James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.
Ah my Friends, the weekend is nigh, and many of us can’t wait for it to get here, the uppermost thought in our minds being, TGIF; thank God it’s Friday. No doubt we deserve a break from the strenuous and stressful week of work, but please remember that down time isn’t just for partying and hanging out, but also to draw close to our God, to worship Him in fellowship with other believers, and to renew our spiritual strength without which we’ll be like putty in the enemy’s hands. Yesterday we spoke of the drawing near to God part of our Bit, but before we move on to the next section, I have one more piece of scripture to share on it. It’s a part of Moses’ exhortation to obedience to Israel. He wisely declares in question form: ‘For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them (a God so near to them), as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?’ (Deut.4:7) Friends, nobody else does! Believers are the only ones who have a true and living God always close by to hear our prayers, problems and praise. But remember it’s up to us to keep that close relationship going. And after we’ve made that LOVE connection with Almighty God, then James says: ‘Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.’ That’s oh so true my people! How can we ever consider coming before our most holy and pure Father with dirty, unwashed hands and hearts, in the sense that we’ve done or are doing evil, and also harbouring it in our hearts. To be clean in this spiritual sense, both our outer and inner man must show it through godly thoughts and deeds. Isaiah boldly proclaims it in his call for repentance. ‘Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes, cease to do evil. Learn to do well, seek judgement (justice), relieve the oppressed, judge (vindicate, defend) the fatherless, plead for the widow.’ (Isa.1:16-17) Yes Friends, that’s basically what it means to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts. We have to get godly and righteous, not solely in our own minds, but in conjunction with the Word. And I specify that because every Christian feels that they are so godly and righteous, when in actual fact many of us are far from it. On the outside we present a bold, bright facade of Christianity, but where it matters most, on the inside, Lucifer really reigns. We all have to take serious stock of ourselves this year of 2010 and make sure we don’t fall into that category, for though we may fool fellow believers and ourselves, we certainly won’t fool God. And that’s another serious error some of us make; thinking we can fool the Father who created us and constantly listens to our hearts, where our deepest and darkest secrets abide. Anyway mih breddren, listen to Bruh David as he holds forth on the topic. ‘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 (an idol), nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek thy face O Jacob. Selah.’ (Ps.24:4-6) Ah mih people, Bruh David also lays it out clearly for us. Only those with clean hands and a pure heart, who have not bowed down to idols of the world, or been deceitful in their walk, will receive the Lord’s blessing. We should all be working diligently towards that goal, so that we can proclaim of our generation, like Bruh David did of his, that we are avidly and sincerely seeking the face of the Most High God Jehovah. Friends, we desperately need to do that, to seriously up the ante in that respect, otherwise our generation will forever be known as the one that lost all the hard fought gains other generations accumulated. We’re just too passive and reactive when it comes to furthering the kingdom. We talk plenty, but don’t walk it nearly enough. Just look at all the setbacks that have happened in our time, the many public places from which our God has been banished, while the church concentrates on petty infighting and denominational supremacy, rather than spreading the Word and safeguarding the victories won through inordinate suffering. Oh Friends, enough preaching for today (smile). I’ll let two more faithful and righteous than me take us home. First up is Bruh David, who from his vast personal experience unequivocally declares that our God satisfies the thirsting soul. ‘O God, thou art my God; early (diligently) will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.’ (Ps.63:1) He was adrift in the wilderness of Judah, but the Lord took care of Him and brought him out stronger than before. And now, hear Peter, the rock on which Christ built His Church. ‘Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned (sincere) LOVE of the brethren, see that ye LOVE one another with a pure heart fervently. Being born again, not of corruptible (perishable) seed, but of incorruptible (imperishable), by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.’ (1 Pet.1-22-23) My people, if we want to be true believers with a spot on God’s holy hill, then I implore us to do what those men of great faith advise. Much LOVE!…a word to the wise…is sufficient…
