Psalm 15 | Bible Study Wednesday

 

Welcome back to another Wednesday Bible study. Today we are in the book of Psalm chapter 15. This is a psalm of David. David asks a question in verse one and then answers that question in the subsequent verses. It is only 5 verses in length. If you have not done so, I encourage you to take a moment to pray and ask Holy Spirit to lead you and guide you through this passage. Ask Him to open up your spiritual eyes and ears to see and hear what He wants to teach you today. Read through these few verses and then we will study God's Word together.

Verse 1

David asks a question, "LORD, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill? In other words, what kind of person, what qualities do they possess, who is able to stay in your holy place? Not just any person can do that. There are some requirements for remaining in the tabernacle of God in His holy hill. God has standards and regulations for whom He allows to live within His presence. What are they? Do you and I qualify? What does it look like to measure up to God's standard? Let's find out.

Let's look at Psalm 24:3-5. This is a sneak peek into this chapter that we will be visiting again in June. It says, "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." According to this passage, the requirements are clean hands, pure heart, humble, and honest. Do we meet those requirements? Do we always have pure motives? Are we always humble and honest? Do we always do the things that are right and pleasing in His sight?

David is saying that when we seek to honor God with our life, when we choose to sacrifice praise, to honor God with our choices, and to live a life of integrity, aiming to please God we have the invitation to dwell and abide in God's holy tabernacle in His holy hill. Just so we get the full picture David is going to go in detail about what that really looks like.

Verse 2

David says the first thing is to be a person of integrity, good moral character. Walk uprightly means to deliberately, correctly, and faithfully move forward in the paths that God has already carved out for us. What does it mean to work righteousness? It means we do the right thing. What would God want us to do in the situation we find ourselves in? Are we choosing integrity over popularity? Are we conforming to this world or are we being transformed by the renewing of our mind as we read God's Word?

Ephesians 4:20-25 "But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another." This passage tells us that we have to die to our old nature and old habits. The things we did before we came to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ is not the same things we ought to be doing now. We once served self and now we serve King Jesus and we should act in accordance with His ways and His laws.

Verse 3

What else must we do to be worthy of inhabiting God's holy tabernacle in His holy hill? In this verse, David addresses how we treat our neighbor. Our neighbor is not just the person who lives next door. Remember when Jesus talks about the Good Samaritan? That story was told by Jesus in answer to the question of the lawyer, "Who is my neighbor?" So Jesus said a certain man went from Jerusalem to Jericho and was mugged. They robbed him, stripped him of his clothes, violently beat him and left him for dead. After some time a priest came by and saw the man laying in this terrible condition and he passed by him on the other side of the road. Another time a Levite came up to him and looked at him but he passed by him on the other side of the road. Then a certain Samaritan saw the man and had compassion on him. He went to the injured man, cleansed and bandaged his wounds, put him on his animal to transport him to the inn and took care of him. The next day the Samaritan had to leave but he took some money and gave it to the innkeeper with instructions to continue to care for the unnamed injured man. He said if the innkeeper spent more than what was given to care for this man he would return and pay the rest of the money owed. Jesus asks, "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among thieves?" The lawyer answered, "The one who showed mercy." Jesus said, "Go, and do thou likewise." (Luke 10:25-37)

Anyone in our life is a neighbor: the store clerk, the receptionist, the police officer, the teacher, the CEO, the children, the pastor, the one who lives next door, the friend, the spouse, the stranger. All are our neighbors. David says to abide in God's holy tabernacle we cannot backbite or gossip, nor do evil to our neighbor, or be cruel to them. You may say that is easy, I do not treat people with cruelty or do evil deeds. Gossip is one of the most hurtful things you can do. The wounds that gossip inflicts run so deep and penetrate the heart to the core. It is extremely cruel and evil. 

Leviticus 19:16-18 "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood (life) of thy neighbour: I am the LORD. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD." God made Himself very clear. Do not go from house to house, or from phone conversation to phone conversation, person to person discussing other people. It can be tempting to just talk about it to pray for the need, but that is a slippery slope and it can lead to gossip and we must be very careful. God takes this so seriously because it has wounded the hearts of many and caused a great number of people to be led astray. Let's pray daily for God to guard our mouths. Psalm 141:3 Set a watch (guard), O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. God will answer that prayer and we will not be a talebearer any longer. 

