Who Shall Dwell on His Holy Hill?
Scripture: Psalm 15 v 1-3:
"Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall
dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness,
and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue,
nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his
neighbour."
If you want to dwell forever on the holy hill of God in
Heaven this passage of scripture gives you the list of requirements you must
meet to show true Christian character.
You must walk uprightly - that's not a reference to homo
erectus but a stance and status we must attain. It means to be openly
righteous, not hiding your Christianity from others but rather allowing people
to see who you really are. To those who don't read the Bible you must BE the
Bible made visible.
Your righteous works should be done humbly without
looking for rewards, congratulations or recognition. You must be truthful in
everything you think and say. In a world built on lies, deceit and pretence,
truth sticks out like a sore thumb.
The list of don'ts starts with backbiting. Always having
the last word and using malicious tactics to deliberately hurt others shows
that Jesus is not in control of your life. You should never do evil to your
neighbour by refusing to show common courtesy or creating bad feelings and
bitter feuds. Jesus came to reconcile and bring love to cover a multitude of
sins.
Do not take up a reproach against your neighbour - that
is fault-finding that brings public disgrace or discredit to someone. Attempts
to threaten with embarrassment or cause someone to fear this are signs that you
have no Christian love in you.
Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that we should live
by the Golden Rule. Do as you would be done by. He will have His revenge on
those who cause hurt to His people.
So if you are seeking a place on His holy hill you may
need to repent, change your mind, about your behaviour to others and begin to
rebuild your Christian character.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we desire to be blessed and
found worthy of Your holy hill. We are guilty of many things that betray our
human nature. Please change us into the likeness of Jesus. In Jesus' name.
Amen.