Psalm 15
December 24, 2021
Who Shall Dwell on Your Holy Hill?
A Psalm of David.
“O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.”
Words mean things, but often and especially in the Bible, I have an understanding in my mind of what in this case David is saying when he uses the word “sojourn”. But can we agree that no one we know tells us they are going to sojourn at our house? Sojourn: means to rest, to stay, to dwell, and to abide. Jesus talks a lot about abiding in us and us in the Father. Once more let's do a word study of the word abide; "to stay,” “stand fast,” “remain” or “abide.” Abide; to remain at home, or stay where you are and not wander off, the apostle John used it 34 times in the gospel of John. John 14:18-21, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” You do understand Jesus did not make us become robots with no free will, and He knew you and I would have a tendency to wander off after the desires of this culture. And that is why He gave us a helper, but a helper is of little assistance if a person does not look to Him and listen, then do as He instructs us to do. John tells us about that in John 14:15-17, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
I’m not sure many who go by the title of Christian understand how serious Jesus was about not wandering off after the little gods of this world. In the gospel, we find in John 15:7-11, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this, my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
And that brings me to a word, many of us have gone by, “Christian” and when you have an honest conversation with a person who goes by the name Christian, to explain what it means to them, you get all kinds of answers. Some I’ve heard, I was born in America, so I’m a Christian. I’m a child of Christian parents, so I’m a Christian, I’m Baptist, Catholic, or some other denomination. I was baptized as a baby, or I walked the aisle in my church, are had Catechism as a child. But is that what makes one a “Follower of Christ”. You notice that I do not refer to myself very often as a Christian for too many it has become a religion, not a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the only Son of God. I believe it simple; it requires only to ask God the Father to give you the faith to put your trust and life in His hands and believe the words of His Son, Jesus Christ, the only hope, the Messiah. In Romans 10:9-10, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
God has shown us a great example of “faith” He only can give a person in the thief on the cross, in Luke 23:42-43, "Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” It is the faith the Father gave the thief at that moment to put His life and trust in Jesus. Faith is the Victory that overcomes your religion and brings us into a relationship with Jesus who is sitting next to His Father and mine in heaven, and the Scriptures are clear Jesus is our intercessor with the Father.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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