Exodus 23:1 Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.This happens time and time again in the churches all across America. I have seen it in big churches and small. Someone takes sides and shares their feelings and thoughts instead of actual facts and before long they are an unrighteous witness raising false reports. The enemy wants division and strife in the church because then he can isolate us and make us feel like we are all alone and forsaken. That is lie and we must not fall for it. Do not be part of the reason anyone is lied on. If we pray that prayer in Psalm 141:3 we will not do these things.

Verse 4

The KJV is not the easiest to read at times. What is verse four saying? The Message Bible says it like this, "Don't hurt your friend, don't blame your neighbour; despise the despicable." That is easier for me to comprehend. Remember when Mordecai would not give reverance to Haman in the book of Esther? Esther 3:2 And all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. Haman was an Amalekite and enemy of the Jews. Mordecai did not give reverence to him. When we know someone is in direct violation of God's Word we should not revere them. It is not okay to just go along with the crowd because everyone else says so, or even because a government official says so. God's Word trumps the world's authority. 

Leviticus 5:4-5 NIV "or if anyone thoughtlessly takes an oath to do anything, whether good or evil (in any matter one might carelessly swear about) even though they are unaware of it, but then they learn of it and realize their guilt --- when anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters, they must confess in what they have sinned." So no matter if you are promising to do something good or something bad, if you have sinned in that without realizing it, God will use Holy Spirit to start convicting you of that wrong doing. And when you realize that you sinned, you must confess what you have done to God and ask for forgiveness. We all mess up but we must be able to admit the wrong we have done and repent, or turn away from that behavior. Jesus will forgive us if we ask Him to.

Let's be careful to not hurt our friends or falsely accuse someone when we do not have all the information. Let's choose to honor others and respect them. We will have a much better world if all would just do those two simple things.

Verse 5

David ends the chapter with one final thought about who will be able to stand in God's holy place. This verse is dealing with finances. If you say you will do something, then do it, even if it cost you money, even if it means you have to do without some things. Do not take incentives, bonuses, kickbacks, if you have to hurt others to get it. Lend to the less fortunate and do not ask for interest on the loan. Be generous and be kind. In Second Peter it tells us to add to our faith virtue and to virtue add knowledge and then to knowledge add temperance which means abstinence or self-control, and to temperance add patience and to patience add godliness and to godliness add brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness add love. Peter said that if we have these things it makes us useful in God's Kingdom. 2 Peter 1:8-11 "For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall never be barren (useless) nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and that forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall (stumble): For so an entrance shall be ministered (supplied) unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

David ends with "He that doeth these things shall never be moved." What an incredible promise. How loving of the Savior to allow us to know these truths today? We can read this, hear this, understand this, and if we obey this, we will never be moved. We will have a place in God's Kingdom. When the Psalmist asks, "God, who will live with You in Your holy tabernacle in Your holy hill?" God will answer with your name if you do these things.

God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

No Compromise | Fuel For The Weekend

 

We have made it to the end of another week friends. I am delighted to share with you all today something God put on my heart. We are in the book of Daniel, chapter one. For a brief background, Daniel was deported to Babylon at 16 years old. He is handpicked for government service and we will see throughout the book of Daniel that he is God's prophet, interpreting dreams and visions. Daniel had strength and courage to do the right thing even when it was unpopular or against the law. Today's passage takes us to where King Nebuchadnezzar tells Ashpenaz, the master of the eunuchs to bring certain children of Israel, and children of the king and princes. There was a condition, though. These young men needed to meet specific requirements: no blemish, well favored, skillful in wisdom, cunning in knowledge, and understand science. These handpicked young men would then serve in the king's palace and learn the language of the Chaldeans. We see the same thing happened to Moses, another great leader and mighty man of God. Acts 7:22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

Daniel was chosen along with Hananiah, who was later renamed Shadrach, Mishael was renamed Meshach, and then Azariah was renamed Abednego by the prince of the eunuchs. Daniel's new name was Belteshazzar but we will know and remember him by the name Daniel. Now Daniel was a young man, very talented and gifted, but he also knew the law of God given to Moses. It must have been at the forefront of his mind what it says in Leviticus about what to eat and what not to eat. Leviticus 11:43-45 (43)Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby. (44)For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (45)For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. Daniel did not want to compromise and even though he was just a youth, he still had the strength and courage to stand up for what is right. Let's read it.

