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The Character of Those Who May Dwell with the Lord

I wanted to share part of devotion this morning by Dr. Grant Ethridge of Liberty Baptist Church in Hampton, VA.

"Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?  Who may dwell in Your holy hill?  He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart; He who does not backbite with his tongue, not does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against a friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear the Lord; he who swears to his own hurt and does not change; he who does not put out his money to usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.  He who does these things shall never be moved." - Psalm 15:1-5

"Why would someone want to spend forever in heaven, yet they don't want to spend one hour in church?  I cannot look at my wife and say, 'I love you,' and then not give her my time, energy, income, and life.  Do you love God's presence like David did?  You can love the church and not love Jesus, but you cannot love Jesus without loving His church." - Ethridge

We shouldn't just be church members.  If you're a Christian, you are a member of the Kingdom of God.  We should model that for all believers and non-believers through our daily walk and talk.  If people didn't know where you were on Sunday mornings, would they know if you're a Christian or not?  Dr. Ethridge adds, "Psalm 15 does not tell us the way to go to heaven but rather the way people should live who are going to heaven."  Are we living our lives that way?  We won't be perfect, but we can strive for righteousness.

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