To Dwell in the Presence of God.

LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. 

He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor.

In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

                                   Psalm 15:1-5 KJV 

Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who shall stand  in his holy place?

He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

                                   Psalm 24:3-6 KJV 

Obedience in the presence of almighty God go hand in hand. This can be seen in the example of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, who offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, as priests. Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them. God has an eternal standard for all who would approach Him. God will be sanctified or shown as Holy in all who would draw near to Him. He must be glorified before men (see Leviticus 10:1-3).

Again, when Moses struck the rock in anger, he, along with his brother Aaron, were denied entry into the land of promise. Why? Because they did not treat the LORD as holy in front of the congregation of Israel. God was sanctified in the midst of Israel now, through Judgement. That was a steep price to pay for a moment of anger (see Numbers 20:1-13).

This is not an Old Testament thing, where God is an angry God, but now under the New Testament he is living and forgiving. Just ask Ananias and Sapphira, who were struck dead when confronted by Peter for their hypocrisy. This had a cleansing,  purifying effect upon the early Church, as "great fear came upon the Church" (Acts 5:1-11).

Jesus tells us that it is the pure in heart who will see God (Matt 5:8). We fool ourselves if we think that we can enjoy intimate fellowship with the Holy God, while indulging our sinful desires.

Yet many professing believers, who were once passionately pursuing Jesus, have grown cold. They are unaware that the presence of God is absent from their lives. It's like the proverbial frog in the kettle of water. The water heated up slowly, the frog unaware, until it was boiling. A backsliding Christian grows colder and colder, until like Sampson, one day wakes up to the realization that God has left them ( see Judges 16:1-20).

There is a remedy however. When one has come to the realization of their backslidden condition, the only thing one can, and must do is to repent and return to God. 

Evan Roberts, the man mightily used by God during the Welsh revival of 1904-05, consistently emphasized these four points. 

1. Confess all known sin.

     Your past sins that remain           unconfessed must be dealt with.       Confess them to God, and forsake them. Confess them to those you have wronged, and do what is in your power to make it right.

2. Prompt obedience to the leading of the Spirit.

     Obedience must be prompt. To hold back our obedience to the promoting of the Holy Spirit is to grieve the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30), and to quench the Spirit (1 Thess 5:19). In Acts 5:32 we read that the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey Him.

3. Get rid of all doubtful habits.

     Are there things in your life that you are uncertain of? Are you doing things that you are not sure if they are right or wrong? Remove them from your life. There are actions that are not specifically addressed in scripture. Our conscience then becomes our guide. Romans 14 explains this. We must not allow our liberty to become an occasion to cause a brother to stumble (Romans 14:13-15). We also must be convinced in our own mind, and abide by our conviction, because to act contrary to this is to sin, because our actions do not flow out of faith (Romans 14:20-24).

4. Confess Christ openly.

     If we desire the presence of Christ in our lives we must openly confess Him before men. If we are ashamed of Him in this sinful world; if we deny Him, He will deny us before the angels of God. The Holy Spirit comes to empower us to be witnesses. As above, we quench the Spirit when we do not obey Him. How can one expect the presence of God while being ashamed of Him?

During this time period Wales was transformed. A sleeping Church was wakened, and while there is no exact count, they agree that well  over 100,000 souls were saved in this move of God. Bars were shut down, Judges had no cases to try in court. The mules used in the coal mines had to be retrained. They were used to being cursed at. They didn't know what to do now that the miners' language had been cleaned up. This is what happens when God draws near, and it begins with one individual who seeks after Him.

As we read above in Psalm 24:4-6, it is the one who has clean hands and a pure heart who receives the blessing from the LORD. This is the generation, or people who seek after Him. In a allusion to the story of Jacob, who wrestled with the LORD until the break of day, we also must tenaciously go after God with the same attitude, "I will not let you go until you bless me!"

The term "selah" at the end of this verse literally means "stop and think about that "

The story of Jacob does not start well. He deceives his Father and steals the birthright and blessing from his brother Esau. Forced to flee, he ends up working for his uncle Laban, who takes advantage of him, just like Jacob once took advantage of others.

God was with Jacob however, and when Jacob finally leaves Laban to return to back to Isaac, his father, he was a different man. Fearing Esau, he prays for God to deliver him. This is the point where he wrestles with a man, who turns out to be the LORD, and prevails (see Genesis 32:1-30).

Are we like that? Is our hunger for the presence of the LORD such that we can also say, "I will not let you go until you bless me." And is it temporal blessing that we seek, no matter how important that may be, or is it God Himself who we desperately desire?

