Haldric.com

Ephesians 1 : 17-19

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

Ever wondered what to pray for people? How about starting with Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1. It’s great! Notice that he keeps asking God, it was a regular prayer of his.

v17. “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.”

The first part of his prayer in v17 is asking God to enable them to know Him better. This isn’t a head knowledge, this us a heart to heart knowledge, an intimacy with God. We can only have this intimacy with God through the Holy Spirit who reveals to us God’s heart. No matter how much intellectual knowledge of the bible and theory and religion we have, we can’t know God without the help if the Holy Spirit who helps us to get that knowledge from the head and into the heart.

v18. “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you,”

Hope is not what we often think it is.. some sort of vague wish that we hold onto even though we don’t know if it’ll come true or not. No, hope in the New Testament is an assurance of what God has promised is to come. 1 Peter 1:3 says… “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..” Jesus is our hope, his resurrection gives us an assurance that we too have new life when we repent & put our faith in him, and we too will live with him in glory. It’s a promise of God, and God is faithful to all his promises.

v18 cont.. “the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,”

That’s US ! WE are Christ’s glorious inheritance!!!! He sees us as his riches!! That’s so amazing! Just think about that for a minute. Jesus died so that his inheritance could be us motley lot. He thought that we were an inheritance worth dying for… For me that’s just such a hard thing to get my head round, but that just shows Christ’s amazing, unconditional love.

v19. “..and his incomparably great power for us who believe”

You can’t compare God’s power with anything you know!! It would be like comparing… well you just can’t do it! And look at the wording “for us” the power is FOR US who believe. It’s for our good and for us to use, the same power that raised Christ from the dead is there for us! Often we don’t make use of the power God has given us because we only attempt to do the things that we know we could do in our own strength, if God didn’t step in. In doing this we’re not trusting that God has given us the same power that rose Christ from the dead, and we miss out on getting to see & experience God’s power. When we take the risk, and put ourselves (and God) on the line, that’s when we see God’s great power at work in & through us!

I pray that you may KNOW God more, in a heart to heart way. I pray that you will know the HOPE to which you are called through Christ. To know this hope is an eternal hope and an assurance that is set in the promises of God. I pray that you would know just how VALUABLE and PRECIOUS you are to Jesus. I pray too that you would trust that you have God’s GREAT POWER with you, and so you would have the BOLDNESS and confidence to step out in faith and “walk the walk” not just “talk the talk.”

“For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.” 1 Corinthians 4:20

Luke 15: 1-7

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

So he told them this parable:  “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Jesus Rocks! We sometimes have such a wrong view of what Jesus was (and is) like. If Jesus was here today he’d be out in the shopping centres inviting people to know him. He’d be in the pubs, betting shops and supermarkets talking to people and inviting himself over to their house for dinner! I doubt very much that he’d spend all of his time with “church people”. Why? Because they already know him! They’ll be spending eternity with him (which I gather is quite a long time). That’s why while he was on earth Jesus took a few of his close friends and went out as a small group sharing his love, forgiveness and healing power with anyone who would take the time to listen.

And you know what? That bugged the “righteous” people. They thought he was polluting himself by spending time with those “sorts” of people (sinners). Yet we know that Jesus is a friend of sinners (Praise God!) and his concern is for those who don’t yet know him. That’s why he sent his disciples “out” (out of the church, out of their comfort zones, out of their families, out of their homes, villages & nations)… so that they (we) could reach those who were on the road to hell. Not to condemn them, but to save them!(1) As the bible says that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (2) That’s Christ’s promise to every person who repents. No matter what they have done in the past!

Plus every time a person who has been living their life away from God, repents and decides to follow Jesus, the whole of heaven rejoices! (like it says in the verse above) There’s a party going on with the angels for every single sinner who seeks Jesus for forgiveness! It’s amazing. That’s God’s heart for the lost, and for every person who is saved! Every individual is so important to God.

Is your heart in-line with God’s?