DANIEL 1:8-17 (8)But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. (9)Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. (10)And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink; for why should he see your faces worse liking (looking) than the children (young men) which are of your sort (age)? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king. (11)Then said Daniel to Melzar whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, (12)Prove (test) thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse (vegetables) to eat, and water to drink. (13)Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. (14)So he consented to them in this matter, and proved (tested) them ten days. (15)And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat (food). (16)Then Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse (vegetables). (17)As for these four children (young men), God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

I know it is hard to go against the grain sometimes. We may be afraid of what others may think of us. We may be afraid of rejection or being told no. Daniel was willing to risk it and God allowed him to have favor with man. Why? Because Daniel was willing to obey the strict rules of what to eat and not eat that God had given Moses. Daniel was willing to stand out and be different for the sake of being holy.

Is there something God is asking you to do or not to do? Have you been worried what your peers might think? Daniel's peers may not have liked vegetables and to know that they had to give up meat and wine for vegetables and water may have made them upset. Daniel was not taking votes, he simply obeyed God. It might feel uncomfortable but the cross was uncomfortable for Christ. It was excruciating! Jesus said this in Mark 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and My Words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He cometh in glory of His Father with the holy angels. This is so serious, friends. We choose to live holy lives, free of compromise, because it will please Jesus. It honors God. Why would we choose to please this wicked world and be ashamed of our relationship with Jesus Christ, our Redeemer? If we are ashamed of Him and do not want to stand up for the right things and the holy things, because we are ashamed to admit we love God then just know that in glory, Jesus will be ashamed of you and say He does not know you in the life to come. Sit with that for just a minute!!

Friends, as we go about our day, and head into the weekend, let's be mindful of the decisions we are making. Let's choose wisely and not compromise. May we honor God with the words that come out of our mouths this weekend. Let's choose to magnify God and speak about good and praise worthy things. Let's allow our minds to meditate on God's Word so that we might not sin against God. (Psalm 119:11) Let's purposefully act in ways to please God and not compromise or give in to things we know are not going to glorify God.

I pray something I have shared on this blog today has been strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Bloody Hands | Fuel For The Weekend

Your actions affect other people. Do you realize that? You may understand that concept, but do you also understand that your inaction affects other people as well? The Bible tells us that what we say and do will go before us into eternity. The same is true for the things we do not say and do not do; they go before us into eternity. We read in Revelation 20:12, "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." 

EZEKIEL 3:17-21 (17)Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at My mouth, and give them warning from Me. (18)When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. (19)Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, not from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. (20)Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. (21)Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

This is a heavy passage, but we must look at it closely. This is a glimpse into eternity and it shows us that what we do, or don't do, for Christ will have eternal consequences. Let's unpack this a little bit. God is talking to Ezekiel in this passage. This is a message to him about God's plan for his life. He is calling Ezekiel to be a watchman over the people. When the people who do not serve God do evil things, Ezekiel must warn them that they are facing destruction and judgment from God. If that man or woman disregards Ezekiel's words, God says that his hands are clean. If Ezekiel chose not to tell the man or woman, God would require that person's blood at Ezekiel's hands. You see the life is in the blood, according to Leviticus 17:11. So in essence, Ezekiel will have to answer for why he chose to ignore that man's sin and refused to call it out.

