Living Our Testimony

He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,

he who despises the gain of oppressions,

who gesture with his hands refusing bribes,

who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed,

and shuts his eyes from seeing evil;

he will dwell on high; his place of defense

will be the fortress of rocks; bread will be

given him, his water will be sure.

Isaiah 33:15–16

            God delights in the purity of the heart. By means of purity of the heart, one may then see the vision of God. How can one obtain purity of heart? God speaks to us from the Psalms: “Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things and revive me in Your ways” (Psalm 119:37). Keeping oneself free from this world and all its desires that would turn a person away from God, disabling his worship, and destroy his witness requires that we stay in communion with God. In this world, and even in much preaching in churches it is all about “feelings.” I attended a men’s Bible study where one evening one of the questions to be answered was: “how do you feel about this?” Not what does God’s word instructs us on this subject on this question? Many authors today in their books on Christianity deal more with a person’s feelings than being strong on what God has actually stated. God is not going to judge us by our feelings. God is going to judge us in regards to our living. Is it a life in communion with Him. What have you seen? God will judge us by what we have seen; entirely. Did not Jesus on the Sermon on the Mount give us instruction as to what we have seen and how we processed that sight? Yes! “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). Did you notice? It is not looking at a woman that is the problem. It is looking lustfully at a woman, women, this is for you too if you look lustfully at a man. God is not going to judge by the fact that we live up to light of our conscience; we are judged by the Light: Jesus Christ: “That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world” (John 1:9). We speak of Jesus Christ. We say that we are Christian. Yet our lives are so often far from the truth of those statements. We really do not know Him. We know what some good sounding phrases and books, and some sermons teach, but we do not know Him. Why? Because we are not in communion with Him for we have not bothered ourselves about Him. Our prayers are more about receiving than just being in communion with Him. We do not take the time to read His world. OH! We do take time to go to such things that delight us: i.e., MMA bouts, the casino, boating on Sabbath days as though we have some right to enjoy life in this manner. Let me ask: I ask this of myself: Does it really matter whether Jesus Christ lived and died, or even did anything at all? Great stories! Right? Wonderful things, we are told, that Jesus did: i.e., healing, turning a few fishes and loaves of bread and feeding thousands with them. Here is a truth: Without there be a reality; there cannot be a fraud. Is Jesus Christ a fraud? Do you treat Him as though He is a fraud? Are those narratives in the Bible just that: stories albeit good sounding stories with good feelings that touch our hearts? We are going to be judged by Him (Read Revelation chapter 20). The Light has come into the world: “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him”(John 1:10). This is condemnation that this Light has come into the world and the world not know Him. To know Him is not to know just something about Him it is to know Him, to have a personal relationship with Him. How can we have this relationship with Him Who we cannot see? Prayer, reading, and studying, the Bible: How else? It is at times good to read the works of men who have written that which is of Scripture but are those words just stories or are they actually teaching on Scripture and not on this world’s idea of how we should live? God will not judge us by the light we have; no, He will judge us by the light we have refused to accept. God will hold us responsible for what we do not look at: what are you looking at? What holds priority in your life? Ask yourself this question: “What can I do to allow the Holy Spirit room to work in my subconscious?”

            When we are on the path to purity, we attain true wisdom. We see clearly as does the eagle who sees things afar, and dwell in the rocks, in fact we dwell in the Rock, our Rock of salvation, Jesus Christ, and we spy out the world and see it for what it is: evil and desiring to destroy God and His children. Are you looking for truth? Are you seeking out this pearl of great value: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matthew 13:45–46. This Pearl of Great Price is no other than God, the true love of souls and John so clearly brings this fact out for us that if we believe on the One whom He sent, Jesus Christ. Then He, God, gives the right to become children of God: “but as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).

            Oh! Delight in the purity of heart, be as the eagle as spy out that which is wrong by reading of God’s world and allowing the Holy Spirit to activate you so that you live as what you say you are: a Christian. You will be amazed at the sharpness of your mind and the splendor of our everlasting God and Savior, you will not have to seek out some vision of God, you will have the vision of God Himself.

Be strong, and of good courage,

            Do not fear not be afraid

Of them; for the LORD your God,

            He is the One who goes

With you. He will not leave you

            Nor forsake you.

                                    Deuteronomy 31:6

Love God by your obedience

Richard L. Crumb