This Week's Focal Passage:
"One thing I have desired of the LORD That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple." Psalm 27:4 (NKJV)
Strong's:
Desired #7592 shael = beg, pray
Dwell #3427 yashab = to remain, to settle, to sit quietly, to marry, habitation
House #1004 bavith = family, inside, home
Behold #2372 ehazah = mentally to perceive
Inquire #1239 baqar = to inspect, admire, care for, consider, to seek out, search
Nineteen years ago, when Glen and I first met, we spent many hours getting to know one another. We listened and talked to one another (well, for those of you who know me, you know I did most of the talking! Heehee). We enjoyed getting to know one another's likes and dislikes, hobbies and interests, and discovering what we had in common. When we were apart, we eagerly awaited the time that we would be together again and we cherished those moments. When we had to choose between spending time together or spending time apart, we would always choose the former.
As I studied our focal passage this week, the Lord asked me this question, "Michelle, do you desire getting to know me as much as you desire getting to know others in your life?" My heart sank because I knew the Lord already knew that answer. I had to answer honestly, "Not always, Lord." When the Lord first revealed to me my sin and my desperate need of a Savior, I was only six years old. Unfortunately, I did not follow my salvation with earnest study of God's Word or application of His truth in my life. I lived my life for self and spent very little time getting to know the Lord. When I was a teenager, I fell prey to my flesh and rebelled against the Lord God. At 19 years of age, I was a real mess and desperately wanted to end my life. I cried out to the Lord and asked Him to remove this rebellion and replace it with Himself.
For years, the Lord has been faithfully revealing layer upon layer of pride and rebellion. At times, I have eagerly followed Him and allowed Him to do the work necessary for my healing, restoration, reconciliation, and renewal, while other times, I simply refused. "If we are faithless, HE remains faithful, HE cannot deny Himself." (2 Timothy 2:13) God is true to His Word, My Friend. Not once has the Lord walked away from me, ignored me, withheld His love from me, or given up on me. HE loves me with an everlasting love and HE will never allow me to be comfortable in my sin and rebellion. "…For HE Himself has said, "Never will I leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5) "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." (John 10:28) "Who can separate us from the love of Christ?…For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created things, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which in is Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35a & 38-39)
The same is true for you today. God loves you with an everlasting love and HE is more than willing and able to transform you into His image. HE is not limited because of your past or even your present. HE is the Lord God and there is none like Him!! "…I AM the First and I AM the Last; Besides ME there is no God!" (Isaiah 44:6) "…For I AM God, and there is no other; I AM God, and there is none like ME." (Isaiah 46:9) If you are drowning today in your sin and shame, come to the Lord. Call upon Him and HE will answer you. Confess your sin and REPENT from it. We must understand; however, that confessing and repenting are two different actions. To confess means that you admit to God that you are a sinner and that you have sinned against Him. To repent means that you not only admit that you have sinned against Him, but that you STOP sinning against Him.
Absolutely, we are not perfect and we will sin from time to time, but when we repent, we commit to leave the former way of life behind and walk faithfully with the Lord. HE knows our weaknesses and HE is more than able to overcome them. "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Habitual sin has no place in the life of a Christian. When we are bound by sin, we are not living in the abundance that Christ Jesus came to give (John 10:10). When we are living a life fulfilling our flesh, we miss the opportunity to be used by God for His glory and our eternal purpose. We are a poor testimony to the mighty power, grace, mercy and holiness of the Lord God. And My Friend, HE deserves ALL our honor, praise, worship and attention!! When we are living outside the boundaries that God has established for His children, we place ourselves in danger, spiritually, emotionally, socially, relationally, and physically. God will allow consequences in our lives to bring us back to Him. Not because HE does not care about us, but because HE DOES!!
My Friend, our world is fading. All the "things" that we once held so dear are perishing before our very eyes. Christ is preparing to return and gather His children together and we have to start preparing for His return. "And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!" (Matthew 25:6) "And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright…" (Revelation 19:6-8) No matter what this world offers, no matter what false doctrine is preached, no matter how many people refuse to believe in the Lord God, HE is God and HE will judge sin! God's existence is not dependant, nor determined, by man's belief in Him. HE is and was and always will be!! "For it is written: "As I live, say the LORD, Every knee shall bow to ME, And every tongue shall confess to God." So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way." (Romans 14:11-13) And when God's children do not live according to God's Word, we ARE stumbling blocks to those around us!! Forgive us, Father!!
Read our focal passage once more. "One thing I have desired of the LORD That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple." (Psalm 27:4) At the end of our lives or when Christ returns, whichever is first, we will stand before the Lord God and give account of the way we lived - either for the Lord God or for self. If we do not return to our first love - Christ Jesus - we will have nothing to offer Him in eternity. We will stand before Him bare and ashamed. Christ Jesus gave Himself for us because HE desires an intimate relationship with us. In and of ourselves, it is impossible to come to Him, walk with Him, grow close to Him…That is why HE came, lived, died, and rose again!! "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were sinner, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." (Romans 8:37)
If we want an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, we must come to Him according to His Word. The psalmist in our focal passage had a heart for God. His one desire was to spend time in God's Word, listening to Him and meditating on His Truths. Through that discipline in his life, the psalmist got to know the Lord God and he fell in love with Him. He desired to know Him more and to follow His commands, statutes, and precepts. In following the Lord God, the psalmist lived to glorify God and not self. He was able to withstand the temptations of this world and focus on what really mattered - eternity. His life was an example for others to follow and his love for the Lord pointed others to the Lord. At the end of his life, he stood before the Lord God and heard, "Well done, My good and faithful servant."
Is that the desire of your heart today? If not, bow your knees before your Creator and confess that sin to Him. Ask Him to anoint your with His Holy Spirit and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Ask Him to create in you a heart that desires Him above all else and to equip you with the wisdom, discernment, and commitment necessary to fulfill the purpose for which you were created - to glorify the King of kings, Lord of lords, the Great I AM, the Holy One of Israel, your personal Lord and Savior!! "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon ME and go and pray to ME, and I will listen to you. And you shall seek ME and find ME, when you search for ME with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
