Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today’s focus was inspired by a rarely used name of God mentioned in a sermon I heard last Sunday. The name is Jehovah M’Kaddesh.

God said in today’s scripture, Leviticus 20:7-8 (NLT)…
[7] So set yourselves apart to be holy, for I am the LORD your God. [8] Keep all my decrees by putting them into practice, for I am the LORD who makes you holy.

Consider…
According to AI, “Jehovah M’Kaddesh” (or Mekadesh) is a divine name meaning “the Lord who sanctifies” or “the God who makes you holy”. It signifies God’s commitment to setting people apart for Himself, purifying them from sin, and conforming them to the image of His son, Jesus Christ.

I don’t recall hearing this name ascribed to YHWH before, but it’s now one of my favorite.

It makes me think of Titus 3:4-7 (ERV), which affirms…
[4] But then the kindness and love of God our Savior was made known. [5] He saved us because of his mercy, not because of any good things we did. He saved us through the washing that made us new people. He saved us by making us new through the Holy Spirit. [6] God poured out to us that Holy Spirit fully through Jesus Christ our Savior. [7] We were made right with God by his grace. God saved us so that we could be his children and look forward to receiving life that never ends.

We must always remember that God saved us by His grace!!! 🙌🏾 🙌🏾 🙌🏾

The Holy Spirit told me I had to also refer to Ephesians 2:3-10 (ERV), which bears witness…
[3] In the past all of us lived like that, trying to please our sinful selves. We did all the things our bodies and minds wanted. Like everyone else in the world, we deserved to suffer God’s anger just because of the way we were. [4] But God is rich in mercy, and he loved us very much. [5] We were spiritually dead because of all we had done against him. But he gave us new life together with Christ. (You have been saved by God’s grace.) [6] Yes, it is because we are a part of Christ Jesus that God raised us from death and seated us together with him in the heavenly places. [7] God did this so that his kindness to us who belong to Christ Jesus would clearly show for all time to come the amazing richness of his grace. [8] I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. [9] You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about. [10] God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.

Our salvation and rightness with God is based on His act of grace, not our actions.

I like the succinct way 1 John 4:10 (ERV) emphasizes…
[10] True love is God’s love for us, not our love for God. He sent his Son as the way to take away our sins.

God showed His me matchless love by making the sinless Jesus the atonement for our sin.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (ERV) reiterates…
[21] Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could be right with God.

Do you see it, we are saved from our wrong (sin) and made right in God’s sight because HE DID IT ALL!!!

That just hit play on Pastor John P Kee singing…

… He did it all all for me
He did it all all for me
God responds to thank you
And gives me all I need
He did it all for me

… You did it all back on calvary
That’s why I believe in divine destiny
God responds to thank you
And gives me all I need
He did it all for me

Our eternal/spiritual identity is ‘souly’ based on God’s Grace proclivity.

But beyond the finished work of salvation and righteousness, the Holy Spirit showed me how God sanctifies us.

First, I was led to Ezekiel 11:19-20 (NIV), where YHWH said…
[19] I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. [20] Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

It’s important to realize that God is the one who changes our hearts. And He’s also the one who changes our thinking, which is why Romans 12:2 (ERV) exhorts…
[2] Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.

God is making us think and feel (love) like Him, in order to please Himself.

In fact God wants us to be exactly like Jesus. That’s why Romans 8:28-30 (ERV) says…
[28] We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. These are the people God chose, because that was his plan. [29] God knew them before he made the world. And he decided that they would be like his Son. Then Jesus would be the firstborn of many brothers and sisters. [30] God planned for them to be like his Son. He chose them and made them right with him. And after he made them right, he gave them his glory.

God uses everything to help us become obedient children like our big brother Jesus.

Jesus highlighted one of the key reasons our Heavenly Father wants us to be like Him. Jesus said in John 6:38 (NLT)…
[38] For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.

God wants to hear thy, not my, will!

Here’s some great news, God gives us the same desire and ability that Jesus had to please Him here on earth. Philippians 2:13 (ERV) explains…
[13] Yes, it is God who is working in you. He helps you want to do what pleases him, and he gives you the power to do it.

This tells me if we’re incapable of pleasing God without His help.

The Holy Spirit reiterated this truth with Jesus’ words in John 15:5 (NABRE)…
[5] I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.

Our Savior’s words makes me think God wants us to sing the Richard Smallwood anthem lyrics to Him…

You are the source of my strength
You are the strength of my life

This all makes me believe God would love us to pray, Jehovah M’Kaddesh make us holy like You.

A beautiful thing about God is He answers prayers, that align with His will, before we pray. In this case 2 Peter 1:3-4 (ERV) God answered…
[3] Jesus has the power of God. And his power has given us everything we need to live a life devoted to God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus chose us by his glory and goodness, [4] through which he also gave us the very great and rich gifts that he promised us. With these gifts you can share in being like God. And so you will escape the ruin that comes to people in the world because of the evil things they want.

Today, make holiness from Jehovah M’Kaddesh your main prayer. Especially since Jesus told us to pray, in Matthew 6:10 (NLT)…
[10] May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

Today’s song is…
Holiness

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)