Ah my Friends, the weekend is nigh, and many of us can’t wait for it to get here, the uppermost thought in our minds being, TGIF; thank God it’s Friday. No doubt we deserve a break from the strenuous and stressful week of work, but please remember that down time isn’t just for partying and hanging out, but also to draw close to our God, to worship Him in fellowship with other believers, and to renew our spiritual strength without which we’ll be like putty in the enemy’s hands. Yesterday we spoke of the drawing near to God part of our Bit, but before we move on to the next section, I have one more piece of scripture to share on it. It’s a part of Moses’ exhortation to obedience to Israel. He wisely declares in question form: ‘For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them (a God so near to them), as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?’ (Deut.4:7) Friends, nobody else does! Believers are the only ones who have a true and living God always close by to hear our prayers, problems and praise. But remember it’s up to us to keep that close relationship going. And after we’ve made that LOVE connection with Almighty God, then James says: ‘Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.’ That’s oh so true my people! How can we ever consider coming before our most holy and pure Father with dirty, unwashed hands and hearts, in the sense that we’ve done or are doing evil, and also harbouring it in our hearts. To be clean in this spiritual sense, both our outer and inner man must show it through godly thoughts and deeds. Isaiah boldly proclaims it in his call for repentance. ‘Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes, cease to do evil. Learn to do well, seek judgement (justice), relieve the oppressed, judge (vindicate, defend) the fatherless, plead for the widow.’ (Isa.1:16-17) Yes Friends, that’s basically what it means to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts. We have to get godly and righteous, not solely in our own minds, but in conjunction with the Word. And I specify that because every Christian feels that they are so godly and righteous, when in actual fact many of us are far from it. On the outside we present a bold, bright facade of Christianity, but where it matters most, on the inside, Lucifer really reigns. We all have to take serious stock of ourselves this year of 2010 and make sure we don’t fall into that category, for though we may fool fellow believers and ourselves, we certainly won’t fool God. And that’s another serious error some of us make; thinking we can fool the Father who created us and constantly listens to our hearts, where our deepest and darkest secrets abide. Anyway mih breddren, listen to Bruh David as he holds forth on the topic. ‘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 (an idol), nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek thy face O Jacob. Selah.’ (Ps.24:4-6) Ah mih people, Bruh David also lays it out clearly for us. Only those with clean hands and a pure heart, who have not bowed down to idols of the world, or been deceitful in their walk, will receive the Lord’s blessing. We should all be working diligently towards that goal, so that we can proclaim of our generation, like Bruh David did of his, that we are avidly and sincerely seeking the face of the Most High God Jehovah. Friends, we desperately need to do that, to seriously up the ante in that respect, otherwise our generation will forever be known as the one that lost all the hard fought gains other generations accumulated. We’re just too passive and reactive when it comes to furthering the kingdom. We talk plenty, but don’t walk it nearly enough. Just look at all the setbacks that have happened in our time, the many public places from which our God has been banished, while the church concentrates on petty infighting and denominational supremacy, rather than spreading the Word and safeguarding the victories won through inordinate suffering. Oh Friends, enough preaching for today (smile). I’ll let two more faithful and righteous than me take us home. First up is Bruh David, who from his vast personal experience unequivocally declares that our God satisfies the thirsting soul. ‘O God, thou art my God; early (diligently) will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.’ (Ps.63:1) He was adrift in the wilderness of Judah, but the Lord took care of Him and brought him out stronger than before. And now, hear Peter, the rock on which Christ built His Church. ‘Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned (sincere) LOVE of the brethren, see that ye LOVE one another with a pure heart fervently. Being born again, not of corruptible (perishable) seed, but of incorruptible (imperishable), by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.’ (1 Pet.1-22-23) My people, if we want to be true believers with a spot on God’s holy hill, then I implore us to do what those men of great faith advise. Much LOVE!…a word to the wise…is sufficient…
SCRIP-BITS 