Psalm 5:1-7
O Lord, hear me praying; listen to my plea, O God my King, for I will never pray to anyone but you. Each morning I will look to you in heaven and lay my requests before you, praying earnestly.
I know you get no pleasure from wickedness and cannot tolerate the slightest sin. Therefore, proud sinners will not survive your searching gaze, for how you hate their evil deeds. You will destroy them for their lies; how you abhor all murder and deception.
But as for me, I will come into your Temple protected by your mercy and your love; I will worship you with deepest awe.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
I listened to three sermons yesterday, and each of them had a relevant message for the days in which we are living. The first was delivered by Dr. John Robbins, Senior Pastor of Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church in Little Rock. His theme was… “follow God’s instructions.” Dr. Robbins cited several examples where he had stubbornly tried to figure out something on his own, and once he relented and read the instructions, everything fell into place. As I read these verses in Psalm 5, I thought about how God clearly outlines how we are to speak, think and act – and He confirms and energizes these behaviors when we communicate with Him in prayer.
The second sermon was delivered by Rev. Betsy Singleton Snyder, Senior Pastor of Pinnacle View UMC – also in Little Rock. Her sermon, titled “Are All Non-Christians Going to Hell” talked about different Christian “heritages” and their specific ideologies…from Pluralism to Christian Exclusion and Christian Inclusion – to Christian Universalism. Each group fosters a different view of what it means to be “Christian” – and the path to Eternal Life in Heaven. Rev. Singleton Snyder suggested that we consider the love of God for all…and His desire that not a single one of us perish. Again, as I thought of this scripture passage, I realized that God does not condone evil…but He constantly strives to correct each of us and return us to a right standing with Him and a position of loving and serving as He commands. And God is plenty capable of handling this on His own – without any “assistance” from us!
The third sermon was delivered by David Clark, Pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Heber Springs. Clark’s message centered on Paul’s letters to the Corinthians that admonished the people to stop arguing and fighting among themselves. Again, with a theme that God loves all of us, Clark made the comment that he finds it sad that people who vehemently disagree on an issue cannot sit together these days and have a civil conversation. He noted that there are basic commands given to us by Jesus…love God with all our heart, mind and soul – and “love one another as God loves us.” When we keep these at the forefront and live in them, we should be able to trust God for the details as we strive to get along with others.
Consider what could happen if, we agreed to trust God to sort out our differences, rather than refuse to interact with a fellow child of God because he/she doesn’t approach their faith in God as we do. Imagine what could happen if we prayerfully followed God’s instructions for our own lives – and let others do the same while we showed them the love, grace, mercy, and kindness demonstrated by Jesus Christ.
Envision a world where we stopped judging others and genuinely asked God to show us how to live and love – and represent Him to others in the process – and left the rest up to Him. The possibilities are astounding, Divine, and Eternal – and I think we should all give it a whirl. In my mind, the worst that could happen is that we might have an interaction with another child of God that revealed our Heavenly Father’s true desire – and His capacity to love us all equally. By following God’s instructions, we might actually find a deeper relationship with Him and others – and experience His love in a new, more profound and meaningful way in the process.
Follow God’s instructions. Let Him sort out the judgment and correction. Love God with all your heart – and love others as He commands. If we do these three things, I believe amazing things can happen for God’s Kingdom. It’s surely worth a shot! Alleluia!
©2024 Debbie Robus
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