HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD Today we are going to talk about

HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD 

Today we are going to talk about the theme Holiness unto the Lord. After the Israelites were freed from Egypt, God didn’t just want them to be free—He wanted them to become a holy people. And that brings us to an important question: What does it really mean to be holy?

Many times we think being holy means being perfect or never making mistakes, but in these chapters, God teaches that holiness is a process. It is a path where we are cleansed, we change, and we draw closer to Him. It’s not something that happens overnight—it’s something lived little by little. And everything we’re going to see today points to one person, and that person is Jesus Christ.

Now, in Exodus 35 through 40, God commands Israel to build the tabernacle. This was not just a place to worship—it was a symbolic representation of the path back to God. We can see it this way: outside the tabernacle represents the world, the altar represents sacrifice, the laver represents cleansing, the Holy Place represents daily life with God, and the Most Holy Place represents the presence of God. God was teaching step by step how to return to His presence. When we read, “and let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them,” we see that God didn’t want distance—He wanted closeness. God didn’t just bring them out of Egypt; He was teaching them how to come back to Him.

When we enter Leviticus, we see many sacrifices, and if we’re honest, sometimes this can feel strange or repetitive. But these sacrifices were not empty rituals—they were symbols pointing directly to Jesus Christ. The sacrifice had to be without blemish, clean, perfect. Why? Because it represented perfection. And there is only one who was truly perfect—Jesus Christ. When John says, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” he is connecting all of this. Every sacrifice the people performed was preparing them to understand the Savior. They didn’t fully understand it at the time, but God was teaching them through symbols.

Now we connect this to the Passover in Exodus 12. God commands them to take a lamb without blemish, sacrifice it, and place its blood on the door. They used a plant called hyssop to apply the blood to the doorposts and lintel. And when death passed through Egypt, it passed over the houses that were covered with that blood. And here is the powerful truth: the Israelites were not saved because they were perfect—they were not saved because they didn’t make mistakes—they were saved because they were covered. The blood of the lamb was the sign, and that sign was enough for death not to enter. So the question is: how does this connect to Jesus Christ?

Let’s talk about hyssop. Hyssop was a simple plant used as a tool, like a brush, to apply the blood. It was also used in purification rituals, which is why the scriptures say, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.” Hyssop didn’t have power by itself, but it became a symbol of cleansing. And this teaches us something very important: it’s not enough that the blood exists—it has to be applied. The lamb could die, but if the blood wasn’t applied to the door, there was no protection. In the same way, Christ has already shed His blood, but we must apply it in our lives through repentance, obedience, and covenants.

Now we see something very interesting in the New Testament. Six days before the Passover, Mary anoints the feet of Jesus with costly perfume. Then, shortly before His death, another woman anoints His head. Jesus Himself says this was preparation for His burial. This is important because it teaches us that Christ was not an accidental victim. He was not surprised by what was going to happen. He was prepared, He knew, and He accepted that sacrifice. Although we do not teach as doctrine that the Passover lamb was anointed this way, we do see a symbolic parallel in Christ. His feet were anointed, His head was anointed, and He was being prepared for the greatest sacrifice of all.

Now we return to hyssop, but this time at the cross. When Jesus is on the cross and says, “I thirst,” they take a sponge with vinegar, put it on hyssop, and lift it to His mouth. That detail is not accidental. In the Passover, hyssop touched the blood of the lamb that saved from physical death. At the cross, hyssop appears again when the true Lamb of God is shedding His blood. This connects both moments directly. In Egypt, the blood of the lamb protected from physical death. At the cross, the blood of Christ saves us from spiritual death. It is not coincidence—it is fulfillment.

Now we look at the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16. Once a year, there were two goats. One was sacrificed, and the other carried the sins of the people and was sent into the wilderness. This teaches two things about Christ. First, Christ dies for our sins. Second, Christ not only forgives sin, but He removes it. Many times we think God forgives us, but we still carry guilt. But this symbol teaches that sin can be completely removed. We are not only forgiven—we can be cleansed and freed from that burden.

Inside the tabernacle there was a veil that separated man from the presence of God. Only the high priest could enter, and only at certain times. This represented the separation between God and man. But when Christ dies, the veil is torn. That means access is now open. There is no longer that barrier. Through Jesus Christ, we can approach the Father. Christ not only forgives us—He opens the way. And that’s why when we read “be holy,” it does not mean pretending to be perfect. It means changing, growing, repenting, and allowing Christ to transform us. Holiness is not an act—it is a real transformation.

And we end with this. Today we saw that the tabernacle is a path back to God, that the sacrifices point to Jesus Christ, that the Passover teaches us we are saved by the blood of the Lamb, that hyssop connects the Passover to the cross, that Christ was prepared through anointing, that the Day of Atonement teaches that He not only forgives but removes sin, and that the veil was torn because He opened the way back to the Father.

