True Forever

Think of an adjective like good, strong, kind,or faithful. Now think of a person that you know well. In your mind apply the adjective to the person. Does the person always display the character of the adjective? If we are honest, it is highly unlikely that the person that you thought of always displays the character that you imagined. None of us is perfect and we sometimes fail to live up to the character attributes that we admire.

Psalm 23:6 says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” When God gives us a promise, it is true forever. He lives forever and never changes. So we can trust that His goodness and mercy remain upon us forever. And when He promises us that we will live in the house of the Lord forever, we can always and forever believe this promise.

Clearance

Before going into highly classified areas of our government or before having access to highly classified documents, we must pass governmental standards for clearance. Before entering secured areas of some business operations, we will need to pass their qualifications for access. Before standing before our holy God, we must pass His qualification, which is holiness. None of us meets this standard in and of ourselves.

I Samuel 6;20 says, “Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God?” When we begin to lose our awe of God, we begin to lose understanding of His power. It is only through the shed blood of His Son that we are made holy and able to stand before this holy God.

Choosing Stones

When our grandson was younger, he took an interest in stones. Whether he was on an active search for stones or just casually walking around, a stone would catch his eye and he would take it home and give it a place of honor. To be honest, many of his precious stones looked ordinary and valueless to me, but he gave them value.

I Peter 2:4-5 says, “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Some stones appear ordinary, lifeless, and useless. When we come to Jesus, however, He transforms us into living stones that offer spiritual sacrifices which are acceptable to God. He gives us value by calling us chosen and precious in His sight.

Full Cleaning

Let’s assume that you want to do spring cleaning of your house. You may want to start with the dirtiest room or the disgusting bathroom. But eventually, you will probably get to every room and do the deep cleaning that a spring cleaning deserves. Leaving one room dirty and behind locked doors so that no one can see that mess, is most likely not in your spring cleaning agenda.

II Corinthians 7:1 says, “Since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” Holiness involves purification of all aspects of life. We should seek purity in our spirits, affecting our inward thoughts and desires. We must ask God to awaken our spirits by the Holy Spirit so that we can surrender to His purifying work in us.

News Worth Hearing

What news do you eagerly look forward to receiving? Perhaps, it is good personal news or good news from family. Maybe, you look forward to positive business news. Sometimes, we anxiously await global news. But what is the most important news that we all need to hear and receive?

Psalm 96:3-4 says, “Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.” The one news story that the world needs to hear more than anything else is the truth that God is great and does marvelous works among all peoples.