This is a brief post…I am at my mom’s house preparing for a trip tomorrow to see my grandmother. She is recovering well from her surgery!!

After 400 years of slavery in a foreign land, the Israelites apparently picked up many bad habits, including worshiping other gods and participating in deviant sexual behavior. The inhabitants of Caanan also had behavior that was detestable to the Lord. So there was a period of cleansing to teach the Israelites what was wrong and what was right.

Above all, the lesson is this: be separate. Don’t conform to the behavior of those around you.

That’s a lesson we can all take heed even today, thousands of years later.

I have to watch myself carefully because I tend to pick up the mannerisms and language of those I am around a great deal. If the language is not ladylike, I eventually find myself thinking those words — which is just as bad as saying them — and must confess and repent.

The only One worthy of imitation is the One we can’t possibly imitate: Jesus. But we can sure try!