We are not saved because we are perfect—we are saved because we are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ.

And the final question is this:

What can you do this week to come closer to Christ and allow Him to make you more holy?

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Holiness doesn’t begin with you,,,

 Holiness doesn’t begin with you

it begins with Him

Through the grace of Jesus Christ
we are changed
not all at once
but piece by piece

Step by step
choice by choice
His grace reshapes the heart
until we start to reflect Him

So draw closer
not out of pressure
but out of purpose

Because the closer you get to the Savior
the more you become
who you were always meant to be

A little stronger today
A little purer today
A little more like Him today

***We Believe (ChatGPT)

What is Grace?

Grace isn’t a vague religious word. It’s very specific.

The grace of Jesus Christ is His power given to you that you did not earn.

Not just forgiveness.
Not just a second chance.
Power.

Power to change.
Power to overcome what you haven’t been able to fix on your own.
Power to become someone you’re currently not.

In The Book of Mormon, grace is described as something that comes after all we can do but that phrase gets misunderstood. It doesn’t mean “earn it first.” It means:

You act. You try. You choose Him.
And then His power meets you in that effort and takes you further than you could ever go alone.

In The Bible, especially through Paul the Apostle, grace is described as something that saves, strengthens, and sustains. Not just at the end of your life—but right now.

Here’s the blunt truth most people miss:

You are not just forgiven by Christ.
You are enabled by Him.

Grace is what:
• forgives your past
• strengthens your present
• transforms your future

It’s why two people can struggle with the same weakness—
and one slowly breaks free while the other stays stuck.

The difference isn’t willpower.
It’s whether they’re actually letting Christ’s power in.

So a better question is not just “what is grace?”
It’s:

Are you using it…
or still trying to do everything alone?

When oil touched the head, it wasn’t just a symbol, it was a setting apart, a quiet declaration that heaven was near.

In scripture, oil represents light, it feeds the flame. In ancient times, oil was what kept the lamps burning through the night. Without it, the light would fade.

It represents healing, soothing what is broken. It represents consecration, being set apart for something holy.

Kings were anointed. Priests were anointed. The sick were anointed. Not randomly, but through a pattern God established from the beginning.

Because God works through patterns. He takes something simple, something physical, and uses it to teach, to mark, to invite His power into our lives.

And still today, in simple, sacred moments, that same pattern remains. Hands are placed, oil is used, and heaven listens.

And in the House of the Lord, we are anointed not just to be blessed, but to be prepared, set apart from the world and dedicated to God.

And maybe that’s why Christ taught about the oil in our lamps.

Because faith is like oil. It has to be gathered, little by little. It has to be protected. It has to be there before the moment you need it.

Five were ready. Five were not.

Not because they didn’t believe…
but because they didn’t prepare.

Because when the moment came, borrowed light wasn’t enough.

Because anointing isn’t about the oil itself. It’s about what God does through it. It is a reminder that He still reaches down to heal, to strengthen, and to consecrate.

So when oil touches you, it’s not just a drop on the skin, it’s a message. You are seen. You are covered. You are set apart.

And the real question is

are our lamps full

or running dry

is our light burning
or fading

do we live
as anointed heirs
of the Kingdom of God

Cuando el aceite tocó la cabeza, no era solo un símbolo, era una consagración, una declaración silenciosa de que el cielo estaba cerca.

En las escrituras, el aceite representa luz, alimenta la llama. En la antigüedad, el aceite era lo que mantenía las lámparas encendidas durante la noche. Sin él, la luz se apagaba.

Representa sanación, alivia lo que está quebrado. Representa consagración, ser apartado para algo santo.

Los reyes eran ungidos. Los sacerdotes eran ungidos. Los enfermos eran ungidos. No al azar, sino siguiendo un patrón que Dios estableció desde el principio.

Porque Dios obra por medio de patrones. Toma algo simple, algo físico, y lo usa para enseñar, para marcar, para invitar Su poder a nuestras vidas.

Y aún hoy, en momentos simples y sagrados, ese mismo patrón permanece. Se imponen las manos, se usa aceite, y el cielo escucha.

Y en la Casa del Señor, somos ungidos no solo para ser bendecidos, sino para ser preparados, apartados del mundo y dedicados a Dios.

Y quizá por eso Cristo enseñó acerca del aceite en nuestras lámparas.

Porque la fe es como el aceite. Hay que recogerla poco a poco. Hay que cuidarla. Tiene que estar ahí antes del momento en que la necesites.

Cinco estaban preparadas. Cinco no.

No porque no creyeran…
sino porque no se prepararon.