.

Jars of Clay

My wife and I are learning to make pottery. We have dug clay out of our backyard, tried to fashion it into various objects, and then fired it.

After firing our pottery we let it cool, then took it out of fire pit. It looked good, felt solid, it even "rang" as we tapped on it (well sort of). It seemed pretty good until we attempted to clean it up some.

When my wife began to wash the ashes off, the pottery began to crumble. It could not hold up, and in the end was basically worthless. Upon further investigation we discovered that although we had fired it, we had not reached the necessary temperature. If we want to make useful pottery, we need to greatly increase the heat during the firing process.

There is a spiritual application that we can make from this also. You see, we are jars made of clay containing the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 4:6-7). This is so that God gets the glory and not us. But what good is it if we are unfired and ready to crumble? 

You may say that God uses imperfect people, and I totally agree. However, God takes these imperfect people and makes them who and what He desires them to be. This involves the firing process. He must refine us if He is to use us. Remember Peter? He was ready and willing to die with Jesus, or so he thought. He crumbled in a moment of weakness, all of his zeal was forgotten.

Trials tend to purify us. They refine us. Things deep down inside of us, things we don't realize we are capable of, tend to come up to the surface when under pressure. It is in times of testing that we learn how to lean upon God, to let Him cleanse us to strengthen us, to deliver us. 

 

The testing of our faith produces endurance (James 1:3-4). Like Peter, we might fail, but next time we know ahead of time and find victory. Over time that victory becomes a way of life for us. That is endurance, a maturing process. So often the trial comes and we try to run from it. Trials are not fun. But here we see that we should let it be an opportunity to learn endurance.

Self confidence is a major detriment to the Christian life. Paul the apostle writes of affliction so severe, so beyond his strength, that he despaired of life itself. What was the purpose? To trust in God, instead of himself (2 Cor 1:8-9). I often wonder if some of the problems I go through have this as their purpose. It is hard to let go and leave everything in God's hands. It's easy to say when things are going good, but hard to do in the middle of the storm.

A few chapters later Paul calls these trials "momentary light affliction". The ultimate result of overcoming through our trials is an unimaginable weight of glory. We are being prepared for eternity. All that we face now is temporary. Paul who faced tremendous trials learned to look at the eternal, the unseen future (2 Cor 4:17-18). 

Peter also has this in mind when he exhorts his readers to stand up under trials. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:6-9 NASB).

 God is preparing us for eternity with Him. It is through much tribulation that we enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). 

It is so tempting to desire an easy and carefree life. Who wants trials and troubles? Our flesh desires the easy way. But what happens when a crisis overtakes us and our faith has never been exercised? What happens when we appear before Jesus and discover our faith is a mere intellectual dead faith? 

In Hebrews we read that God disciplines those He loves so that they may share His holiness. On the flip side, those who have never experienced the discipline of the Lord are illegitimate children (Hebrews 12:5-11). 

It is far better now to learn to trust in God through the storm, to let Him shape and mold us for His purpose and glory. Someday it will all be worth it, as we see Jesus face to face.

Focus

     If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:1-3 ESV)

     I have run across a saying that goes something like this. "He is so heavenly minded, that he is of no earthly good." Immediately we think of an individual with his or her head in the clouds, dreamily going through life with heavenly thoughts, but unable to function much in the everyday affairs of life. But is this saying biblical? 

     The passage quoted above mentions several important aspects of the Christian life. First, the Christian has died. When we come to Christ in repentance and faith, we renounce ourselves, our sin and selfishness, and die to it. Paul, in Romans 6:1-13, paints a picture of the believer's uniting with Christ's death through baptism, and consequently uniting with Him in His resurrection, resulting in newness of life. We have forsaken our old life, to live a new one. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin (Romans 6:6-7 ESV).

     Paul writes that he has been crucified with Christ (Gal 2:20). As a result, it is no longer he who lives, but by faith, Christ lives in him. Jesus tells us that one must renounce all to become His disciple (Luke 14:33), he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Him. We must lose our lives for Christ's sake (Matt 16:24-26). 

     To tell the truth, I often find myself caught up with earthly affairs. I worry about making ends meet. I can get caught up with my job, or hobbies. I'm sure many of us can relate to this. Life can be hard at times, and it is so easy to let our focus settle there. But what does Jesus say? He tells us to make His kingdom our priority! He knows our needs, and tells us not to worry, to be consumed by them. These are the things we need, clothing, food, the essentials of life. These are also the things the world is consumed with (Matt 6:25-33). He encourages us to pursue His interests, not ours, and what we need, He will provide.

