Weekly Encouragement
Psalm 15 "Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken."
So, here speaks the Psalmist. He asks who can ascend the hill of the Lord and dwell in God's sanctuary. Pretty rational question, right? The Holiness of the Lord is so full or awe and wonder; how could anyone ever measure up to go in? The result? It begins with "he whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous". I'm out! Or am I? In my flesh, I am not blameless. I attempt to live holy as the Lord is holy. I attempt to do what is righteous, but sometimes my flesh get the best of me and I do what I know I should not do, and don't do what I know I should do. I am grateful that the Apostle Paul understands me there (Romans 7:14-20).
The challenge given here by the Psalmist though should not be taken lightly. One should not say, "Well, I can't live up to that part, so I won't worry about. I have Jesus, so I'm good". Do we have Jesus who died for our sins? Absolutely! Praise God for such amazing grace. But does the Lord not desire us to do what is right? Are we not to speak truth from our heart, or have no slander on our tongue; or is it okay to lie and slander because we know we will receive grace? By no means should we abuse the grace we are given. We should STRIVE. Yes, we should STRIVE. We should fight with ALL we have to speak truth from the heart and have no slander found on our tongue. Excuses don't make doing the opposite acceptable. This applies for the whole passage.
Let's look at the last sentence of Psalm 15 though. "He who does these things will never be shaken". Why will he never be shaken? Because he will know he stands on the side of the Lord. Many question whether "once saved, always saved" is true or not. Although I know my view of Scripture and salvation, may I encourage you with a simple point? (Good--I knew you would say yes!) Why worry about once saved, always saved? Why not live a life representing the salvation we have received?
I know that I fail, but when I do, I long to be restored with the Father. The only way that happens is through the grace of the Lord. There is no question of my salvation at that point. The only question is how to let the Lord become stronger in me so that I would not fail when a similar temptation arises again. I want to be able to stand on the Solid Rock. I want to not be shaken. I want to be able to dwell in the sanctuary of God and on His holy hill. The only way this happens is to allow Jesus to not only guide me, but hold me in His righteous right hand each step of the way. I am blameless because Jesus is before me. I will only stand firm because Jesus is my strength.
May you allow Jesus' grace to cover over you. May you allow Him to be your strength. May we all represent the life we are to represent so that we may truly worship together in His sanctuary on His holy hill!!
Taking Up His Cross
Clinging To His Love,
David Boncler
FREEDOM Week #5---6:15.....Can't wait to see what God does. Keep sharing with your friends, and pray up what God has in store for us.
YOUTH CAMP--only 3 more weeks to sign up before the cost goes up. Make sure to get those deposits in for you and your friends. You can check out Student Life's website for more details about this great camp July 14-18!!!
Senior Recognition is NEXT SUNDAY! Come celebrate with us in the morning services, and from 4:30-5:30 in the youth wing!!
