Presenting ...
... a weekly letter of encouragement.
November 15, 1993
Good Morning!
Let me ask you a searching question: "IN THE
SECRET DEPTHS OF YOUR HEART AND MIND, ARE YOU FAITHFUL
TO GOD?" Or are you living a lie by pandering
a hidden life of fantasy and titillation that would embarrass
a sailor?
This was Israel's problem:
"A stubborn and rebellious generation...whose spirit
was not faithful to God." (Psalm 78:8)
King David, revered as a righteous man, was perfectly capable
of living a double life - at least for the year following his
liaison with Bathsheba. Here is his description of that desperate
year:
"When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long. For day and night Thy hand
was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever
heat of summer." (Psalm 32:3,4)
It's tough to live a lie!
Christ saw the same duplicity in the religious starched shirts
of His day:
"You (Pharisees) outwardly appear righteous to men, but
inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." (Matthew
23:28)
Being married to Christ and harboring an unfaithful spirit is
akin to spiritual adultery:
"You are like unfaithful wives, flirting with the glamour
of this world and never realizing that to be the world's lover
means becoming the enemy of God." (James 4:4 Phillips)
Given our inclination to wander from single-hearted devotion to
Christ into a secret life of sin, perhaps we should daily
join David in the prayer he wrote after his year of hypocrisy:
"Behold, Thou dost desire truth in the innermost
being...Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a
steadfast spirit within me..." (Psalm
51:10, 6)
Have a great week!
Dwight Hill
© Copyright 1996 Dwight Hill. Unlimited permission to copy or use is hereby granted subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.
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