Clean Hands, Pure Hearts

“The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,

    the world and those who dwell therein,

for he has founded it upon the seas

    and established it upon the rivers.

“Who shall ascend 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.

He will receive blessing from the Lord

    and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Such is the generation of those who seek him,

    who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

“Lift up your heads, O gates!

    And be lifted up, O ancient doors,

    that the King of glory may come in.

Who is this King of glory?

    The Lord, strong and mighty,

    the Lord, mighty in battle!...

    The Lord of hosts,

    he is the King of glory! Selah” (Psalms 24:1-10 ESV)

God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit – is our God, our creator God who formed the earth and all living creatures who live upon the earth. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of the Israelites of old and of all who believe in Jesus Christ today, whether Jew or Gentile by physical birth. For Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah promised to the Jews of old, who was to come and who did come to save his people from their sins. And he always existed with God, and he is God, our creator God.

Now Jesus Christ left his throne in heaven, and he came to earth, and he was born as a baby to a human mother but conceived of the Holy Spirit and not of man. So God the Father was his birth Father, and so he was not born in the image of Adam with a sin nature like we are. While he lived on this earth he was fully God and fully man, and he was capable of sin because he lived in a flesh body, and he was tempted to sin like we are, but he did not sin. And in that way he was able to be our pure sacrifice for our sins.

Now if we want to be in a faith relationship with God, it has to be through faith in Jesus Christ, for no one comes to the Father but through faith in Jesus Christ. And no one comes to Christ unless God the Father first draws him to Christ, i.e. unless God persuades him as to his sin nature and of his need to be delivered out of his life of slavery to sin to now serve the Lord in a walk of obedience to the Lord in purity of devotion to the Lord and to his will for our lives (John 14:6; John 6:44; Romans 1:18-32; Acts 26:18).

Now, it is by God’s grace through faith, both of which are gifted to us by God, that any of us are saved from our sins and have the hope of eternal life with God. There is not anything we can do in ourselves to earn or to deserve our own salvation. But God’s grace trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. And the faith to believe in Jesus is evidenced in our dying with Christ to sin and us living to his righteousness in his power.

[Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 2:11-14; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Galatians 5:16-21; 1 Peter 2:24; Hebrews 12:1-2]

So, it is not enough to just make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ once (or more than once) in our lives. We must be crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So we must no longer let sin reign (be in control) in our mortal bodies to where we obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it will lead to death, not to life eternal (Romans 6:1-23).

So, it is right in what this says here even under the New Covenant, that if we want to be in a fellowship relationship with our God, and to be able to remain in fellowship with him, and to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God, we must be those who are living morally pure, upright, godly, righteous, honest, faithful, and obedient lives to our Lord, by his grace, in his power. We must not be those who practice moral impurity, lying, cheating, stealing, and adultery, and the like, or we won’t see God.

For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. And he said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father (Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

So, please take this to heart, and please, if you have not done so, leave your lives of sin behind and follow Jesus in obedience to his ways forevermore.

My God

By William Robinson Jr.

Lyrics altered to say “My God” instead of “My Guy”

Nothing you could say could tear me away from my God,

Nothing you could do 'cause I'm stuck like glue to my God.

I'm sticking to my God like a stamp to a letter,

Like birds of a feather we stick together,

I'm tellin' you from the start I can't be torn apart from my God.

Nothing you could do could make me untrue to my God,

Nothing you could buy could make me tell a lie to my God.

I gave my God my word of honor to be faithful, and I'm gonna,

You best be believing I won't be deceiving my God.

There's not a man today who could take me away from my God.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=girW7nTNnMQ

Caution: This link may contain ads

Note: Not an endorsement of the Catholic faith and practice (see video)