Are you seeking to share Christ with those who are currently living lives apart from him?

Has their been a party in heaven for you yet, or are you still living your life without knowing Jesus as your Saviour?

Time is short. Now is the time to make those choices!

1) John 3:17 : For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

2) Romans 10:13: for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Isaiah 40:25-31

25 "To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One.

26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and complain, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the LORD;
my cause is disregarded by my God"?

28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

Putting God in a box is something we all do well! God according to our own point of view, God according our own limited experience, God according to our way of thinking. Yet God is God! He’s so much greater that we could ever imagine! We cannot compare him to anyone or anything on this earth. All things are created by God. How then can we attempt to compare God to anything we know? (v25)

We just have to look up at night and see the stars, knowing that God made each one and calls each one by name! This makes us realise how very very small we are and how very very big God is! (v26)

Yet we seem to think sometimes that God’s sole purpose is to make us happy. To answer every prayer, to take away our grumpiness, and that this “Christianity thing” is all about us and what it means for us. When we think like this we totally miss the point. Yes Jesus died for us – for our sins – so that we may be given the gift of eternal life, but he did this because he wanted to display his amazing love, to bring glory to God and to show how perfect he is (and how in need of a saviour we are!!) It’s all about God – so that we may give him the Praise and Glory he deserves! There’s nothing wrong with knowing the truth that God, the creator of the universe, loves you and me personally and wants to be in relationship with us, but we should never lose sight of what an awesome, eternal, powerful God we serve and the fear (respect) of God that this knowledge should bring us.

I have bad times and sometimes I ask God “why is this happening?” just like v27 where God’s people complain and say that God has disregarded them. But what I (we) need to realise is this…now brace yourself as this may come as a shock!… the world does not revolve around us!! God’s way are not our ways(1) He has a bigger purpose and a bigger plan than we could ever imagine! “His understanding no-one could fathom” – we’re not supposed to understand everything! Yet we spend so much time and energy trying to fathom God – wondering “why is God doing this?” Instead of simply trusting him because he is God! We should know that he has a plan for us (2) and that He is good (3) and He is faithful(4) and He is just (5) and He is loving(6). Therefore no matter what circumstances we are going through or however we feel about things, “God is the everlasting God” (v28) and it’s His Will that we should be honouring,(7) and it’s our faith that we should be exercising(8), rather than using all our energy trying to work out why!(9)

Our view of God effects how we live our lives. If our view is too small or if we do not trust his word, or believe him to be the faithful and just God he says he is, then this effects how easily we are shaken by the circumstances that we face and how “up and down” our relationship with God is. As we get a truer view of God, through his Word and through trusting what His word says, our view of our lives and circumstances also changes. We will slowly stop looking at our selves, and start looking up to our Creator. We will be at peace with not understanding everything, because we know that God is God, yet he loves each one of us and promises to be with us!(10)

How great is God—beyond our understanding! Job 36:26

1) Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

2) Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

3) Mark 10:18 "No one is good—except God alone.

4) Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands

5) Psalm 33:4-6 For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love

6) Psalm 145:13: The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made / John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. / Psalm 136:2: Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.

7) Just like Jesus prayed : “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." Luke 22:42

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

9) Ecclesiastes 8:17 then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it.

10) Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save.

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

This verse is an interesting one because you could look at it as a way of getting what you want. I.e. If I spend some time praising God then he’ll give me what I want in return, but this is missing the point.

Delight means “great pleasure or joy.” So for us to Delight in God means that God is where we get our great pleasure and joy from. You can’t make it up, you can’t make it happen, it’s not simply an act of doing, it’s an act of being. Being in God’s presence – enjoying God, getting pleasure out of worshiping Him and joy out of serving him. It’s something that grows over time as we learn to love God and try to grasp just how much God loves us! (Eph 3:18-19)

I think the thing David knew when writing this psalm was that once we are in the place of “delighting in the Lord” our hearts desires will start to line up with God’s own will. We will know God more intimately, and the Holy Spirit will be working in our lives, aligning our hearts with God’s. Therefore, the desires that are in our hearts when we are delighting in God will often be the things that God himself has put there. So we can pray with confidence knowing that what we are asking for is in alignment with God’s will.. and why would our Father in Heaven not answer such requests?

