Christian Writers Circle

Jehovah M’Kaddesh
The God who Sanctifies
by Judy Hitson

Leviticus 20:7-8 NASB You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the LORD your God.
So you shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

A memory is sparked of the day I consecrated my life to the Lord. I was pregnant with our fourth child, studying the book of Romans with Precept Ministries. Lying prostrate on our living room floor, I cried out to God after hearing Kay Arthur’s teaching on consecrating our life to the Lord from Romans 12:1-2. It was a significant event for me with the Lord.

Romans 12:1-2 NKJV 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  

Struggling with food idolatry has been an ongoing challenge for me. Thinking of that event convicts me to pray and take action to overcome it. My desire is to be holy as the Lord is holy, yet the battle persists between my flesh and spirit. Praise God, the battle is the Lord’s! My trust is in Him to sanctify me in this area to be holy as He is holy.

We all have struggles in our lives. Let us surrender all to the Lord and trust Him to guide us victoriously by His Spirit. It is good to humble ourselves before the Lord, knowing only He can deliver us from areas of bondage and set us free by His Spirit working in us and through us.

The following Bible verse brings some clarity to this. 2 Tim. 1:9 NKJV who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.

Perhaps it is good to mention the definition of sanctify: (Dictionary.com)

1. to make holy; set apart as sacred; consecrate.
2. to purify or free from sin

Jehovah M’Kaddesh comes from the Hebrew word for “holy” which is Kadosh. lwf.org/names of God

“The word holy means to be set apart for God, to be, as it were, exclusively His.”
(Jenny Allen-You Version Devotional Proven, Day 7)

Closing Prayer: Praise and thanksgiving to You today Lord as Jehovah M’Kaddesh to make us as Your people, holy as You are holy. God of peace sanctify us completely; may our whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at Your coming Lord Jesus Christ. You called us. You are faithful. You will do it.
Amen. (1 Thess. 5:23-24)