1 Peter 1:16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Peter is quoting Leviticus 11:44-45 ESV 44 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. 45 For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”

Saying be holy does not indicate how to be holy since the word holy is an adjective which is a descriptor, indicating the condition of a person, place of thing.

Revelation 3:7 ESV

To the Church in Philadelphia

7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.”

While Jesus never called Himself holy he did say “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Perhaps it is humility that kept Him from describing Himself as holy. But these are His words also: If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” Hebrews 1:3

Let us back up for a moment and examine Leviticus 11:44 and extract one word, consecrate. That is the secret to the how, the verb explains the adjective. Another way of saying that is to dedicate oneself in service to the will of God. He said not to defile ourselves.

Mark 7:15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.

Jesus added: “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The condition of the heart is what truly matters. Give your heart to Jesus and become holy.

 Acts 15:9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.

Consecrate yourself by being dedicated to His service.

What do you do if you do not like your Christmas gift?

If you got a gift this holiday season that wasn’t quite right, you may be looking to return it. Here’s some advice to help make the process go more smoothly. Gather receipts. Returning or exchanging an item in-store often requires documentation, and maybe an ID. Take the item, receipt, and original packaging to the store. No receipt? Expect a store credit, often for the lowest sales price.

How often does anyone include a sales receipt with a Christmas gift? It seems rather rude to ask the giver where they bought the item which hints at your dislike of the gift you received.

Check out store policies. Return and exchange policies vary by store, and many stores won’t take returns or exchanges after a certain time — like 30 or 90 days. Policies and deadlines are often printed on the back of receipts. Don’t delay in returning your undamaged item to have the best chance for a refund, exchange, or store credit. 

Isaiah 59:14 Judgment and Redemption

Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter.

There was no return here, it was inevitable that I would speak to a gift given that cannot be given back, nor exchanged.

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

We cannot give Him back His blood nor replace it with our own. While we may have that kind of relationship with those who have given us a Christmas gift that does not satisfy us, they are not the Lord who gave His life for us.

Unlike Christmas gifts His gift is not wrapped in a cloud of mystery. We have to look that gift squarely in the face and choose to accept it or reject it. There is no return policy. If we take it, we are stuck with it, even if we don’t know how to use it.

Lucky us, His gift of salvation comes with a complete users manual. Are you one of those who can put things together without a manual? How many times did you put something together and then discover there were parts leftover that you have no idea where they should go?

Check the parts list and make sure you have everything needed. First check out the picture on the box to see what it is supposed to look like when you are finished. It helps to know what you are making. What does Holy look like anyway?