God knows what is the very best for us, and as we delight in Him, so we will too!

Luke 23:39-43

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

As we approach Easter I wanted to spend a few moments looking at the extravagance of Jesus’ amazing grace and to remind ourselves of the cost of the cross.

These few verses above really sum up Jesus’ love, grace and forgiveness. Everything that Jesus lived out on earth was summed up here whilst he was in total agony hung on that horrific cross, doing a terrible, beautiful thing for mankind.

Jesus was hung between two criminals. One of whom believed that Jesus really was who He said He was, this criminal proclaimed Jesus’ innocence in front of the people who mocked him, he also openly acknowledged his own sin admitting that he himself deserved to die for his deeds, unlike Jesus. Then he turned to Jesus and humbly asked Jesus to remember him. The other criminal had the same opportunity but instead chose to mock Jesus.

The amazing fact is that the criminal who asked Jesus to remember him put his faith in Jesus right there and then on the cross, and was forgiven straight away! Jesus told him that he was to be with Him in paradise that very day!! There was nothing else that he had to do to be saved! The criminal didn’t have the chance to go back and live out a holy life, or to prove himself worthy of being allowed into heaven – that’s the beauty of it! It was (and is and always will be) all about Jesus and the truth that our salvation comes only through Him – because He paid the ultimate price, He made the once and for all sacrifice for all of our sins. We don’t deserve it, just like the criminal – we’ve all sinned and we all deserve punishment, but Jesus in his love took our punishment on himself. Salvation is a “free” gift to us, but we must always remember it was at such a cost to Jesus.

Yes it is true that once we are forgiven, a sign/result of our salvation is us wanting to turn our lives around, to stop sinning and to do good. Otherwise we are not taking the sacrifice that Jesus made seriously enough. We should want to thankfully and humbly serve our Lord because of what He did for us. It’s not the “doing good” that gets us saved though, it’s just our response to Jesus’ amazing grace!

It’s all about Jesus. There’s nothing more we can do – Jesus did it all.

Read the whole Easter story:

Luke 22 : The last supper, the betrayal & arrest of Jesus, Peter disowns Jesus, The guards mock Jesus, Jesus accused by the chief priests and teachers of the law

Luke 23 : Jesus before Pilate & Herod, the trial, the crucifixion, the death of Jesus, Jesus’ burial.

Luke 24 : The resurrection, Jesus appears to disciples, the Ascension.

I thought I would write a short post on how to know God for yourself – this is for anyone who doesn’t yet have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

1st – Do you know that you have made mistakes in your life and have lived your life without God? –> God calls this “sin” and this is what seperates us from Him. The bible says it like this: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” –Romans 3:23 (NIV). God is perfect and has never sinned, and we learn in the bible that ultimately the punishment for sin is death – which is being cut off from God for eternity. “For the wages of sin is death.” –Romans 6:23 (NIV)

2nd - There is good news! John 3:16 says “for God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” Jesus (God’s son) chose to die on a cross to take the punishment for all our sins. Then he rose again to conquer death once and for all, and to show that he really was the son of God.

3rd - YOU need to make a choice. To decide if you believe Jesus really is the son of God and really did die for your sins. If you’re not sure – perhaps go on an Alpha course or read the gospel of Mark or John in the bible (try a NIV or NLT version) to find out what God’s word says about Jesus. Then, if you want this gift of eternal life, you need to chose to ask for forgiveness from God for the sins you have committed, and chose to turn from them and try to walk God’s way (with God’s help of course). Welcome Jesus as Lord in your life and he’ll help you to do all this.

