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What if you could unwrap the promises of God like an unused bank account, radically transforming your life? This finale of our series on living in God’s presence dives deep into the essence of Psalm 15, revealing what it truly means to dwell with the divine. We uncover the attributes that define those who live in His presence—blameless actions, righteous deeds, and truthful speech. Our discussion invites you to explore the concept of spiritual inheritance and how accessing these divine promises can revolutionize your daily existence.

We draw on the powerful example of Abraham to explore covenant relationships and faithfulness, examining the unwavering commitment required to uphold one’s word, even when it costs. Through this lens, we emphasize how true belief in God’s unseen promises can reshape our lives and influence generations to come. As we reflect on the profound gift of forgiveness, we urge listeners to align their lives with divine integrity and purpose, showcasing the transformative power of faith that doesn’t just acknowledge sin but embraces redemption.

The significance of proximity and its impact on our relationships takes center stage as we discuss the influence we wield through faith. By maintaining a positive environment and surrounding ourselves with uplifting influences, we can impact others profoundly in all facets of life. We highlight the importance of community, ethical resource management, and unwavering honesty, challenging listeners to fulfill their commitments with integrity. Finally, we close by encouraging accountability and spiritual goal setting, reminding you that everything necessary for a life fulfilled in godliness is already within your grasp. Join us as we equip you with the insights and encouragement needed to live with honor, integrity, and faith.

Where to dive in:

(0:00:00) – Living in God’s Presence (11 Minutes)

This chapter wraps up our series on living in the presence of God in 2025 by examining Psalm 15. We explore the importance of understanding God’s ways, akin to knowing someone deeply beyond just their actions. I emphasize the necessity of engaging with the Bible to truly grasp God’s character and decisions, as it’s our tangible connection to Him. By discussing Psalm 15, I outline the attributes of those who dwell in God’s presence: living blamelessly, doing what is right, and speaking truthfully. Additionally, I highlight the concept of spiritual inheritance, likening God’s promises to an unused bank account, urging listeners to access and apply these promises in their lives for transformative impact. Ultimately, this chapter encourages us to seek a profound relationship with God and to live fully in the promises He offers.

(0:11:29) – Covenant Relationship and Faithfulness (5 Minutes)

This chapter examines the profound nature of honor and integrity, as illustrated by the biblical principle of keeping one’s word even to personal detriment. Drawing parallels with cultural expressions like “my word is my bond,” I reflect on the unwavering commitment exemplified by individuals entering into a covenant, regardless of the potential personal cost. This is further exemplified by God’s promise to Abraham, highlighting the magnitude of faith in unseen promises. The discussion emphasizes the transformative power of true belief in God’s promises, distinguishing it from a superficial acknowledgment of sin and forgiveness. I also explore how understanding and accepting God’s gift of forgiveness reshapes our lives and influences future generations, urging us to live with integrity and purpose that aligns with divine expectations.

(0:16:57) – Impacting Others Through Covenant Faithfulness (11 Minutes)

This chapter explores the significance of proximity and its impact on our lives and relationships, emphasizing the power we have through faith in Jesus Christ to influence those around us. By surrounding ourselves with positive influences and maintaining a good attitude, we can affect others significantly, whether within our family, friendships, or workplace. We reflect on the teachings of faith, using Abraham as an example of believing in God’s promises, and how such belief can shape generations. The chapter also underscores the importance of community and treating others with love and respect, highlighting the necessity of fulfilling our commitments and promises. It challenges us to magnify our perception of God and trust in His power to fulfill His promises, regardless of our perceived limitations.

(0:27:59) – Living With Honor and Integrity (13 Minutes)

This chapter examines the principles of integrity, selflessness, and the importance of not exploiting others for personal gain. We explore the concept of standing firm in one’s commitments, even when it is personally costly, and draw parallels to the selfless acts of military service and the sacrifice of Jesus. The discussion emphasizes the ethical use of money, specifically the importance of not charging interest to those in need, highlighting biblical teachings from Luke, Exodus, and Deuteronomy. These teachings underscore the importance of a pure heart and the rejection of exploiting others for personal advancement. Additionally, we consider the moral implications of honesty, urging against false accusations and benefiting at the expense of the innocent. Through these themes, we reflect on where our true treasures lie and the condition of our hearts.

(0:41:29) – Accountability and Goal Setting (1 Minutes)

This chapter encourages listeners to embody the principles of being the body of Christ by ministering to one another and establishing accountability with someone else. We emphasize the importance of creating and regularly reviewing a goal list to keep these commitments at the forefront of your mind. Highlighting the significance of repetition and proximity, we remind you that the power to achieve these spiritual goals lies within you, as everything needed for life and godliness has already been provided. With determination and faith, you can implement these teachings today. Join us again next week for more insights and encouragement.

