| Living In His Presence |
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| Lately, I've been thinking about living in the presence of the Lord and what the requirements are for gaining entrance into His presence. David wrote in Psalm 24:3, "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?" He answers his own question in the following verse, "He that hath clean hands and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." In Psalm 18:20, David states, "The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me." It has often been said that clean hands refer to our relationship with others, and a pure heart, our relationship with God. This is very true, and it breaks my heart to see how little concern there is in Christian circles for living in such a manner so that we can enter into the presence of the Lord and abide there. Too often there is a shameless frivolity when we speak of God. I have heard people say, "God is cool!" God isn't cool! God is holy! We wonder why He no longer visits our midst or pours out His Spirit! Jeremiah writes in Jer. 31:33, "...I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." Could it be that he doesn't recognize us as His people because we haven't allowed Him to write His law upon our hearts? It's time to take spiritual inventory! Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 13:5, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your ownselves. Know ye not your ownselves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" How often do we take the time to examine our hearts to see what we look like in the sight of God - in the light of His holiness? I am reminded of a story I heard Leonard Ravenhill tell many years ago about a friend of his who had preached for years here in the States and was returning to Scotland. Someone asked the minister if he planned on doing a lot of preaching when he got back to his home country. The elderly minister replied, "No, when I get home I'm going to my little cabin to get alone with God. I want to find out the worst about myself, while I still have time to do something about it." Have we ever done that? Do we dare? Are we willing to allow God to shine the spotlight of His Word upon our hearts and reveal exactly what lies within? Are we willing to surrender all, repenting of sin and allowing Him to cleanse us with the precious blood of Jesus, creating in us a clean heart in which He is pleased to dwell? Unless we do, we will never see the glory of God in our lives, let alone in the church! It's time for judgment to begin at the house of God! Lord, let it begin with me! |
| December 8, 2003 |