     Now I am not saying we must all quit our jobs and go sit on a rooftop somewhere waiting for God to do something. We all have gifts and callings that God has given us, and we must walk in them. It might mean a radical change of direction in our lives. At the very least our focus must change. We are not our own, we have been purchased by Jesus Christ, to live for His glory (1 Cor 6:19-20). How will that fact affect my job choices, my interests, my pursuits? Can I glorify God in these areas of my life, or must I make a change? One who has died in this sense of the word has given up himself.

     We have also been made alive in Christ Jesus. Not only have we died, but now, as Jesus has been raised from the dead, so we also have been raised up to newness of life (Romans 6:4).

     Newness of life entails everything of one's life. We have renounced all for the sake of Christ, so now we use all for the glory of God. To set our minds on the things above means to focus on the interests of Christ. It means that we are consumed by the advancement of His kingdom. It is our priority. The things that hinder, that get in the way, must go. We cannot serve two masters, one or the other must go. You can only focus on one thing in the natural, and so it is in the spiritual as well (Matt 6:22-24). We must ever be careful to keep the things of eternity in sharp focus.

     Let us have the same attitude as that of Paul, who counted all things loss for the sake of Christ, who forgot the former things to press on towards the goal (Phil 3:8-15). He said he did one thing (verse 13). We know that Paul traveled as an Apostle planting churches and preaching the gospel. He wrote under inspiration a large portion of the New Testament. He suffered persecution and stood before kings. He did many things, but his life with all of its experiences and accomplishments flowed out of one thing. Paul was passionate for Jesus Christ. He had renounced all, he had been crucified with Christ, and was merely living out the life of Christ by faith.

      

      

 

Longing for God.

      Throughout the scriptures we find instances of individuals with a hunger for God. Read David's words, "One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple" (Psalm 27:4) It is the presence of the LORD that David desires above all things, and that which he determines to seek. 

     Consider the longing for God portrayed in verses like these,

     As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? (Psalm 42:1-2)

     O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. ( Psalm 63:1-2)

     How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. (Psalm 84:1-2)

     A common theme in these verses is that of the tabernacle. It was here under the old covenant, that the presence of God "tabernacled", or dwelled. These psalms tell of instances such as David's flight from king Saul, or his fleeing from Absalom, where access to the tabernacle was impossible. Later on it was a similar thing during the Babylonian captivity when the temple was destroyed and the nation was carried away, far from the sacrifices and offerings prescribed in the law. Part of Daniel's prayer of repentance (Daniel 9:1-19), is a plea for God to shine His face once more upon His sanctuary that lies desolate (Daniel 9:17).

     Ultimately, God does not live in man made temples (Isaiah 66:1-2), but dwells within those who are surrendered to Him. Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19). We can carry His presence with us no matter what we face in life. And, like the examples old the old covenant saints, we are called to be strangers and aliens on this earth (Heb 11:9-10, 13-16).  To live this way, seeking nothing in this world, but looking to that which is to come should sharpen our hunger, increase our thirst, our longings after God. We are warned not to lay up material treasures in this life, but rather treasure in heaven. To pursue material things, and yet attempt to serve God is an impossibility. One pursuit must eliminate the other (see Matthew 6:19-33).  Much like a child "spoiling" their supper by sneaking an afternoon snack, we too can destroy our hunger for God by focusing on material things. 

     Picture a husband and wife, who through some circumstance find themselves absent from each other. If they are truly in love, they will long for each other, counting the days until they are reunited. Every letter, phone call, message, will be precious, giving them encouragement and hope until they see each other once again. What about our relationship with Christ? We are in this world, absent from His physical presence. It is true that by the Spirit we have fellowship with Him now. We can sense in a very real way His presence in our lives, but someday we will see Him face to face. The bible states that someday Jesus will return for those who love His appearing (2 Tim 4:8), and for those who eagerly await Him (Hebrews 9:28). 

     So do we long for His appearing like a wife longing for her husband to return from an extended trip? Are we eagerly awaiting His return? I do not mean in some abstract way, such as agreeing to the fact of Jesus' return someday and how wonderful it will be, but an actual longing for Him, an ardent desire to see Him face to face.

     I fear so many of us are going through life busily wrapped up in our day to day lives. Our jobs, hobbies, pursuits and possessions are taking up the space in our lives, and "spoiling our spiritual hunger for Jesus. Can we say with an honest heart that we are eagerly awaiting Him, longing for His second coming? Do our hearts and flesh cry out for the living God? Can we agree with the sons of Korah that a day in thy courts is better than a thousand (Psalm 84:10)? Or, has life treated us so well that we are no longer strangers here, but have settled in?  

