No Fence Riders Allowed!

An excerpt from this morning's email to "my girls."

This morning I read from Psalm 24-26. These passages speak of the characteristics of the redeemed and their covenantal fellowship with God.

Who shall ascend to the hill of the LORD?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false,
and does not swear deceitfully.

My study Bible observes this: "Although [every Christian] may attend worship . . . not everyone will really receive blessing or will genuinely enjoy the status of righteousness. God expects his people to embrace their privileges from their hearts, and to show that in their behaviors."

Also, "The Hebrew word for 'clean' can also be translated 'innocent'--those with 'clean hands' are those who have acted innocently towards others." A "pure heart" is one absent of all unworthy motives. The passage continues,

He will receive blessing from the LORD and  

righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Such is the generation of those who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

What are we to do, then? We desire this blessing and righteousness. We hunger for intimate knowledge of the Holy One. Yet, we are reminded moment by moment of our woeful failure. The more we seek after wisdom, the more we see clearly our own ignorance. The more we strive for godliness, the more we seem to fail. It was easier to be apathetic and comfortable, was it not? And we whisper with the psalmist, ch 25, v 4-5:

Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me, 

for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

Take heart. Weep and pray, yes, and seek earnestly the face of God, laying bare your heart before him. And he says to you, dear one:

Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

The ESV study Bible makes a wonderful observation about these verses: "Those who trust in the LORD seek his guidance, i.e., they want to learn what manner of life pleases him and how his commands apply to their specific circumstances. God's guidance in the Bible is almost always concerned with the moral virtues he wants in his faithful people; in light of these virtues they make their choices in the various circumstances of life."

This is so very comforting to me. I know young people who, fearful of displeasing God and acting contrary to his will, consequently never *do* anything. They wait, hesitant, peering out of the starting blocks, afraid to really get going anywhere. "I am waiting for God to show me what to do," they have told me--for years on end. And their time slips by. Don't misunderstand me, dear girls--there is a time to pray and wait in earnest for direction. And there is a time to move forward in faith, making choices, doing the work of the LORD in the best way you can in the circumstances you find yourself in--and you can rejoice and be content, knowing that there are many ways to apply the commands of Scripture to our lives and to walk in accordance to them. The moral absolutes of the Bible remain unchanged throughout the ages; how believers live these principles out in their daily lives varies greatly from culture to culture, era to era.

Follow the model of the psalmist, dear ones: observe the perfect righteous standard, which all of us have hopelessly missed, and reflect on the gracious salvation of our souls by our King, and rejoice greatly. Seek the face of the God of Jacob, inquire for guidance, and carefully tune your heart to the chords of Scripture. Then step out boldly, busily, never idle, working, reading, praying, learning, serving, praising, singing, trusting our LORD to use you as an instrument for his glory right now, right here. Do not be afraid to make earthly decisions. Don't hem and haw and teeter nervously on the fence of indecision: make them wisely and forge onward!