Here’s a prayer you can pray:

Father God, I am sorry for the things I have done wrong and for chosing to live my life apart from you. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins and thank you that he rose again. I now choose to turn away from my sins and to live my life for you. I pray that you would fill me with your Holy Spirit to help me and guide me as I learn to live my life your way. Amen.

4th - Tell someone! It’s really important that you find another Christian to tell that you’ve made a choice to welcome Jesus into your heart. They can support you and help you find a friendly, welcoming church who pray, worship & teach the Word of God.  We can’t be Christians on our own – it’s not God’s plan

What next?

If you live near Swindon, come along to Gateway church & make sure you visit the welcome area at the end of the service! If not, do try to find a Jesus loving, bible teaching, spirit filled church who will help you in the next steps of your journey.

Pray. You’ve started with a prayer to ask God into your life, it’s not a one off prayer! God wants to have an ongoing relationship with you, so try to speak to him each day about anything and everything. Ask Him for help, thank him for all the good things in your life and generally start to build a realationship with your Father in heaven. If it’s hard – ask God to help you to pray!

Get hold of a modern translation of the bible too and start reading! Start with the New Testament – An NIV version is good, or try NLT which is a nice easy version to read. The Message is also very easy to read (although it’s not a proper word-for-word translation.) Check out my bible studies, to learn more about God, Jesus and all sorts of living God’s way type of topics!

Check out our friend Adam’s blog on Baptism too!

As for the Lord, his way is perfect. 2 Samuel 22:31

Do you groan at the thought of “having” to read your bible, or “having” to pray, or feeling obliged to help others?

Sometimes we need to look at why God tells us to do these things. God loves us, he’s not out to make your life a misery, he does everything out of love. So much so that Jesus died for us, it says so in the bible (John 3:16). Jesus came that we might have life, and life to the full, it says so in the bible (John 10:10). We are told that whoever Christ sets free is free indeed, it says that in the bible too! (John 8:36)

So we are offered unfailing love, life to the full, and ultimate freedom…. and the way that we get this is by living our lives as God intended!

God’s desire is for us to grow in faith, to trust in Him, to know we are secure in Him – not for his own benefit but for ours, in order to help us overcome out fears and to live our lives in freedom and security. He knows what will give us the most joyful and fulfilling lives, because he created us in the first place!

Why does God want us to read the bible?

He’s not going to give you a bible exam when you get to heaven- he’s not impressed with your head-knowledge and I doubt you’ll get extra brownie points for quoting bible verses off the top of your head. He wants us to read the bible so that we will grow and not easily be shaken! He wants to reveal to us through his word, his love and his faithfulness. It’s for us to gain an understanding of how amazing He is, so that we can trust in him more, let go of our insecurities and stand firm in the face of attack or difficulties.
He wants us to know the accounts of different people’s lives in the bible so we can see how he’s helped his people since the beginning of time, and how he will still do that for us today. The New Testament refers to so many people from the Old Testament (e.g. check out Hebrews 11), and we are even more blessed to have the Old & the New Testament to read.

When we read the word Jesus’ salvation is also revealed to us and we see that we don’t have to strive to please him, because we are no longer condemned but are set free. God doesn’t tell us that we have to read the bible to be saved, but when we are saved we should be longing to know more about this amazing God who saved us! By knowing the bible we can stand firm, not allowing the lies of the devil to trick us through our lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6) Check out how Jesus used scripture to stand up to the devil in Matt 4:1-11. As we learn through reading the bible, we can walk forward knowing that God is with us, and we can trust God more as we see his provision and guidance over the lives of the many people across so many generations before us. The bible is not about learning God’s rules, it’s about learning who God is, who we are in Him, and how he cares for and works through his people.

Why does God want us to pray?

