1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?
2 He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart
3 and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman,
4 who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the LORD,
who keeps his oath
even when it hurts,
5 who lends his money without usury
and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be shaken.
This psalm is really reminding us of the kind of person that God will draw close to and allow to dwell in His sanctuary (verse 1). If we want to have an intimate relationship with God, we must strive to do the following.
1. Speaks the truth from our hearts, no lies, no facade (verse 2).2. Don't slander others with words (verse 3a).
3. Don't do wrong to the people around us (verse 3b).
4. Don't mix so much with people who are wicked or godless (verse 4a).
5. Honors those who love God (verse 4b).
6. Keeps our promises even if they hurt (verse 4c).
7. Lend our money to others generously with no strings attached (verse 5a).
8. Don't accept bribes from the powerful and conspire against the innocent (verse 5b).
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that if we make a mistake in any of the above, then God will not forgive us. Because of His grace, He will always forgive us if we confess and repent.
What I'm saying is that we should try our best to do the things mentioned. God sees our hearts. If He knows that we've given our best, He will surely bless us with His presence. And because of that, God will be our rock, and we will never be shaken by the world!
If I were to give myself a rating of 1 to 10 (10 means really good) for each of the 8 things mentioned above, I will give myself the following ratings:
1. (7)
2. (6)
3. (8)
4. (8)
5. (8)
6. (7)
7. (9)
8. (9)
Things to ponder
1. Do the same thing as I did. Reflect your life and rate each of the 8 things mentioned 1 to 10.
2. Choose the one with the lowest score and elaborate why it's the lowest.
3. Pray a prayer of commitment of this weakness to the Lord and ask Him for help. Confess and repent if need to.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your grace which allows me to draw close to You and have a personal relationship with You. I know that I'm filled with many imperfections. The thing I struggle most with is speaking bad or gossiping about others. Lord, I repent of sins and ask for Your forgiveness. Help me to stand up against it. I really want to be in Your sanctuary and be someone who won't be shaken by circumstances. In Jesus' name I ask and pray. Amen!
Click here for Pastor YC's reflection on Psalm 15
3 comments:
1. Reflect your life and rate each of the 8 things mentioned 1 to 10.
1. (7)
2. (6)
3. (8)
4. (8)
5. (7)
6. (6)
7. (9)
8. (9)
2. Choose the one with the lowest score and elaborate why it's the lowest.
For this question, I would choose both (2) and (6) as both are equally low. For (2) which is slandering others with words, I feel that sometimes I tend to gossip about others even though I'm aware is wrong. For (6) which is keeping our promises even if they hurt, whenever the busy period comes, I realised that there were promises which I gave to God and the people around me, and because I totally put it aside, it was not achieved in the end.
3. Pray a prayer of commitment of this weakness to the Lord and ask Him for help. Confess and repent if need to.
Dear Heavenly Father, please forgive me for the sins I have committed. Slandering others and gossiping behind their backs. Also, not remembering and honouring the promises that I made with you and the others. I'm weak in the flesh Lord. Strenthen me with the Holy Spirit so that I can supernaturally do the things you desire! I pray all these in Jesus Name, Amen!
1. Reflect your life and rate each of the 8 things mentioned 1 to 10.
1. 8
2. 7
3. 3
4. 3
5. 7
6. 7
7. 8
8. 8
2. Choose the one with the lowest score and elaborate why it's the lowest.
My lowest ratings have be given to questions 3 & 4.
Question 3 - Don't do wrong to the people around us.
Though I know for a fact that it is wrong to do things that are not pleasing to God, I still fall and succumb to temptation. The biggest temptation I face now is the urge to smoke. Sometimes when I see my friends smoking, there's this surge of control that tells me "Smoke, smoke!". I fall at times & I feel very silly for letting my guard down.
Question 4 - Don't mix so much with people who are wicked or godless.
At times when I go out with my friends, I tend to forget and put everything aside. I just blend in with them and mix with the wrong company. I do mix with the wrong group of people at times and end up doing things that are sinful or unpleasing to God. I feel that I should be wise when I choose my friends and not those who try to be your "friends".
3. Pray a prayer of commitment of this weakness to the Lord and ask Him for help. Confess and repent if need to.
Dear Father in Heaven, I bow on my knees and ask you to forgive me of all the sinful things I've done to hurt not only myself and those around me. Please strengthen me spiritually and mentally to do the right things and to walk away from the wrong things. I'm sorry for pushing away all your principles that I've learned to help me be a whole-hearted Christian. Use me, mould me and shape me the way you want me to be. Raise me as a warrior and be a blessing to those around me. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. I pray all these in Jesus' most precious name, Amen!
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