Title

Know the Difference

Scripture
They have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean.
(Ezekiel 22:26)
Devotional
There are things to be revered and counted as holy and clean. Life, marriage and God’s Word are just a few. Life is sacred and to be protected and respected from conception to the grave. Marriage is a holy union.
The writer of the book of Hebrews says, “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”(1) There is a drastic difference between sex in marriage and sex outside of marriage. The physical results may be the same, but the emotional and spiritual effects are unclean and unholy. Likewise, there are many philosophies and books about them. Many are good and informative. Nevertheless, they are not holy. There is only one Book deemed as holy and that Book is the one we call the Holy Bible. There is a difference between the clean and the unclean, the holy and the unholy. God’s Word, the Bible, makes that distinction. Know it.

(1) Hebrews 13:4
Text For The Day
Ezekiel 22:26: They have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean.
Thought For The Day
“People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.” D. A. Carson, research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.
 
Questions To Ponder
Morning Study Guide
Defining:  “Holy”: “Properly, whole, entire or perfect, in a moral sense.  Hence, pure in heart, temper or dispositions; free from sin and sinful affections,” Noah Webster 1828 Dictionary.
 
Referencing: “Teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean,” Ezekiel 44:23.
 
Applying: Heed the admonition of the apostle James, “Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded,” James 4:7-8.