God doesn’t want us to pray so he feels loved or talked to!  Its for OUR benefit, He wants us not to worry (check out Matt 6:25-34), just one of the many verses about not worrying!), he wants to carry our burdens (1 Peter 5:7) and to reassure us that we are in his hands, like so many others before him (Isaiah 41:10). He wants us to pray for others, so that through our care for others we can also experience his love and compassionate heart. God wants us to be in relationship with him, not through his own need, but because he knows that’s how we can live life to the fullest. It’s not a law that we have to keep, it’s a desire he wants us to have and to cultivate because it’s the best way to live our lives without worry, to learn to trust in him and to see him working in power in our lives. God wants us to be connected with him so he can guide us, the enemy wants us busy and distracted so that we can’t hear from God and are robbed of our peace. The bible says if we pray about everything we will gain God’s peace (Phillipians 4:6-7)

So if you’re praying to tick the box, then you’re not going to get the fullness of what God is offering you through the opportunity to pray. Look at it through new eyes, ask God to help you, and see each challenge, trouble, blessing, decision, quiet time, as an opportunity! A chance to include God, to ask for his help, to learn to trust him and to know that you are growing and becoming more free by handing things over to the One who is in control, so you can get on with living today in peace, knowing God’s got tomorrow in his hands.

Why does God want us to serve?

Again, It’s not about earning brownie points, it’s about our over-flow of love to God. If we are doing things to earn our way into God’s good books, then we’re not going to get anywhere other than exhausted(!), as we would be relying on ourselves and our own merits, and not on the death & resurrection of Jesus. There’s nothing more you can do to please God, so don’t let that be your motivation for serving.

God wants us to serve others because it helps us to be selfless people and we are happier when we are not so worried about our selves! Serving others helps us to see God’s love and compassion, it helps us to take our eyes off our own worries and fix them on Jesus instead. In doing this we gain lives that are more full of joy, fulfillment and deeper meaning. Even though us serving others, helps them and shows them God’s love, God also uses this to bless us and grow us and make us more joyful people. I read a news article recently that said that people who do voluntary work and help the poor/sick/vulnerable tend to be the most content with their lives.

So in summary, You don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to pray, you don’t have to read your bible and you don’t have to serve others. When you want to pray, you’ll be blessed by doing so, you’ll see God moving and your faith will grow. When you want to read your bible in order to know God more, you will gain understanding and become stronger by doing so. When your desire is to serve others out of an overflow of love for God, and for your neighbour, then you will be blessed as you put others before you, it will become a joy rather than a burden, even more so as you see people responding to the love of God that shines through you!

God’s plan is for you to live life your to the full, in freedom, knowing he’s right there with you as you do the things he has set before you, not because you have to, but because you get to! It’s an opportunity, an invitation to live an amazing, joyful, fulfilling life with God!

Isn’t God’s way perfect?

Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge

This verse has kept on popping up over the past few weeks so I decided that I should share it with you!

In context, this passage is talking to the leaders and priests who were getting in the way of people finding God and teaching them the right things. They were sinning themselves and being a bad example to the people they were supposed to be leading. Nowadays we can all read the bible for ourselves, we can look up things that we don’t understand and we can ask God through his Holy Spirit to guide us. Therefore, even though we should also be seeking teaching and guidance from our leaders, we also need to accept responsibility for our own walk with God and our own understanding.

We need to find out what God says about everything: things like prayer, relationships, healing, marriage, sex, money, family life, church, worship, work, rest, communication, being single, giving, receiving, life, death, illness, fears, hopes, dreams, freedom, oppression… and the list goes on! God has things to teach us about all this stuff and it’s all in the bible. We need to find out for ourselves so that we don’t fall in confusion, or let ourselves be tricked. We need to know where we stand, so that we can stand firm and not be destroyed.

I think we can often fall in trouble because we base too much on our feelings and circumstances, not on the truth in God’s word. We can wobble and allow ourselves to be open to attack because we are not standing firm on the knowledge of God. We don’t know enough about the promises God has placed over our lives or the instructions he’s given us and we don’t know all of our history (as in the people of God’s history, not our own few years on Earth!) We have such a “cloud of witnesses” as it says in Hebrews12 who “by faith” did so many amazing things and so can we if we trust in God!

