Leviticus 18: 1-5; 19:2
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God.
You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you are not to walk in their statutes.
You are to perform My judgments, and be careful to keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the Lord your God.
So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the Lord.
...You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
God is instructing Moses to teach all the people to not pay attention to any of the peoples that live around them. Not where they came from nor where they are going.
These other people don't know God, so they are unaware of His ways. God is the Source of everything we need for life: Water, Air, Food, and Light. And we now know that Life itself is spiritual. And Jesus is the Living Water, the Breath of Life, the Bread of Life, and the Light of the World.
Over and over I read in Scripture that I am to "be careful" and to "pay attention" to what God says. He is my Teacher, and His Holy Spirit in me is my Guide Who manifests His Truth to my understanding.
We become like those we hang out with, spend time with. And Who or what we worship. Look at the character and moral values of those you call your friends. Hang out with God every day in His Word. Worship with your spiritual brothers and sisters each week. Become aware of God's presence with you every moment of every day, and hang with Him.
Brother Andrew had the right idea, he called it, "practicing the presence of God."
O my Father, I do want to hang out with You. I want to to become like You. You are holy--separate from everything else. I want to be different from those who are of this World, even though I live in this World.
Father, help me to recognize all the nuances of the differences between being in the World and being of the World. My primary citizenship is in Your Kingdom, and my National citizenship is secondary to it.
Give me Your strength to stand up against the unrighteousness that wants to take over my Nation, with the gentleness and kindness You have shown me.
Your Power and Authority is paramount in Your Universe that You put our Earth into, yet You rule over it all with compassion and patience, waiting for us to choose Your ways and accept Your bountiful gifts.
One Day that patience will give way to Your Authority to rule. Your Son, our Lord God, will return to this Earth to conquer His enemies and set up His Throne as King; and every eye will behold Him, and every knee will bow to Him, and every tongue will admit that He is Lord (Boss) over all the Universe (Isaiah 45:23-24, Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10, Revelation 5:13).
Until that Day arrives, Father, strengthen me to keep on keeping on, to "occupy" until my Lord returns, as He taught in the parable in Luke 19:11-27. Show me how to do my work that You have given me to do to proclaim Your Word and Your ways to the World, spreading the Seed of the Gospel of Salvation and the Kingdom among the Nations of peoples who are desperate for help, the help only You can provide.
Bring into the fold all Your lost sheep, my Shepherd; climb the mountains and reach into the crags to draw them out of the darkness of deception and lies into the glorious Light of Your Truth. Use me and the words You give me to share with them in this honorable work. And increase my stamina to never quit. Keep me keeping on, until the last moment before Your Glorious Appearing.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