     

Is God Trying to Get Our Attention?

     Look around the world today and you will see upheaval. There is a worldwide pandemic followed by worldwide lock downs to slow the pandemic. Add to this the perceived fear of government overreach in lock downs and other mandated actions. Of course all of this has devastating effects on jobs and the economies of almost every nation on earth at this time. People who were already facing poverty and hunger are now in an even tighter corner.

      Then there is the unrest. Riots and protests have sprung up throughout the world as well. Almost every major city in the U.S. has experienced protests, vandalism, police brutality, and police inaction, creating more confusion and more fear.

     We are seeing disasters of epic proportions, both natural and man made. This creates more hardship, and more unrest. The explosion in Beirut Lebanon has further exasperated an already dire situation for the Lebanese people. Other nations are suffering the effects of brutal civil wars, genocide, and the resulting displacement of millions of refugees. And droughts and famines, earthquakes, and on and on.  For me, it is numbing at times to see everything happening all at once.

     But there is hope....

     At night my soul longs for you, indeed my spirit within me seeks you diligently; for when the earth experiences your judgments the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9 NASB).

     It is through the hard times that God can get our attentions. I heard of a survey taken during the beginning of the Covid pandemic where the question was proposed as to what the pandemic could mean. 40% of the people questioned believed that God was giving us a wake up call. It was time to get right with Him. This was a general sampling of people of all walks of life. Now are all these things judgments from God? I cannot answer that. I do not know, but I do know that God in His mercy will take the hardships we face, and use them to get our attention. That's what happened to me. It took a personal crisis in my life to get me to surrender my life to Jesus Christ. I was an "inoculated christian", one who had enough religion to think I was all right, but not enough to save me.

     I hear that refugees around the world are wide open to the gospel at this time. They have seen that their religion is empty, and there must be another way. I have seen reports of multitudes in several countries falling on their knees in repentance and coming to faith in the Lord Jesus during these hard times. My heart is often overwhelmed with the craziness of these times, and yet I rejoice to see God at work in the hearts and lives of the people He loves and gave His Son to save. We have before us wonderful opportunities to reach otherwise unreachable people, and that gives me hope.

Obedience.

It is quite common to see an individual when faced with a choice to obey Christ or not, set out to pray about it. This is not entirely wrong, it is true we find grace and help in time of need, and the way of escape during times of temptation, as we seek God in prayer. Jesus sets the example for us in His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, as He fervently sought the Father that he cup might pass from Him. Although sweating drops of blood in His anguish, He yet submitted to the will of His Father and found the strength He needed to go on to face the cross (Luke 22:39-44).We read that He learned obedience through the things that He suffered (Heb 5:7-8).

Yet it is far too common to see individuals substituting prayer for obedience. They pray for God's will, they pray for strength, they pray for help, but the truth is they do not intend to obey. Having thus prayed, they feel justified​ in their inaction, as they wait for God to somehow make them obedient. God however will not obey for us, He will not force us to do what we are unwilling to do, as true obedience must come from our willing hearts if it is to be pleasing in His sight.

God does not command us to do that which we are unable to do.
It has been taught that man is incapable of doing any good at all, that his depravity is such that he can only do evil. Yet look around and you will see unsaved individuals doing right things. There are people who are not born again, yet have some morals that they follow. Jesus said that even sinners love those who love them back. The rich young ruler was obedient to the commandments, yet fell short in one area (Mark 10:17-22). Likewise Paul, before his conversion was also blameless in the Law, yet he could not break free from covetousness (Phil 3:6; Rom 7:7). The fact that sinful people can obey God's law does not make them righteous, it does not give them favor in God's eyes, but it proves the point that God does not expect us to do something impossible; we can obey. Depravity lies within our wills, we refuse to do what is right, choosing instead to do wrong, and as a result falling into bondage to our selfish desires.

We might say it is too hard. There are things that we may face in our Christian walk that are indeed hard, our flesh is selfish, and Christ's commands go against that. Yet we read that His yoke is easy and His burden is light ( Matt 11:28-30). We also read that His commands are not burdensome (1John 5:3).  The problem is not with what we are asked to do, but lies with us. Our human nature will try to rise up and gain the mastery if we will not subdue it.

