post by Lisa Buffum, December 1, 2022
Begin by reading Psalm 15 on Biblegateway.com or in your own Bible.
I have been thinking a lot about holiness. I do not have a desire to be better than anyone else; I only have a desire to be a better and better, more Christ-like, version of myself. To be a disciple of Jesus who emulates Him in all I do. To dwell in the presence of God here and now. To be holy because God is holy and because Jesus is the one whom I follow.
Psalm 15 is a pleasant surprise along my quest for holiness. After a long lists of things that we can probably almost all agree are morally true, David concludes, “Whoever does these things will never be shaken.”
I want that. I desire to have a faith that cannot be shaken. At this point in my life, I do not mind agreeing to a list of dos and don’ts that the Psalmist declares will build up in me a faith that allows me to dwell with God . . . a faith that will never be shaken.
- Strive to be blameless
- Do what is right
- Speak the truth from my heart
- Utter no slander
- Do no wrong to another person
- Do not slur others
- Despise vileness
- Honor others who love the Lord
- Keep an oath or promise
- Lend money to others in need
- Do not be bribed to act against another
- Strive to be blameless
It is a hard list. Do I do it all well right now? No. Do I desire to do better with these things? Yes. I do. I long to be a disciple of Jesus. I long to dwell in the presence of God. That is what is most important to me right now.
To be honest, this psalm has packed a lot of punch. This one will stay in my mind for a long time. I have no problem with being convicted by Scripture. There are some moral certitudes on the psalmist’s list I plan to work on. How about you? What catches your attention on the list? I’m assuming anyone interested enough to read this list also seeks to be a disciple. Is there anything here you need to work on? We can do it together.
Now that we are in the time of Advent waiting, let us wait and watch with a mind towards the reason we wait and the hope that we have in Jesus.
Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash
PS – A disciple shares their life and faith with others in word and deed. This course in Transforming Evangelism may help.
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Lisa is the Director of Online Education for the Institute for Discipleship, overseeing the ministries of BeADisciple.com. Lisa completed a Master’s degree in Christian Ministry from Friends University in Wichita, Kansas, in May of 2006.
She is the mother of three children, and currently, “Mimi” to four grandbabies. Lisa teaches the instructor training course, Lay Servants as Christian Transformational Leaders, and other courses as needed, and provides technical assistance for instructors and learners for every IFD course.