About your host: Jaime Luce’s testimony has daunting personal mountains and treacherous financial valleys. She was trapped in day-to-day stress and couldn’t see a way forward. But how she started is not how she finished! And she wants you to know God has a plan for your life too, no matter how tough it seems. Today, Jaime has been married to the love of her life for almost three decades, owns two companies, and has become an author and podcaster. God’s way is always the blessed way!

Free chapter of Jaime’s new book: You Don’t Need Money, You Just Need God: https://jaimeluce.com/book/

Connect:

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Full Transcript

This transcript is auto-generated and not perfect. We hope it blesses you.

0:00:00 – Jaime Luce
Welcome to the Jamie Luce Podcast. Thanks for tuning in today and I wanted to just kind of wrap up the series we’ve been in on living in the presence of God in 2025. So if you haven’t had an opportunity, go back and listen to the others. One builds upon the other as we’re going through Psalm 15. And today will be the last in that. We’ll just wrap it all up today, but I’m going to be looking at the last sentence of verse four and finishing up with verse five. But if you haven’t done so yet, in listening to this, turning this on, go get yourself your Bible, get something to write with something to write on. Maybe grab yourself a cup of coffee.

Let’s dive into the word. Let’s be those who are diligent to learn God’s ways, to know him in his beauty, to know him in his wisdom, to know him in his might, to know him in his power, in the way that he communicates, in the ways his ways. David would always say teach me your ways. He wanted to know God’s ways. It’s one thing to know somebody because you know them based off of like, let’s say, you have a friendship and whenever you go out to eat, they know what you like to eat, and they know where you like to go, the activities you like to do. But when someone knows your ways, they know why you do what you do, they understand the decision you’re going to make before you make it, because they know who you really are, not just the things that you do, but who you really are. That’s our God. He knows us that way. He created us. He intricately formed us in our mother’s womb.

I want to know him intricately. I want to know his ways. I want to know why he does what he does. I want to know why he will approach something one way one time and then the next time he does it differently. I want to know why. I want to know him. I want to know the way he thinks. I want to know the way that he makes decisions, the way that he judges something. I want to know that.

And the only way for me to know that, the only way to become that close to him is to spend time in his word. We have to spend time in his word. That’s the only place that we have. That’s tangible. We don’t have him walking with us. Jesus is no longer walking amongst us, other than we are his carriers. We carry him around. But to the extent that I know him, I will show him right. To the extent that I know him, I can’t show more than what I know. So, and hopefully I am a good representation If I’m calling myself a child of his, I hope that I am a good representation. It is my goal, my aim, to be made into his image, to be more like him, and I hope that that’s yours as well. But in his word he literally gave us something tangible. We don’t have him, we don’t have his disciples, but we do. We have recorded the whys and the whats and the wheres and the whos and all of it. We have it. And so today we’re going to finish this up on how do we live in the presence of God in 2025.

And the title of Psalm 15 in my Bible may say something different in yours is who shall dwell on your holy hill, o Lord? Who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart, who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord, who swears to his own hurt and does not change, who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved. That’s my prayer for you today. It’s my prayer for me, it’s my prayer for you that we don’t just, that we live in the fullness of what God has made available to us. It’s the old adage.

I’m sure you’ve heard this at one time or another in church, somewhere. One day, sometime, maybe not. If not, I’ll tell you. I used to hear this and I heard many ministers use this as an example. But in fact I wrote about this example in my book.

You don’t need money, you just need God. Um, but we, can? We, if someone left you, let’s say, an inheritance, and you never um, read what was left to you and you never did anything with it? You never because you never did. It’s like having a bank account full of money and because you never go and access the money, the money that’s sitting there doesn’t do you any good. Whatever’s left to you, whatever inheritance you would have gained, stays not usable for you, not impacting your life, not changing anything about your life, unless you actually go and access it and do something with it, then it becomes valuable, then it does something for your life. It’s valuable to you, it could be valuable, but not to you if you’re not accessing it, if you’re not making use of it.

The same is true with the promises of God. They can be there. There’s a ton of promises in this word of God for you, but if you don’t read them and access them, they’re not going to do you any good. It’s to those who go after them, to those who put their hand to the plow, to those who go searching, who make the word a light to their path. Searching, who make the word a light to their path. Those are the ones who have laid hold of and access the promises of God and make them theirs. They reap the benefits of it. They’ve taken the word, they’ve planted it in their spirits. They have watered that crop day after day after day, with tears and prayers and supplications to the Lord, with thanksgiving, and they’ve took that word, read that word, meditated on that word, and that seed has died and germinated and is now producing a fruit, a crop in their life that manifests itself, that they can actually take from and be nourished by, that they can be helped by. That’s up to us, and this scripture says that he who does these things shall never be moved.

The ones who want to dwell in the presence of God there are things that they need to do those who want to go through the journey of life in the tent, meeting of God, in his presence, face to face, tabernacle with God, to live with him. The book of John says over and over again how we are to abide in his presence. We abide in his presence, we live there. Jesus himself said that he is the vine and we are the branches. If I abide in him and he abides in me, folks, that unleashes the promises.

I can ask what I will. I can ask what I will. I can have the confidence and know that it will be done for me. I can speak to the mountain and it has to move. It has to move. It has to move. I can curse that ugly, wicked thing and tell it to shrivel up and die In Jesus’ mighty name. If I abide in him and he abides in me, I can know that when I pray I don’t ask amiss.

I ask and I receive, because I ask, according to his will, for the good plan that he has designed for my life. That doesn’t mean I don’t go through things. That doesn’t. I know the word works because I have to use it. Things happen in life. We encounter trouble in this world. You will have trouble, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. There’s nothing that he hasn’t overcome. Death has lost its power, its sting, because Jesus has conquered death. It is that kind of abiding that unleashes and makes available every promise that is in this book for us.

If you want the presence of God manifest in your 2025, there is a list of things that King David tells us. If we do these things, not only are we the ones who live in his presence, who can ascend to the mountaintop and hear from God and see his glory and receive from his goodness, but I can have him face to face, down where I live, in the tent, when I need him every day. And having this, doing this life, having that exchange, abiding in him and walking the way he tells me to walk, following these instructions, ensures that I will never be moved. I am anchored. I’m anchored, immovable, because I have done what God has instructed me to do. If you listened to last week’s podcast, then you know that I have made the decision that my proximity is to despise the vile and to get close to those that honor and fear the Lord. My proximity matters how close I get to the body of Christ, to God’s word, to God’s presence regularly, all the time. Close proximity matters affects my life, tangibly, actually manifests itself in my life. If you didn’t hear that, go back and listen to it. It’s worth it. Okay, today let’s concentrate.

The last sentence of verse four says who swears to his own hurt and does not change. His own hurt and does not change. This is talking about someone who is honorable. We just talked about honoring those who fear the Lord and he says these kind of people, the one who lives in God’s presence, the one who dwells with him, is the one who, even if they swear to their own hurt. It’s kind of the you probably heard. I don’t know if this was James Bond or if this is an old western thing. I know I’ve heard this in old movies. Anyway, it’s my word is my bond, my word is my bond, my word is my bond. You know you, you have this kind of um exchange.

There was a television show I watched recently and and they both men were coming into a type of a covenant relationship that they were saying this is forever binding, this can never change, and they both cut themselves and shook each other’s hand and gave one another gifts in order to solidify that we are making a blood covenant and we will never go back on this, no matter what happens to me, no matter how this could hurt me in the future, no matter what comes up. You have my promise, this is what I will do and I will not change my mind. This was the beautifully displayed when God comes to Abraham and makes a promise to Abraham and makes a promise to Abraham. This is so intriguing because when God comes, it’s in Genesis and God has told Abraham, he has shown him his future and the future of Israel. Okay, jacob’s not born yet, so Israel’s not here yet, but they are the descendants of Abraham. This is Abraham’s.

Abraham had Isaac, isaac had Jacob, so this is his grandson, who he doesn’t know yet Okay, doesn’t know, hasn’t physically met him. And so this is God’s promise you have. This is why Abraham is the father of faith, because he can believe something he hasn’t seen there’s no proof of it In fact to receive the promise. God made Abraham such a huge promise that he made him a promise to last thousands and thousands of years, far beyond Abraham’s life, far beyond his life, anything he would see, touch, smell, taste or hear, far beyond him. And Abraham so believed it that he immediately acted on God’s word. He just believed God. That’s why Jesus says just believe.

If you believe I am who I say I am and that I have died for your sin, now there is a this is a little sidebar there is a difference between somebody saying God, forgive me of my sin so that I can go to heaven someday, and they don’t really even register what their sin is, to know the depravity of the condition of their own heart and life and that they are bound for hell and that they deserve it. That takes a certain amount of due process of you examining your own heart and life and coming to terms with that. God says that is sin and that’s punishable by death and that does not deserve to be in my presence and understanding who God is, and that he has set up a system that I am able to be forgiven of a debt I owe that I have no way to repay and that he paid the debt in his own flesh for me, suffered on my behalf. And now I have come to that knowledge and I am not only grateful, but I understand I didn’t deserve this and this has been a gift that was freely given to me and I accept that and I believe that when I believe that that changes my life, I now care about not sinning and what pleases God and wanting to know what the scripture has to say about teaching me who God is, in his character, what he expects and what he doesn’t want, what he wants to see and what he doesn’t want to see, to know what the scripture has to say about teaching me who God is and his character, what he expects and what he doesn’t want, what he wants to see and what he doesn’t want to see. And we see Abraham show this kind of faith to act immediately on what God said, to understand. My whole life is wrapped up in what God says my whole life and the future of generations that I will never even actually touch or see. What I do today affects all of them and folks, what you do affects generations after you. How you apply this word doesn’t just affect you. It affects everyone around you.

