WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: ‘For it is written, “Be holy, because I am holy’’’ (1 Peter 1:16, NIV). Pray for this moment to be a holy moment with God – so you may live a holy life for him. Dedicated to God Doesn’t it strike you as a little strange that the city falls to the people of Israel on the seventh day, that’s to say on the Sabbath, on the day dedicated to the Lord? It’s supposed to be a day of rest, but isn’t besieging and sacking a city an awful lot of hard work? Well it’s not so strange, because just as the Sabbath is to be dedicated to the Lord, so this city is to be dedicated to him as well (v 17). It’s to be given over wholly to him. God’s victory Why? Because God and God alone is the source of this victory. That’s why the Ark of the Lord – symbolising his presence, his holiness and his power – encircles the walls. That’s why the number seven – God’s number signifying wholeness and holiness – is used so much in the story. God gives this city into his people’s hands and they are to give it right back into his hands. They are to devote the city to him as a sign that the victory is his and his alone: as a sign that life in this new land will be one of holiness, obedience, dedication and devotion, to him and to him alone. Respond: How much are holiness and obedience, dedication and devotion, hallmarks of your life? http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-02-10