In today's world, we are scared to call out sin in others' lives. In fact, we do not like to even discuss sin in most churches. It is offensive. People might not like it and they will stop paying tithes or giving offerings. They may even get so mad they might not come back. So instead of caring about their soul, we are concerned about the congregation numbers and the dollar signs. This is so dangerous. We are not called to be busybodies, like we see in 2 Thessalonians 3:11 and 1 Timothy 5:13. However; we are called to be our brother's keeper in regards to seeing sin in their lives and showing them a better way in Christ Jesus. It is our duty to help one another. We are all God's watchmen. We do not have to be a pastor, evangelist, teacher, or in leadership at all. We are all God's children and He expects His children to love one another and help each other make it Home.

God tells us in today's passage, if we warn those who are in sin, and they do not listen to us, and they continue down the perilous path they are on, we are no longer accountable. In verse 19, God tells Ezekiel that when that person dies in their sins after being warned and not heeding, Ezekiel will have delivered his soul. We read in 1 Timothy 4:16, "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee." This is the harvest that is coming. When we are walking upright before God and we are encouraging others to do the same, we are saving them from destruction and God's judgment in the life to come. If they do not adhere to the warning, then we have washed our hands clean from their blood.

Jesus told them the same thing when He was here on the earth. In John 8:21, 24 Jesus said, "I go My way, and ye shall seek Me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come." And, "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins." That is plain language. If anyone does not believe that Jesus Christ is Messiah, Son of the Living God, then they will die in their sin and they will forever be separated from God. This is why it is so important that we tell everyone. It is not up to us if someone will believe us, or accept Jesus. It is up to us to tell them.

Many people are under the assumption, once saved, always saved. This is a dangerous theology. It says very clearly that when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, God will lay a stumbling block before them. He wants us to get tripped up in sin so we can look up to Him and request His love, grace, and mercy. He does not want us to be lost and go to hell. That is not and never has been God's desire for anyone. We know this when we read John 3:16. This verse goes on to say that the righteousness that person once had: the good that he did, the right choices he made, will be forgotten. If no one tells that person to turn back to the cross of Christ and repent, yet they see them in sin and are aware of what they are doing, God will hold them accountable. 

If we see our brothers and sisters in Christ, and they begin dabbling in things they ought not, and they start missing church, and then they stop coming altogether, we must not ignore that. Pick up the phone, go to their home, invite them for coffee or lunch, and share with them in a loving way that they need to make their way back to the Savior. If we do everything we can and we pray and intervene and it falls on deaf ears, and they die in that sinful state, God says we are clean. Nothing will be required at our hands when we face eternity.

Jude says this in verses 21-23, "Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." We must wear the markings of Christ proudly and boldly. We cannot be ashamed of the Gospel. It is the Good News and we must share it with everyone. Romans 1:16 reads, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." It is powerful. We must be glad to share this message. Let's find the Holy boldness we need to share these hard truths with others who have gone astray.

In the book of Ephesians, Paul writes these words in chapter 6 verses 18-20, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perserverance and supplication for all saints: And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." Pray and ask for the utterance to be given you to open your mouth boldly. It goes against the grain to speak boldly about the things of God; meanwhile, the world has their megaphone in our ears spewing lies and deceitful practices all day and night. We must begin to share the Truth of God's Word with believers and unbelievers and watch out for one another so we can help each other make it Home.

Here in Indiana it is a snowy day from the big snow storm that made it's away across this nation. We are unable to get into the vehicles, the roads are icy, and snow covered. We are not getting out today and we didn't get out yesterday. This weekend promises some fun for our children as they sled and play in the winter wonderland. I know that this message is heavy and important. I believe that is why God chose to give it to me for today's Fuel For The Weekend. Pray about this message. Read these scriptures for yourself. Study them and cross-reference them if you want. You will see the same theme in the Old Testament and the New Testament. We must sound the alarm and wake people up. The world is in a daze. They are sleep-walking into hell because no one is shaking them and telling them they are headed for destruction. It is up to the Church to wake up the world. Let's pray and think on these things this weekend. Ask God to give you opportunities to witness and share your faith with unbelievers and backsliders because God loves them and wants them to be saved.

I hope today's post has been helpful. It has given me a new resolve to speak up in love and gentleness to let others know that there is a better way and His name is Jesus. I hope that something I have shared today has been strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens