The LORD is pleased
when we come to HIM with desire, or even to inquire; but how many
neglect to beseech for what they require.
"HE hath shewed thee, O
man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but
to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy
GOD?" While GOD
commands
much of us once we are HIS by new birth, the one dead in sin
requires but two things if he is to live.
A) Honesty:
"Remove far from
me vanity and lies: ..."
Our propensity to lie to GOD can be traced as far back as our
Genesis "the man
said, The woman whom THOU gavest to be with me, ... the woman
said, The serpent beguiled me,".
... but what nobody said was: "I disobeyed, I sinned!"
If anyone is ever saved, it is because somebody has become
honest enough to admit to GOD they are a liar at heart and the
son of it.
"Ye are of your father the devil ... When
he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and
the father of it."
B) Contentment:
"give me neither poverty nor riches; ..."
This is indeed a rare quality; for the
friction of constantly grasping at all things is lubricated only
by the oil it consists of, and short-lived at best.
"Remember Lot's wife."
Salty pillars fare well in
flame, and spare the undertaker his embalming fluid; but are
entirely unfit for the kingdom of GOD.
We can and will exist
eternally, but to live eternally as HIS in Heaven, we must have
these two requirements from HIM before we die. Would to
GOD that men would visit 'Jacob's ladder' before it is too late.
There to go desperate for blessing, and come away with a new
name indicative of a new nature ... and exhibiting the gimp of
the GOD fearing to prove it.
"And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy
glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth
of the LORD shall name."