You Are Set Apart—October 21 Bible Reading Plan - Denise Pass

You Are Set Apart

You are set apart, friend. God has plans for you. But how can we be set apart if we just want to fit in? This is the tension we feel as we represent Christ in a fallen world. Consequently, there is pressure to fit into the world system. Political correctness tries to shut our mouths. But God chose us. He set us apart with a new identity in Christ. And we were not chosen so we would live for the world. We were chosen so we could rise above and live for the King.

Bible Reading of the Day: Deuteronomy 10-12

The Levites were set apart for the work of God.

Deuteronomy 10:8

8 “At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, to stand before the Lord to serve Him, and to pronounce blessings in his name, as it is today. 9 For this reason, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance like his brothers; the Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord your God told him.”

You Are Set Apart—A Peculiar People

The word set apart means to be sanctified, separate. This is hard sometimes. My children have talked with me about the pain of seeking to live for Christ and being surrounded by people who are a part of the Christian culture but don’t live for Christ. It will be lonely sometimes, living as a peculiar people dedicated to the LORD. Oh, but friends, there is no greater joy than living with and for God.

The Hebrew word for set apart here in this passage in Deuteronomy is “badal”, and literally means “to be separated”.

Y’all, we have been indoctrinated and brainwashed to think like the world. We have to undo these philosophies and worldly, fleshly thinking. This is the sanctification process and God completes the work in us.

Friends, God is our portion. Jesus is our inheritance. We, too, are set apart. Sometimes today we see people who separate their faith from their life. That is not the separation we are called to.

You Are Set Apart—Belonging to Christ

John 17:14-19

14 “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to the world. 17 Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. 19 And I set myself apart on their behalf, so that they too may be truly set apart.”

1 Corinthians 1:2 (AUV)

“[You people are] set apart in [the fellowship of] Christ Jesus and called [by God] to be saints [i.e., His holy people], along with all [others] everywhere who call on our Lord Jesus Christ [i.e., in prayer]. He is their Lord and ours [as well].”

What does it mean to be set apart?

Previously we read this verse and probably need to read it every day. We have got to saturate our minds in God’s word to be able to think clearly and have the mind of Christ.

Romans 12:2 ESV

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

• Don’t be like the world. Don’t be worldly.
• And don’t think according to the various philosophies of the world.
• Test everything by the word of truth.

You Are Set Apart—A Chosen Race

1 Peter 2:9 ESV

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

• Be Holy.
• Be on mission.
• And be a display of God’s grace for the world to see.

1 Corinthians 6:11 (AUV)

“And such were some of you [before you believed]. But you were washed [by the atoning sacrifice of Christ], you were sanctified [set apart for God, and made holy], you were justified [declared free of guilt] in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the [Holy] Spirit of our God [the source of the believer’s new life and changed behavior].”

You Are Set Apart—Salvation

Do you remember the day when you understood the Gospel? And your need for salvation? If you are listening today and don’t recall such a time, today could be your day, friend.

The enemy of our souls wants to blind us to our need and to God’s goodness. Don’t believe the lies. God has made a way. We just get confused when we forget that we were set apart. And maybe we didn’t anticipate how hard it would be to live for God in a broken world.

You Are Set Apart—a Circumcised Heart

Deuteronomy 10:12-21 (CSB)

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you except to fear the Lord your God by walking in all his ways, to love him, and to worship the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul? 13 Keep the Lord’s commands and statutes I am giving you today, for your own good. 14 The heavens, indeed the highest heavens, belong to the Lord your God, as does the earth and everything in it. 15 Yet the Lord had his heart set on your ancestors and loved them. He chose their descendants after them—he chose you out of all the peoples, as it is today. 16 Therefore, circumcise your hearts and don’t be stiff-necked any longer.

17 For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awe-inspiring God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe. 18 He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the resident alien, giving him food and clothing. 19 You are also to love the resident alien since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt. 20 You are to fear the Lord your God and worship him. Remain faithful to Him and take oaths in his name. 21 He is your praise and he is your God, who has done for you these great and awe-inspiring works your eyes have seen.”

You Are Set Apart—Handpicked by God

I remember being the last one chosen for teams in school when I was a child. It hurt so bad, y’all. But I was awkward and unpopular. And when I was chosen, it was only because they had to. But God delights in you and me. He chose us and then chose to bear our sin consequence to break through the separation sin caused to then separate us from sin.

You are chosen, friends. Do you accept? And Christ did not choose you or I last. No, we were on His mind before time began.

Ephesians 1:4 (AUV)

“Just as [in His love] He chose us in Christ [actually selected us for Himself as His own] before the foundation of the world, so that we would be holy [that is, consecrated, set apart for Him, purpose-driven] and blameless in His sight. In love.”

The ESV of Ephesians 1:4 says:

“Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love.”

You Are Set Apart—Blameless

This being set apart means to be Holy. Blameless. Justified as if we had never sinned. This is what God chose to do for us when He set us apart.

So maybe being different from the world is an incredible privilege and a beautiful thing. Let’s keep our oxygen masks on, friends, breathing the truth from God’s word, so we can help others to be set apart.

Scripture of the Day: Deuteronomy 11:18-19

“So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 19 Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.”

You Are Set Apart—Be Committed

In conclusion, this Scripture beckons us to be committed to God’s word and to God. We need to live out the message we say we believe and teach those in our sphere of influence. Sometimes, mommas, our kids will not want to hear it. To summarize, fear God more than their acceptance. Be bold and love them enough to speak truth and life and pull them from the fires of this earth by baptizing them in the word. We must be set apart.

Ultimately, the reading today is a reminder to us to remember and obey. To not forget who we are and whose we are. We belong. And we are to be set apart. This tension can be hard, but if we live it out well, we will represent God to a hurting world that desperately needs to see Jesus, not just another worldly clone.

Application

• Don’t get distracted and forget that you are set apart.
• Set apart to proclaim Christ to a broken world.
• Set apart to disciple our own household.
• In summary, people will not celebrate in our peculiarity, but if we are faithful and not hypocritical, some will have their eyes opened and also become set apart.

𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘁 12 𝗽𝗺 𝗘𝗧.

Day #295: Words of  Life

𝒱𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒟𝒶𝓎: Deuteronomy 11:18-19

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