Porque cuando llegó el momento, la luz prestada no fue suficiente.

Porque la unción no se trata del aceite en sí, sino de lo que Dios hace a través de él. Es un recordatorio de que Él todavía desciende para sanar, para fortalecer y para consagrar.

Así que cuando el aceite te toca, no es solo una gota sobre la piel, es un mensaje. Eres visto. Estás cubierto. Has sido apartado.

Y la verdadera pregunta es

¿están nuestras lámparas llenas

o se están quedando sin aceite

está nuestra luz encendida
o se está apagando

vivimos
como herederos ungidos
del Reino de Dios?

Take the first step..Toma el primer paso..

 

Miracles don’t happen

before we take the first step…

they happen once we do.

The children of Israel
walked forward
even when it didn’t make sense.

A path had opened…
but it still required faith
to step into it.

Water on both sides.
Uncertainty all around.

And still…
they moved.

And only then
did they cross through.

We want clarity
before we move.

God asks for faith
before He reveals.

So today…

don’t wait
for everything to make sense.

Take the step.

Because you don’t need
to see the miracle to move…

you need to move
so God can show it.

Trusting the Lord....Confiando en el Senor

 

The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

There are moments in life when the path forward feels impossible… and even turning back seems just as uncertain. Moments where, because of what we are going through, we may not even want to get out of bed… when giving up feels easier than trying again.

In those moments, it may be that the Lord is preparing to reveal His power.

So we keep moving. We stay grounded in faith in our daily walk. We trust that Jesus Christ is the way… and He will guide us step by step.

As we quiet our hearts before Him despite the turmoil we feel, listen for His voice, and act on the quiet impressions He gives, the help we need begins to unfold. As we continue seeking His guidance through prayer and the scriptures, He will lead us… and give us the strength to get through.

Trust the Lord today.

El Señor peleará por vosotros, y vosotros estaréis tranquilos.

Hay momentos en la vida en los que el camino hacia adelante parece imposible… y aun retroceder se siente igual de incierto. Momentos en los que, por lo que estamos atravesando, puede que ni siquiera queramos levantarnos de la cama… cuando rendirse parece más fácil que intentarlo otra vez.

En esos momentos, puede ser que el Señor esté preparándose para manifestar Su poder.

Así que seguimos adelante. Nos mantenemos firmes en la fe en nuestro caminar diario. Confiamos en que Jesucristo es el camino… y Él nos guiará paso a paso.

Al aquietar nuestros corazones delante de Él, a pesar del conflicto interior que sentimos, escuchar Su voz y actuar según las impresiones que nos da, la ayuda que necesitamos comienza a manifestarse. Al seguir buscando Su guía mediante la oración y las Escrituras, Él nos guiará… y nos dará la fortaleza para salir adelante.

Confía en el Señor hoy.

Guided by Faith....Guiados por Fe

 

When Moses led the Israelites from captivity, he guided them not with a map, not with signs showing exactly how to get there, but with the presence of God. The scriptures describe that there was a cloud by day and fire by night, and those signs were always ahead of them. They didn’t need to see the whole path like we do with GPS. They just needed to follow what was in front of them.

And that’s where a lot of us struggle in this life.

We want to see what’s ahead of us before we’re obedient. We want some kind of certainty before we trust God. But God doesn’t work that way. He’s never worked that way.

That same God who guided them through the wilderness still guides us today. He doesn’t use pillars of cloud and fire anymore, but now He does it through what Jesus Christ brought to us… the companionship of the Holy Ghost. He guides us through that quiet, constant companionship.

So we don’t have to question whether God is still guiding us. The real question is… are we paying attention to the Holy Ghost?

I love this quote from C. S. Lewis:
You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.

That change doesn’t come from trying to control your life. It comes from following the Spirit when you feel it and when you recognize its guidance.

Sometimes that light isn’t going to be very bright… but it will be there. Sometimes it will come as a feeling, a prompting. A lot of people call it a gut feeling, but it’s not. That prompting is the Spirit, and that feeling brings you peace.

And what’s amazing is that when you follow it and learn to recognize it, you begin to identify it more and more. Over time, you develop that “GPS” in your life… which is the Holy Ghost.

I also love this quote from Jeffrey R. Holland:
Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven… but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come.

That’s trust. That’s faith.

We don’t always have to understand the path God has in front of us. We just have to trust and know that He knows every single one of us… and that we are not walking alone.

So in our journey, remember… God is still guiding us, just like He guided the Israelites.
The light was never meant to show us the whole path…
just the next step.

Because faith isn’t built by seeing everything…it’s built by learning to listen to the Holy Spirit
and following the light we’ve been given.

And as we follow that light…and listen more closely to the Spirit…the brighter our light becomes.

