Living in the Spirit

August 25, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 15
O Lord, who may abide in your tent?
   Who may dwell on your holy hill?
Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right,
   and speak the truth from their heart;
who do not slander with their tongue,
   and do no evil to their friends,
   nor take up a reproach against their neighbors;
in whose eyes the wicked are despised,
   but who honor those who fear the Lord;
who stand by their oath even to their hurt;
who do not lend money at interest,
   and do not take a bribe against the innocent.
Those who do these things shall never be moved.

There is only one Kingdom of God. While we have many understandings of God’s Kingdom, in the final analysis, all of God’s followers will be there together. I wonder why we do not invest more time and energy in learning to live together now in God’s Shalom?

The above Psalm is attributed to David. He outlines what God expects of us. Few of us can claim to walk blamelessly. I fear truth has lost its luster as we no longer know what to believe or who to believe.  Slander is commonplace. And the love of money still holds precedence in our world.

1 Peter 2:9 describes Christ-followers as being readily recognizable by our actions.

 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

We need to remember that every action we take when we proclaim our alliance to Christ is perceived by others as reflections of Christ. Therefore, we must be very sure when we look at ourselves; we see Christ in our words and deeds.

Prayer: Clear our vision, O Lord, so that we see you in our behavior. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.