas is that they are stripped of purpose. Holiness is reduced down to something that revolves around you. Isaiah 65:5 speaks of this type of holiness. So, what is the purpose of holiness?

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. -- 2 Timothy 2:21

According to Paul in 2 Timothy, holiness is to prepare us for "every good work." Two examples can help to illustrate this.

Consider a hospital with doctors and patients. It is essential for the doctors to maintain a sort of "holiness" in order to keep from getting sick. But that is not the end goal. If that were the case, they could simply stay away from the hospital. The end goal is the healing of the patients. The doctors maintain their holiness so that they may be well equipped to bring healing to the world. It is the same with Biblical holiness.

Consider also the Sabbath. It is interesting to note that God did not make every day Sabbath. If it was His intention that we live in the Sabbath, then He would have done so (remember, this all happened before the fall). Rather, He divided the week into six days of work and one day of rest. Six common days and one holy day. Why? So that the holiness of Sabbath could overflow into our mundane working lives and touch every corner of creation. We rest on Sabbath so that we may be restored in order to carry out "every good work" of the Kingdom the other six days. Of course, this process works like a cycle where the other six days serve as preparation for the Sabbath as well, but we cannot forget the other half.

As we work to set up boundaries in our lives and maintain Godliness, we should keep the purpose of holiness in mind. Standards that are too strict will cut us off from our purpose in the world, while standards too loose will render us ineffective. Finding that balance takes time--it is a growing process. But I believe if we keep the purpose of holiness in mind--so that we may be a light unto the world--I believe that will help guide us.

Unleavened Souls

The first few chapters of 1 Corinthians talks about a problem most of us can identify with--divisions in the church. Everyone claims to have knowledge of the truth, yet somehow each "truth" is different. And so we accuse each other of following after man-made doctrines or misrepresenting the text. We're too narrow-sighted to see that maybe we just might be wrong; that maybe the text isn't quite as clear as we think that it should be.

Some of the popular arguments around this time of year revolve around the calendar, the timing of Passover, the definition of leaven, the sequence of events surrounding Yeshua's crucifixion, Messiah's role as the Passover Lamb, the pagan roots of Easter, the role of tradition in our lives (e.g. the Seder), etc.

This is the season for getting rid of leaven. Typically, leaven is seen as a metaphor for sin, however, I want to suggest a different interpretation. I see leaven as teaching or doctrine. That's how it seems to be used in Matt. 16:12. You might say "But teaching isn't always a bad thing." True. Leaven isn't either. Matt. 13:33 uses leaven in a positive context. Lev. 23:17 describes an offering that is to be baked with leaven. Of course, this is all just a picture or midrash.

If we take this picture back to the original Exodus story, it would look something like this. God commands all of Israel to get rid of their leaven or doctrine in Egypt--to leave their Egyptian ways behind. Fifty days later, God presents the Torah at Shavuot. Shavuot is the only day when a leavened offering is brought to the altar. Perhaps because this is when God gave His Torah, his teaching to Israel. It's the good leaven.

Jump forward 1500 years and Paul is talking about leaven again. In 1 Cor. 5 he talks about the leaven of "malice and evil." Curiously, this whole book is filled with warnings about knowledge and human wisdom. 1 Cor. 8:1 says "knowledge puffs up"--much like leaven puffs up bread. Paul urges us to cleanse out the leaven that causes us to boast.

Instead we must walk humbly with our God. Drop back to the Exodus story and we find that no man may eat of the Passover Lamb without being circumcised. Looking at the spiritual side again, Deut. 10:16 commands us to "circumcise the foreskin of your heart and be no longer stubborn." That's humility.

Paul warns us about partaking of the Lord's Supper (which I see to be the Passover) in an unworthy manner. 1 Cor. 11:16-34 speaks of how there are divisions in the church and when the people come together to partake of the Lord's Supper they bring judgment upon themselves. Because they come with an uncircumcised heart. They do not examine themselves before they partake of the blood and body of Messiah.

Now I've tried to paint a picture here for you. I realize that you may not agree with all the details of this picture--that's ok. The point I'm trying to drive home is that this is a time to lay aside our doctrinal differences and come together as one body. Circumcise your heart, cast out your leaven and come as unleavened souls--completely emptied of everything except for the power of Christ in you. "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2).

Because on this night of watching only one thing matters:

The blood is on the doorpost

The family is in the house

Redemption is at our doorstep

Tonight we shall become free

Heretic Hunter

*looks up from sorting through a mess of papers* -- oh, hi there. Sorry, I'm a bit busy. Going through this list of heresies, trying to figure out which one I should debunk today. So...go away *looks back down*

*looks back up* Are you deaf? I told you to go away. This is important work. All these teachers have their pet doctrines and they're leading the people into heresy! Someone has to correct them. Hey, don't play smart with me. I know what you're thinking. "And what makes you think you're the one to do it?" I bet your one of those hippies who thinks we should just love everyone the same and who cares about what happens to the truth as long as you just love, love, love...well, I got news for you. I'm not buying it!!! *looks back down*

*sigh* Ok...I'm sorry. I was a little rude there. I apologize. To tell you the truth, I hate this job. There is no end to lies the enemy is spreading. People following the wrong calendars, believing the wrong things about Messiah, worshiping pagan idols without knowing it. They're all so content to rest withing their traditions of men. Don't any of them read their Bibles? I mean it's all there, black and white, clear as day. If they would just read their Bibles for themselves, I wouldn't have to put up with this. But no...they have to go on perpetuating the lies of the enemy because that's where they are comfortable. Sometimes I just want to....what? What's that you say? How do I know I am right? Because I read my Bible, that's how...unlike some...what? How do I know they don't read their Bibles? Because it's obvious from their fruit. If they read their Bibles and remained open to truth, they would have correct doctrine like me. But they don't. Therefore, they are hard-hearted and deceived. See? Simple logic really. Oh, don't give me that. Of course I don't think I'm the only one on earth who has it all right. How vain that would be. I just haven't found anyone else who is truly seeking yet. Wait a minute...don't go away. And don't call me hopeless. I'm just standing for truth. Speaking of which, I can think of a few things that you need to correct in your life. No, no, no...that's not what I am saying at all...don't follow me. Follow God. What do you mean you are? No, you're not...you've got bad doctrine. Yes, no...wait. What has agreeing with me got to do with this? I said follow God, not follow me. Right, but if you truly followed God you would see that I'm right. What are you talking about? Pride's got nothing to do with it. I'm just saying that I'm right because I seek God and you're wrong because you don't. What do you mean that you're right and I'm wrong--Hey! I think I would know if I'm truly seeking God or not. Yes, I would know if you're seeking God or not too because I seek God. It makes perfect sense! Don't call me deluded. You're the deluded one. *sticks tongue out* Who's the immature one now? Hey, wait a minute, don't go away! I haven't finished correcting you yet...

*lights dim*

Hello? Anyone? Surely, there is someone who is in need of my wisdom. Someone who appreciates my knowledge. Haha...how can they study on their own without my guidance to help them avoid false doctrine? Oh.