Let Me Never Be Ashamed

In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed; In Your righteousness deliver me. (Psalms 31:1 NASB)

Sin makes us feel ashamed.  If it's a secret sin, we stand ashamed before God. If the sin is exposed. We stand ashamed before other men - our loved ones, our brethren. And when we are ashamed we tend to run, to hide from the Lord and our brethren. Satan knows this, and so relentlessly prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.

This is why beforehand, before we fall into sin, during the time of temptation, this should be our prayer - "let me never be ashamed, Lord.  Do not bring us to that moment of shame".

We need to take refuge in the Lord at all times. When we are tempted to sin we are lured to take refuge in something, or someone, that Satan, or the world, makes us feel safe, secure, and satisfied.  But only God can do that. This is why we are to take refuge in Him always.  Do not neglect your prayer time, read His word, meditate upon His truth everyday, seek His presence, His joy, His peace at all times.

Then we ask for His righteousness. We have been declared righteous in Jesus Christ whenwe put our faith in Him as our Savior. And it is His righteousness He gives us as we walk with Him as our Lord, and as we walk by the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Lord, let me never be ashamed...may this be our goal, our desire, every moment of every day of our life

The One Thing We Ask and Seek For

Psalm 27:4  One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.

During a time of war David brought the presence of his God in his heart.  He knew that his God was with him, he saw his adversaries stumble and fall, and his heart was filled with confidence and trust in his God.
Where did he get all this?  By spending time with his God in the temple.
Psalm 27:5  For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock. 6  And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.

In the day of trouble where did David go first?  To the temple.  This is where he hid.  This was where he was lifted up, and where he was filled with joy.  It was this protection, this confidence, and this joy that he brought with him to the battlefield.
No wonder this was the "one thing" that David asked from the Lord - that he would dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, to behold His beauty and to meditate in His temple.

We, Christians, have a greater advantage, in the human sense, compared to David.  In the Old Testament they had to go to the temple to seek the presence of God.  Today, the Holy Spirit indwells each believer.  We are considered His temple.  We worship in spirit and truth.  We do not need to go somewhere anymore to "dwell" in His house, behold His beauty and meditate in His presence.
All we need is to MAKE TIME.  Not find time, for we will not be able to find it, with all the things we think we need to do, that are more important than prayer.  We need to MAKE TIME.

One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek...
We ASK to dwell in the presence of the Lord because we know that it is by His grace that He calls us into His presence.  No amount of human effort brings us to God's presence.  He calls us, draws us, and keeps us in His presence.
But we are also to SEEK.   Make time to pray, meditate in His word, dwell in His presence as you sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.  Seek Him.

Then, whatever the world may throw at us, we will be prepared.  As we hide in Him, and are filled with His confidence and joy, we bring this everywhere we are, everywhere we go - whether we stay at home, go to our office or take care of our business, as we face trials, hardships and circumstances that come our way, we will see our adversaries fall, and our hearts will be filled with His confidence.

Is this the One Thing that we have asked, and sought for, today?  Everyday?

Matters of the Heart