In Luke 17:1-10 we read of Jesus' instructions concerning an offending brother, and our duty to not only confront such a one, but to also forgive, multiple times if necessary. Finding this a bit daunting, the disciples cry out, "Increase our faith."
Jesus replies that a tiny bit of faith, even the size of a mustard seed is all that is necessary to accomplish great things. It is not a burst of heavenly energy that we must wait for if we would be obedient, but simply to take God at his word, and then put it into practice. We like to claim His promises in this way, but we must also put His word into action in our lives by faith as well.

Jesus goes on to teach us that as His servants it is our duty to obey as well. Once again it is not an issue of I can't, but just as an employer expects so much out of an employee, likewise God expects our obedience as well.

As Christians we have the law of God written upon our hearts, and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. We do not have to live in bondage to sin and selfishness, as Christ has done all that is necessary to bring us into a life of loving obedience. It is up to us to count ourselves dead to sin (Rom 6:11-14), to put off the old man (Eph 4:23), and put on the new (Eph 4:23-24), and to abide in Christ (1 John 3:6).

How Do You Read Your Bible?

Scripture tells us that there is one faith (Eph 4:5), that was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 1:3). If so, how can it be that we see so many differing doctrines among professed believers? Why is there so much confusion over things such as divorce and remarriage, or eternal security? How about Jesus' teaching on materialism? He taught against it, but the opposite is taught by prosperity teachers today. There is much confusion within the Church over issues that should be cut and dried instead.

Much of the problem stems from how we approach the Bible. First off, let me be clear that the Bible is God's inspired word to us. From Genesis to Revelation, it is God breathed and useful for training and correction (2 Tim 3:16). The events of the Old Testament were written for our example as Christians today (1 Cor 10:6). However we also understand that not all of the Old Testament commands given to Israel are binding upon followers of Christ under the new covenant. So we must interpret God's word correctly so that we can follow it correctly.

It is common for many Christians to approach the Bible as a "flat book." That is they place equal authority upon both the Old and New Testaments. Again, while it is true that both testament are equally inspired, yet we do not follow the precepts of the Old in the same way we follow what Christ has commanded in the new. For example, most Christians are not following the dietary laws found in the law of Moses, and we are not stoning people caught in adultery, as New Testament believers.

However, when the Bible is approached this way, we can get ourselves off track. There are many verses in the Old Testament dealing with war. God allowed Israel to fight their enemies under the old covenant. We also have examples of wealthy men such as Abraham, David, and Solomon in the Old Testament. Many Christians today turn to these passages when seeking to defend their position on these two issues. The focus was on Israel, a physical nation chosen by God, so we often lose sight of the kingdom of God as found in the New Testament, blurring it with our own physical nation. In America there is a tendency to combine God and country, resulting in an overly patriotic Christianity. We also see emphasis placed upon the law, and the inability to keep it. We then turn to the epistles of Paul, and focus on the teachings of grace through faith, finding comfort in the fact that we are "covered" in spite of the fact we are living in disobedience to what God expects us to do. Sadly many are unaware of the promise found in the new covenant that will enable us to live in a manner that pleases God. Much harm has been done in the past, by professing believers, in the name of Christ, because people looked to the law instead of to the words of Jesus.

We read in Hebrews 1:1-2, that at one time God spoke through the prophets, but now he has spoken to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is introduced to us as the "Word" in the first chapter of John.

In Matthew 17:1-8 we read of the transfiguration of Christ. Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ, talking with Him. Peter desired to build three tabernacles, one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus. But while he spoke, a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice proclaimed out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear Him." When they again looked, Jesus remained alone.

 There is much we can learn from this. Moses and the prophets had much to teach. Not only to ancient Israel, but to us today as well. We learn from them about God, His attributtes, His holiness, what He expects concerning sin and righteousness. We read of the prophets urging the nation to turn back to God in repentance, something that is vital to our own salvation today. Yet it is Jesus Christ who we follow. He calls us as disciples to lay down all, and come after Him. It is His word we are to hear and obey, His example we are to emulate. His kingdom is built upon entirely different principles than those that the nation's of the earth are built. His is a kingdom of peace, mercy, and extravagant love. While the old covenant may have made provision for war, Jesus forbids it. While men may have acquired wealth and material prosperity under the old, we are taught to give it away, as we cannot serve two masters. We must look at all of scripture with an eye to Jesus Christ, as He holds the rights to us as disciples and citizens of His kingdom. The law of Christ is our rule. This does not abrogate the old, as the moral law has been summed up by Jesus as loving God with supreme love, and loving our neighbor as ourselves. What Paul teaches about grace in no way clashes with Christ's demand for obedience, instead if one carefully reads through the New Testament epistles, you will soon see a harmony between the two. It is all about Jesus. Whether it is Old Testament or New, Jesus must be central.