Contemplative Bible Reading

Psalm 24:3-6 (New Living Translation)

3 Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
who do not worship idols
and never tell lies.
5 They will receive the Lord’s blessing
and have a right relationship with God their savior.
6 Such people may seek you
and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob.

Who may stand in the presence of Jehovah? Only those with pure hearts and hands. What type of purity is that? They don’t worship idols and don’t lie. This is pretty straightforward. Faith in and faithfulness to God and being faithful to my own words. Pretty straightforward, but not always easy, huh?

And what good is it to stand in the presence of Jehovah? Those who do receive a blessing from God. They have a good relationship with God the savior. What a blessing it is to have a good relationship with God. A good relationship means, I believe, I can talk to God when I wish. God sends me messages through the written word and all sorts of people God sends across my path.

At what cost? Faith and truth. This is a bargain. Why don’t more of us accept the deal? What is wrong with us? Enough questions. Let’s just do this. Let’s just believe.