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Post Date: |
Thursday, 2017-02-16 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Psalm 15 (TLB) |
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Text: |
2 Anyone who leads a blameless life and is truly sincere. 3 Anyone who refuses to slander others, does not listen to gossip, never harms his neighbor, 4 speaks out against sin, criticizes those committing it, commends the faithful followers of the Lord, keeps a promise even if it ruins him, 5 does not crush his debtors with high interest rates, and refuses to testify against the innocent despite the bribes offered him—such a man shall stand firm forever. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| The Psalmist lists things he believes a ‘True’ Worshipper should do and some that they shouldn’t do. This was in response to his own question that he posed to the Almighty God about who will be permitted in His presence. I believe that there was conflict in David’s mind about what was acceptable to God, and what might not be acceptable, and he had to get this cleared up. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
When we are feeling conflicted by the various teachings of man and/or churches and/or denominations, wouldn’t it be great to take that conflict before God and ask Him to help us clear it up? I could only imagine that my blog title probably raised a few eyebrows as you probably thought that I would dare teach on who should be permit in our church sanctuary, or who we will allow to sit forward of the very back seat, or who we will allow to raise their hands in worship. Unfortunately you may be disappointed, as this goes way beyond the practices of any church here on earth. Notice that David was in prayer, or communication with the One that most Christian churches actually lift up their worship to, for He wanted to know what was acceptable to the God who created us, provides for us, and even died a sacrificial death for us, before returning to His Father to sit at His side and petition with Him on our behalf. You see, church leadership has come a long way in what our ancestors taught about what you could wear to church, which instruments can, or cannot be played in our services, and who might sing in the praise group, or choir. It seems like we have become a lot more tolerable and allow anyone with any thought or practice or selfish desire to worship and possibly participate or even teach, while tolerating known sin in their lives. David looked beyond all this and was more interested in what God would permit. Here are some things that he concluded about the attitude and/or character of the genuine worshipper of the Almighty:
David concluded that ‘such a man shall stand firm forever’. May I suggest to you friend that no matter how good you feel about your church, or how much you despise what the leadership allows, or rejects, what truly matters in your relationship with God is what you discern from God’s Word as being pleasing in His sight. Please don’t be so weak that you merely stand by and wait for the instructions of church leadership, although I want you to respect them and cooperate with their leadership that you feel aligns with God’s Word, however what is more important is that you develop such a relationship with God that you seek His face in all things and personally please Him in every way. He’s the One that we live for and seek to serve wholeheartedly, so please Him among everything else here on earth, and you too ‘will stand firm forever’, child of God! |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, please help us to always seek Your face and Your design for our lives here on earth. Often we are pulled in many directions with various beliefs and practices. May we strive to please You and seek Your will in deciding truth. It’s You we long to adore and be with throughout eternity. Oh that ‘religion’ will not hinder our walk down here as we strive to please You, is my humble prayer, AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
Nuggets From God's Word 