“I will NEVER be _________ before God.”
The voices that fill in this blank in our heads will tell us a lot.
Are we complacent in our answer to this because we really don’t believe that’s for anyone but the religious fools to contemplate and meditate on?
Are we unnecessarily holding ourselves under the chains of guilt and shame before a perfect God?
Are we afraid to believe Him when He says that we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus?
Are we proudly making much of our obvious blessings, favor and honor amongst men?
Won’t our answer tell us something?
What does the Psalmist, that man who it is said was after God’s heart, fill his sentence with?
I wait quietly before God,
for my victory comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will never be shaken.
So many enemies against one man—
all of them trying to kill me.
To them I’m just a broken-down wall or a tottering fence.
They plan to topple me from my high position.
They delight in telling lies about me.
They praise me to my face but curse me in their hearts.
Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken.
My victory and honor come from God alone.
He is my refuge, a rock
where no enemy can reach me.
O my people, trust in him at all times.
Pour out your heart to him,
for God is our refuge.
Common people are as worthless as a puff of wind,
and the powerful are not what they appear to be.
If you weigh them on the scales,
together they are lighter than a breath of air.
Don’t make your living by extortion
or put your hope in stealing.
And if your wealth increases,
don’t make it the center of your life.
God has spoken plainly,
and I have heard it many times:
Power, O God, belongs to you;
unfailing love, O Lord, is yours.
Surely you repay all people
according to what they have done.
Psalms 62:1-12 NLT
http://bible.com/116/psa.62.1-12.NLT
Whether you need hope in the darkness…
Whether you need a reminder that He died for your sin…
Whether you need that encouragement as you read along through the trials and struggles…
Whether you need to be humbled and chastened and restored to a heart of loving, grateful, obedience…
He is Faithful and True.
Confess “Jesus is Lord”, believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.
Let’s not build a religious system and tradition from the childlike faith that delivered you from bondage to sin and death!
Let’s not tear down the work that has begun upon the solid foundation of Christ alone, our cornerstone!
Let’s not turn from our promised freedom to a life of slavery, because he who Christ has set free is free indeed!
See your sin cast as far as the east is from the west by the aiming power of the blood of the Lamb. Your sin is forgiven! Go and sin no more.
Come before Him with confidence.
IN HIS PRESENCE, I WILL NEVER BE SHAKEN.
PEACE, BE QUIET, BE STILL.
Thus says the Word of God.
This is for you, Child of God, for those who have ears to hear.
Peace, be still.
Harold J. Ballinger 