With Christ – Psalm 15

“A Psalm of David.”

“Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart; he who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear the Lord; he who swears to his own hurt and does not change; he who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.”

In Psalm 15:1, David asked the Lord, “Who may abide in Your tabernacle.” Tabernacle here refers to the place where He is present. As I meditated on David’s question, the Lord revealed to me that the breaking of the first commandment really strikes at the core of God’s being. When people don’t love Him or want to be with Him… this really hurts.

I’m grateful to the Lord for the times when I felt that no one wanted to be with me. Those memories help me to understand how it hurts God to love people so greatly but receive so little love in return.

In 2 Corinthians 12:15, Paul wrote to the Corinthians, saying, “I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.” Sometimes, people are that way. Like children who take the loving service of their parents for granted!

The rest of Psalm 15 speaks of the Lord’s love language. The kinds of words and deeds we should and should not do to express love to Him and to be with Him!

I love the Lord and do enjoy being with Him. This is His grace to me!

Allowing distance to exist between God and oneself does not end well.

In Revelation 13:15-17, the Lord reveals two beasts. They are the demonic duo. The first beast killed those who refused to worship its image. It forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. That number is 666.

John 6:66 says, “From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.” Is it just a coincidence that John 6:66 (666) speaks of disciples abandoning Jesus?

In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, Paul wrote about the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, saying, “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.”

In Matthew 24:37-39, in regards to the last days, Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”

The people knew nothing about the flood’s coming in Noah’s day because they were distant from the Lord. They were too busy with their lives to stop and love God.

What’s worse than murder, lying, stealing and adultery? The answer is to not love the Lord. According to Jesus in Matthew 22:38, “The first and great commandment is ‘you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” This commandment is also recorded in Deuteronomy 6:5.

In Mark 3:14, when Jesus appointed the twelve to be His disciples, it was that “they might be WITH HIM and that He might send them out to preach.” Their first calling was to be WITH HIM. To love Him and to want to be like Him! Then, to tell others about Him!

In John 6:67, after many of Jesus’ disciples turned back and no longer followed Him, Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” In John 6:68-69, Simon Peter answered Him, saying. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

Who abides with God? The answer is he or she who loves Him.

How do we love the Lord our God?

Walking uprightly is an expression of love for the Lord. Rejecting crooked paths is an expression of love for the Lord. Speaking truth in our hearts is an expression of love for the Lord. Refraining from backbiting, doing evil, insulting a friend, and vile behavior is an expression of love for the Lord. Honoring those who fear the Lord is an expression of love for the Lord. Refraining from breaking covenants, from charging interest on loans, and from taking bribes are all expressions of love for the Lord.

“He who does these things shall never be moved.” Moved from where? Moved from being close with the Lord! So be it! May we never move away from God! May we abide in Christ and in His Word by His Spirit. Our ultimate goal is to arrive at His holy hill and dwell in His house forever.