Who may worship in Your sanctuary, Lord?
Who may enter Your presence on Your holy hill?
Who may enter Your presence on Your holy hill?
Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right,
speaking the truth from sincere hearts.
Those who refuse to slander their neighbours
or speak evil of their friends
Psalm 15:1-3
As God's people we have been called to particular way of life. We are called to a life of honesty and integrity, refusing to lie about ourselves and others. We are also called to build up God's people and to keep from hurting other people. By practicing these things, our lives reflect the character of the God we serve.
Gossiping and slander is an extremely destructive practice which not only discourages the people being talked about but also keeps us from examining our own lives as we should. Instead of reflecting honestly on our own shortcomings, we focus on the lives of others. We need to live in the power of God thus denying Satan a foothold in our relationships with others.
Be still and know that I am God Psalm 46:10
Amen! And thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteOkay, Jo, I agree, up to a point, but how do people who have no shortcomings ever manage to reflect upon them?
ReplyDeleteI love the Psalms, but they were written a long time before Jesus, the psalmist's descendant, died for the sins of people without blameless lives.
There are many of us who are sincerely dedicated to rigorous honesty, and to carrying the message that there is hope for those who have gone astray. Psalm 15 doesn't seem to offer much in the way of hope, to my way of thinking.
Just my opinion, however, and certainly not as beautifully presented as your excerpts from the Psalms.
Love, K
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
Hi Kay, thanks for your comment. There are NO blameless people. That is indeed why Jesus had to die for everyone of us. However, the way I see this Psalm, is an encouragement (admonishment?) for those of us who profess to have been saved by His blood, to endeavour to live as honestly and kindly as we can. Of course that can only be done by the power of God's indwelling. Bless you my dear friend, (((hugs))) Jo
ReplyDeleteOf all the verses in the Bible this must surely be my favourite! Just to be still and know God!
ReplyDeletelove
Rose x
The photo of the rose is adorable.
ReplyDeleteSO Beautiful Jo...The flowers are gorgeous!
ReplyDeletehughugs
Wonderful words and beautiful pictures to go with them. So meaningful.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful testimonial, Jo... You may have heard that we had horrible storms and tornadoes in our country yesterday. We were lucky here at our home --but it was scary since we had tornado warnings several times during the day. There is MUCH damage to certain areas though.
ReplyDeleteLet's pray for all who lost so much due to this storm. We were some of the lucky ones.
Hugs,
Betsy