The Psalm 15 Standard

Good Morning!

How's everyone doing? I'm doing good, finally brought my mind back from Nigeria. Yippie! How do I know this? Because now, I actually "hear" intelligent noises in class. When I first got back, I would stare at my professors' moving mouths and not hear a word of what they said....my mind was busy replaying scenes from my Nigerian trip and wishing I could go right back. Don't judge me...blame the long vacation and jetlag :-)

Today, I thought to share with you a recently-discovered source of inspiration. During morning devotion, I came across a chapter in the Bible that I had read once before but this morning, it made new sense to me and I thought, "I need to share this"...The beauty of the Bible is that it breeds new meaning each time you read it. I am always amazed about how differently the same verse can inspire me each time I read it.

Today, I found inspiration in Psalm 15.

A chapter like Psalm 15, short and sweet as it is, pretty much embodies what God requires us to do in order to secure an eternal place in His heart and His home. The chapter stuck out to me because its basically a Godly-life prescription in simple layman's terms.

More so, it does not only set out our obligations as Christians but it contains a promise in the last verse for those who abide by the prescriptions....security in God's books. In other words, if you live by the Psalm 15 standards, God has your back, no matter what and nothing in life can move or destroy you. Preeeettttyy strong promise, if you ask me. :-)

Here's the Psalm in both the Good News and the Message Versions. The beauty of this Psalm is that its pretty self-explanatory. My prayers for you (yes YOU reading :-)) today are; (1) that this Psalm will speak to you the same way it did to me this morning, (2) that you will let these principles seep into your daily life, and (3) that YOU will never be moved by life's quakes.

"1 Lord, who may enter your Temple? Who may worship on Zion, your sacred hill? 2 Those who obey God in everything and always do what is right, whose words are true and sincere, 3 and who do not slander others. They do no wrong to their friends nor spread rumors about their neighbors. 4 They despise those whom God rejects, but honor those who obey the Lord. They always do what they promise, no matter how much it may cost. 5 They make loans without charging interest and cannot be bribed to testify against the innocent. Whoever does these things will always be secure."

^"1 God, who gets invited to dinner at your place? How do we get on your guest list?  ² Walk straight, act right,  tell the truth.  ^3-4 Don't hurt your friend, don't blame your neighbor; despise the despicable.  ⁵ Keep your word even when it costs you, make an honest living, never take a bribe. You'll never get blacklisted if you live like this."

Life is a long journey....all you can do is travel a few miles each day.....God is in charge so He understands there are a few things you have control of...one of which is "how you live". That's why he left "How-to" instructions in the Bible. He is not asking for perfection, He just wants to see that you are making an effort. 

.........Stay Inspired :-)