We need to stick a few pins in the map to know where we’ve come from and where we are going. Then when we’ve got our Godly bearings, next we can look at the details and see how closely and intimately God knows each one of us, and how he has a plan and a purpose for each one of our lives. Not only that, but he’s already given some wonderful guidelines for all of his people to live by. Not because he’s a spoil-sport, but because he loves us and knows what’s best for us. He knows that if we were only to follow his ways, we would be living lives that were fulfilling, loving, exciting, amazing and God-glorifying! Just like we see in the New Testament. Life wasn’t “safe” or “comfortable” for the people who followed God but it definitely wasn’t boring!!! Plus they knew they were in God’s hands, they knew they were totally secure, they knew no-one could take away the promise of eternal life from them and they knew that they could do everything through Christ who strengthened them. (Philippians 4:13)

So what do you Know??

I wanted to give God the glory this morning, to put all the focus on him, because he’s so worthy of our praise and it is all about Him!

Read through this psalm slowly and carefully, think about what it says and stir yourself up to praise God in response – for his goodness & love, for his forgiveness & healing, for his wonderful compassion & because he cares about us individually & personally! I could go on, and on, but the Psalm does it so much better…!!

Psalm 103

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-

3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6 The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:

8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.

9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;

10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

15 As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;

16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.

17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children-

18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.

21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.

22 Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, O my soul

Psalm 24
3 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD ?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false.

Isn’t it amazing that we even have the opportunity to get close to God? To stand before him? Remember, this is GOD we’re talking about; The creator of the universe and everything in it. He has all power and all authority and yet we can go up to Him and stand before him, even though really we should be on our faces in the dirt because of his holiness and our unworthiness.

So who can have this opportunity to meet God in this way? “He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false”

• What do you think it means to have clean hands? What sort of things may make us have unclean hands? (Try reading Matthew 27:23-25 for one example)

Isn’t it so easy to be polluted by the world? To let the world’s filth rub off on us and give us unclean hands and corrupted hearts. Half of the time we don’t even see it happening, the world has spent our entire lives telling us that this or that is okay because everyone does it, and it’s not causing any harm. Or telling us to look to other things (idols) to fill our needs and our desires. Telling us that “white” lies are okay, it’s the big ones that are bad.. All these compromises/thoughts/actions influence us and pollute us, stopping us from having clean hands and a pure heart. They stop us from having that amazing, intimate relationship with God, our Father, that we were created to have.

Yet there is Good News! If we have believed in Jesus, in his death & resurrection, and have turned away from these sins and put our trust in Him, then we are saved and forgiven – we are clean. We are still living in the world, however, so we will need to keep turning from things that cause us to sin and ask for forgiveness when we don’t manage it, then Jesus’ blood will wash us again and create in us pure hearts and clean hands. But we also need to be aware that if we keep sinning, if we keep dirtying ourselves then we haven’t grasped who God is. He is the Lord. He is Holy. He wants us to be holy and blameless, through Jesus, but also through us working hard at not messing up and striving to make better choices and spend less and less time with our hands and hearts dirtied by the world.

• Ask God to show you what is dirtying your hands and polluting your heart, stopping you from having that close relationship with him.
• Ask him for his forgiveness through the cleansing blood of Jesus, and knowing you’re forgiven, ask him to help you to remain clean and not fall back into the things he’s already forgiven you for and given you the strength, through his holy spirit, to overcome.

1 Corinthians 10 :13: No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Romans 6: 20-23 When sin had power over your life, you were not right with God. What good did you get from the things you are ashamed of now? Those things bring death. But now you are free from the power of sin. You have become a servant for God. Your life is set apart for God-like living. The end is life that lasts forever. You get what is coming to you when you sin. It is death! But God’s free gift is life that lasts forever. It is given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ.