Living in God's Tent by Keith Cook
"A Psalm of David. Jehovah, who doth sojourn in Thy tent? Who doth dwell in Thy holy hill? He who is walking uprightly, And working righteousness, And speaking truth in his heart. He hath not slandered by his tongue, He hath not done to his friend evil; And reproach he hath not lifted up Against his neighbour. Despised in his eyes is a rejected one, And those fearing Jehovah he doth honour. He hath sworn to suffer evil, and changeth not; His silver he hath not given in usury, And a bribe against the innocent Hath not taken; Whoso is doing these is not moved to the age!" Psalms 15:1-5 (YLT Youngs Literal Translation)
Living with God is an awesome thing. Just to know that you are in Christ changes your entire outlook on life. You have purpose, meaning, and assurance of so much - just because you know where your home is and who is standing with you in all you do.
David, was asking God who can live with you? Who has the right - who has the opportunity?
According to God's Word - the way to live with God is to:
1. Walk upright (vs 2)
2. Work Rightly (vs 2)
3. Speak Truth (vs 2)
Examples of walking, working and speaking in a way that gains us admittance and residency in God's tent (tabernacle) are:
1. Having a pure heart (vs 2)
2. Never talking about others in harmful ways (vs 3)
3. Not doing anything to hurt, harm, or hinder a friend (vs 3)
4. Getting along with others no matter what they have done to you (vs 3)
5 Not associating with those who do evil or fight God's purpose in life (vs 4)
6. Honoring and a giving a place of esteem to those who live for God and live by faith (vs 4)
7. Keeping one's word even when it is hard to do or not convenient because of one's commitment to honor God in every area of one's life - not changing your mind about what you have said you will do. (vs 4)
8. Not taking advantage of others in times of trouble (vs 5)
9. Not being swayed in helping and standing with others and not being bought off by peer pressure, prejudice, or ignorance (vs 5)
After looking at this list it is probably plain to see that if that is the standard for living in God's tent then no one could ever live with God forever because each of us has at one time or another not followed these admonitions. What are we to do?
That is where salvation and the grace of God really shine great insight onto our plight and potential. In our own strength and power we are powerless to do these things all the time and earn our way into God's tent but in Christ we can gain admittance and security in God's presence forever.
When Christ died on the cross He paid the penalty for all our failures and sin. He alone can bring us into the presence of His father again. His laying down His life for our sin and the victory he won over the devil guarantees us that we will not live in the devil's tent but God's. Hell, death, and the grave no longer are our destiny of final resting place.
When we leave this life and go into eternity we can go to God's tent - Heaven - and live in God's tent forever. If we come to faith in Christ by repenting of our sins and really giving our life over to Christ then He gives us hope and daily guidance into the life He would have us live. We can never walk in the flesh and strength or our natural man but have to rely daily in Christ to live by the precepts found in this passage.
In Christ - we can walk, work, and speak and do all He would have us do. Why not prepare to live in God's tent today.
Daily Prayer: Recommit to the Lord that daily you will seek His guidance into the life He would have you to live. Pray for sensitivity to walk, work, speak, and do all that He would have you to do.
On The Go Prayer Focus: The Safety In Travel for each On The Go staffer and GoTeam volunteer.
Thank you for taking the time to pray for this important division of On The Go Ministries. For more information on any our ministries here at On The Go, you may send your questions to info@onthego.org.
On The Go Daily Devotion for April 29, 2015
Brought to you each day by On The Go Ministries / Keith Cook Team
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