Holy, Holy, Holy

"And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: 

the whole earth is full of his glory."

Isaiah 6:3

Hey guys! Happy Monday!  
So glad you're here, checking things out on the blog today.  It's encouraging to me to be able to share a bit of what the Lord lays on my heart with others, so here I am!  I'm Deeds, and today I'm utilizing a couple beautiful collections from Sweet 'n' Sassy Stamps ("Classy Script Alpha," and one of February's new releases, "Love Your Neighbor") to build an entry in my journaling bible.

I've been recently struck by the passage in Isaiah 6 (the one that most of us know as the "Holy" passage).  A couple of weeks back, my pastor, Kyle Kaurin, expounded on the God we celebrate and worship on Sundays and during our personal devotions.  He took his material from Isaiah 6, and.... WOW!

See, there are so many things we can say about God.  He is loving.  He's kind.  He's merciful.  He's compassionate.  He's patient.  He's unlike anything we have ever known, or will ever know.  And while all these things are true, we need to keep in mind that there is an ultimately terrifying aspect to this great God of ours.  He's kind, loving and generous, but He's holy; and holiness is His first and foremost attribute.  It's kind of mind boggling and hard to understand totally.
The LORD God is set apart from anything and EVERYTHING in existence.  His glory is too much.  It's simply too much for us to handle.  This part of God's nature is seen throughout scripture - especially in the Old Testament - where people have even died, or come close to dying, upon seeing this all-too-glorious God.  

The link to part one of this sermon is right here, but I'll leave you with just a couple things to remember with the hope that you'll give it a listen!!
1.  The emphatic "Holy, Holy, Holy," written here in Isaiah is significant.  This is the only place in the bible where you will see a word repeated 3 times in succession, and in the language in which this passage was written, repetition does not mean redundancy; it's emphasis!  It's like the angels are crying out HOLY, so HOLY, so very, VERY HOLY!  
2.  No one has the power to deal with this type of holiness.  Even the 6-winged creatures flying and shouting praises to God had to cover themselves with their wings - perhaps to escape annihilation of this HOLY God. 

Why should we care about the holiness of God?  Why should we care that He's so holy?  Why does it matter to us now?  Well, I'll submit just one reason: Jesus.
Jesus is the reason Isaiah saw "Adonay."  If no one can see God and live, the only explanation for what Isaiah saw is that He saw a pre-incarnate Christ; the LORD in His redemption form; the Master of the universe already on a throne, with a train that filled His holy dwelling.  
Jesus is Holy, Holy, Holy.  He is God in the flesh, sent to mankind, veiled in humility and humanity so we could see Him, touch Him, learn from Him.  Because of His death and mighty resurrection, we can live amidst the glory of the Lord one day, and do what we were created to do, perfectly: worship.  Because He is God, we can trust Him with our lives today and tomorrow!

God is Holy, Holy, Holy.  Like Isaiah, we are designed to proclaim and expose (the best we can) this holiness to the world!  People need Jesus.  People need the Lord!  His glory is incomprehensible, but we can still behold Him in the Word of His mouth, and the person of Jesus!
Much love,
Deeds