Cuando Moisés guio a los israelitas fuera del cautiverio, no los guio con un mapa, ni con señales que mostraran exactamente cómo llegar, sino con la presencia de Dios. Las escrituras describen que había una nube de día y fuego de noche, y esas señales siempre iban delante de ellos. No necesitaban ver todo el camino como nosotros con el GPS. Solo necesitaban seguir lo que tenían enfrente.

Y ahí es donde muchos de nosotros batallamos en esta vida.

Queremos ver lo que está adelante antes de obedecer. Queremos algún tipo de certeza antes de confiar en Dios. Pero Dios no trabaja así. Nunca ha trabajado así.

Ese mismo Dios que los guio por el desierto, todavía nos guía hoy. Ya no usa columnas de nube y fuego, pero ahora lo hace a través de lo que Jesucristo nos dio… la compañía del Espíritu Santo. Él nos guía por medio de esa compañía constante y silenciosa.

Así que no tenemos que cuestionar si Dios todavía nos está guiando. La verdadera pregunta es… ¿estamos prestando atención al Espíritu Santo?

Me encanta esta cita de C. S. Lewis:
No puedes regresar y cambiar el principio, pero puedes empezar donde estás y cambiar el final.

Ese cambio no viene de tratar de controlar tu vida. Viene de seguir al Espíritu cuando lo sientes y cuando reconoces su guía.

A veces esa luz no va a ser muy brillante… pero va a estar ahí. A veces llegará como un sentimiento, una impresión. Mucha gente le llama intuición, pero no lo es. Esa impresión es el Espíritu, y ese sentimiento trae paz.

Y lo increíble es que cuando lo sigues y aprendes a reconocerlo, empiezas a identificarlo cada vez más. Con el tiempo, desarrollas ese “GPS” en tu vida… que es el Espíritu Santo.

También me encanta esta cita de Jeffrey R. Holland:
Algunas bendiciones llegan pronto, otras llegan tarde, y algunas no llegan hasta el cielo… pero para quienes abrazan el evangelio de Jesucristo, llegan.

Eso es confianza.
Eso es fe.

No siempre tenemos que entender el camino que Dios tiene frente a nosotros. Solo tenemos que confiar y saber que Él conoce a cada uno de nosotros… y que no estamos caminando solos.

Así que en nuestro camino, recuerda… Dios todavía nos está guiando, así como guio a los israelitas.
La luz nunca fue hecha para mostrarnos todo el camino…
solo el siguiente paso.

Porque la fe no se construye viendo todo…
se construye aprendiendo a escuchar al Espíritu Santo
y siguiendo la luz que se nos ha dado.

Y mientras seguimos esa luz…
y aprendemos a escuchar más atentamente al Espíritu…
nuestra luz se vuelve más brillante.

Because of love… they choose to heal....Por amor… eligen sanar

Love is beautiful for almost everyone, but for some, love feels like danger. Some people don’t just carry scars, they carry wounds they learned to survive, not heal. And unless you’ve held a heart like that, you’ll never understand why someone can love you and still push you away.

It’s not that they don’t care. It’s that love wakes up pain they’ve spent years trying to bury. So they protect themselves, they shut down, they run. Not from you, but from what loving you makes them feel. And that’s the part no one talks about.

Because loving them isn’t the hard part. The hard part is watching someone you love fight a battle you can’t step into, feeling everything and still being unable to fix it.

And this is where most people get it wrong. Love is not saving them. Love is not fixing them. Love is not carrying what they refuse to face.

Love is standing beside them while they choose to heal themselves. And having the strength to know that if they don’t choose that path, you may have to let them go.

El amor es hermoso para casi todos, pero para algunos el amor se siente como peligro. Algunas personas no solo cargan cicatrices, cargan heridas que aprendieron a sobrevivir, no a sanar.

Y a menos que hayas sostenido un corazón así, nunca vas a entender cómo alguien puede amarte y aun así alejarte. No es que no les importe, es que el amor despierta un dolor que han pasado años tratando de enterrar.

Entonces se protegen, se cierran, huyen. No de ti, sino de lo que sentir por ti les provoca. Y esa es la parte de la que nadie habla.

Porque amarlos no es lo más difícil. Lo difícil es ver a alguien que amas luchar una batalla en la que no puedes entrar, sentirlo todo y aun así no poder arreglarlo.

Y aquí es donde la mayoría se equivoca. Amar no es salvarlos, amar no es arreglarlos, amar no es cargar con lo que ellos no quieren enfrentar.

Amar es estar a su lado mientras ellos deciden sanarse a sí mismos. Y tener la fortaleza de entender que, si no eligen ese camino, puede que tengas que dejarlos ir.