#1553. PRIESTS MAKE OTHERS HOLY (28/7/26)

Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional (currently posted on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) as we continue our series: I Will Dwell Among Them. 

Today, we reflect on the truth:

The priestly garments teach us about how to become holy to God. 

To watch this devotional, please select the link below:

I wonder if you know who was the most expensive player in the World Cup tournament? I did some research, and it appears Neymar transferred from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain (in 2017) for about £199 million at the time! That seems simply unbelievable! However, I use this illustration to point to the fact that holiness is to be chosen and set apart for God. Christians have been redeemed by God and we belong to Him. 

Our reading says: 

1. We are holy - set apart for God

I’m sure that you’ve seen people with various logos for expensive brands on their clothing or accessories. People really want you to know that their shoes are expensive and they do this by displaying a prominent logo. 

In our text we see that the priest wore a golden plate on his head with the inscription ‘‘holy to the Lord’. By doing so, as their representative, this is a statement that all Israel were accounted as holy. They were God’s chosen people. He wanted to dwell among them - they were chosen to know Him and glorify Him to the world. 

Likewise, let’s see that if we are Christians, we are holy - set apart to know and serve God. Too often we can live like God serves us as we pursue our ambitions and comforts. However, let’s see that we are to be holy - to seek to know God, know His ways, and walk in His will. 

2. We are made holy through sacrifice

The priests were made holy, and made the people holy through sacrifice. There was a cost to being holy. 

Today’s reading speaks of how the priest’s ministry brought others into God’s holiness. The plate of pure gold on the turban, engraved with ‘holy to the Lord’, meant that ‘“he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron’s forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the Lord.”’ 

We see that the sacrifices offered by the priests made the people, and even made their worship expectable to God. 

Likewise, it’s only through Jesus’ priestly ministry that we, and our worship and prayers, are acceptable and accepted as holy. In Hebrews we read:

Jesus’ sacrifice brings us into the holiness of God - His blood is the cost of our redemption. 

Response

The priestly garments teach us about how to become holy to God. 

God wants us to be his holy people. He doesn’t want us to make a turban with a gold plate on it. We don’t need to tattoo our bodies, or wear special clothes. We are holy because God has chosen us, and we are holy because we’ve received the death of Christ as our offering to God. 

Finally, let’s be encouraged that Jesus’ death for sin means that our imperfect lives, imperfect prayers, imperfect worship are accounted as holy to God. It’s wonderful and releasing to know that as we seek to simply do the best we can, God turns our lives and offerings into something holy and powerful. 

This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of CCP; to watch our anniversary video, please select the link below:

Community Group Study

(This week is ‘SIV’ (Serve, Invest and inVite) Week, so we’ll be focussing on this during our time together. 

1. Notices

It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News. 

2. Worship together

Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.

3. Study and pray together

(This week is ‘SIV’ (Serve, Invest and inVite) Week)

On Sunday, we concluded our I Will Dwell Among Them series by exploring how the priestly garments described in Exodus 28 point to the calling of God's people today and are to be lived out in our churches and daily lives.

One of the key applications concerns our mission to reach our communities with the gospel. As God's royal priesthood, we are called to stand before Him on behalf of others, praying and interceding for His mercy to be poured out on our families, neighbours, and communities. Prayer is not a secondary part of evangelism—it is one of the primary ways God releases His power. As we faithfully intercede for those around us, we prepare the way for the gospel to be proclaimed with conviction and received with open hearts.

What is SIV? 

SIV stands for Serve, Invest and inVite. This is our very simple strategy to help bring our community to Jesus. We believe that God has placed us in relationships and in specific locations to be 'salt and light.' and to ‘fish for people’.  We can effectively bring people to Jesus by: 

• 'Serving' them - Demonstrating the love of Christ in practical ways; 

• 'Investing' - Investing in the ‘people of peace’ those whom we feel the Spirit is leading us. 

• 'Inviting' - Inviting them into our homes by showing hospitality and inviting them to church events, to Alpha, and ultimately, inviting them to come to Jesus through the gospel. 

In your groups: 

• Share stories – Have you had any recent opportunities to Serve, Invest in, or Invite someone toward Jesus? Let’s encourage one another by sharing stories of how we’ve seen God at work through simple faithfulness.

• Think about practical next steps – Who might God be placing on your heart at this time? Are there any “people of peace” (see note) in your life—those who seem open, welcoming, or receptive to spiritual conversation?

Pray together:

• New Day: Pray for our young people who are currently at New Day - pray for blessing and salvation.

• Pray for courage, wisdom, and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit in our Serve, Invest, and Invite opportunities.

• Pray specifically for the ‘people of peace’ in our lives - that God would open hearts and deepen relationships.

• Pray for our Alpha ministry and Phil Mash who heads up this team 

• Pray for our mission in Roehampton - that He would lead us in reaching that community with the gospel. 

• General prayer: how do people want prayer at this time?