Again, listen to last week. Proximity matters, even if it is not your own blood. Proximity matters. Proximity matters who you’re close to, what you surround yourself with and the attitudes and the distinction that you make in your life, about the way you live your life. It affects other people, whether they like it or not. Whether they like it or not, it affects them. We have that kind of power in Jesus Christ to make the world of a difference to those in our own house, in our marriage with our children. If we are single, with our parents or those that are close to us, any family we might have, friendships, we have the work we attend and put our hands to the service that we give ourselves to whatever ministry God has called you to. It affects others and your attitude about it affects others Even more than the work you do. Your attitude about it affects others, it just does.

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It’s why we need one another, why we are not supposed to be cut off from one another. We are to be the body that we minister to one another. It is completely contrary to nature for me to hurt myself. That’s why we’re the body of Christ. We don’t hurt ourself intentionally. We don’t try to cause damage to ourself intentionally, right? I’m sure you’ve all seen stuff in the past TV movies, whatever and you see someone who hurts themselves so that they can make it appear that they’ve been hurt, so that they can get away with the crime they’ve committed. That’s vile. To hurt yourself. That goes against nature. To harm yourself, it’s how you know that the devil is in action. If you feel prompted, if the enemy has attacked your mind and your emotions and your mental stability by telling you to harm yourself, that is the devil. God would never tell you to harm yourself. It is completely contrary to how God has designed life. We are to minister to ourselves. We are to be good stewards of our body, to care for the body and extenuatingly see it manifest in the way we deal with one another. As Christians. We are to manifest our love for one another as the body. I am to treat you the way I treat myself. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Love God, love people. That simple.

And we see that Abraham had this kind of faith to believe for people and generations beyond him. He understood the power and the might and the humongousness of God. Oh gosh, if you could just get a bigger. David said magnify the Lord with me, come, let us exalt his name together. You have got to get a bigger picture of God because when you do it affects how you respond. It affects what you believe and the actions you take.

Abraham so believed how big God was that he made decisions that would affect me today sitting here. Who has never met Abraham? Nor could have. Thousands of years ago, nations affected, worlds affected, the world affected, and God spoke to abraham and told him to cut the sacrifice, get a sacrifice, cut that sacrifice and you put pieces on both sides and both parties were to go through and consummate, so to speak, solidify. This blood had to be shed. This was a blood covenant agreement, and the crazy thing about this covenant that was cut was only God could fulfill it. God wasn’t even requiring Abraham to do anything other than believe him. There was nothing Abraham could do to make that covenant come to pass.

God said it’s all on me. The only way this happens is it’s all on me. The only way you get to reap the benefits of this is it’s all on me. What it costs you is all your faith. Believe me, but it’s all on me to make this happen. So if you feel like you can’t make it happen today, if you feel like there’s not enough in you, you don’t have what it takes to get it done. You don’t have the resources, you don’t have the background, you don’t have the criteria, you don’t have the PhD, whatever, whatever you think you don’t have, when God makes you a promise, it’s all on him. It’s all on him.

And what does the scripture say? The person who lives in God’s presence is the one who swears to his own hurt, his own bloodshed, his own keeping of the promise and doesn’t change. You mean what you say, you do what you mean and you mean what you say, that there is congruency in your spirit. You are a faithful person. If you say you’re going to do it, you do it. It. You’re somebody who makes it your conviction that you’re going to do what you said you were going to do.

And if that meant how you took care of somebody, how you because this is in context to the people that we deal with I honor those who fear the Lord and if I make an oath to you, if I swear to you that I’m going to love you, care for you, pray for you, help you in some way, boy, this should speak to us when it comes to those of us who have made commitments with our finances to the church, because how many times have ministers and the church? They know they’re busting at the seams. They need a new building, they need space, they need to grow, they need to expand, they need to do what is mentioned in. Is it Isaiah or Jeremiah? Anyway, we’re going to Isaiah. Anyway, the one the prophet says lengthen going to, uh, isaiah, uh, anyway, the one the prophet says lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.

Uh, folks, when we’re supposed to expand for God, however you have committed, you’re someone who swears to your own hurt. You stand on that word. You don’t change that word. You, you don’t say I’m going to give this to the church. God told me I have a conviction. God spoke to my heart and he said tell them, pledge this, you’re going to give this. And then, a month later, into that year-long pledge, something comes up and you want to use that money for something else, or something happens and you feel you need to use that money for something else.

Are we somebody who moves off of our word? Do we back out? Do we not hold to what we said we would do? Ouch, the scripture says that it’s better for you never to make a vow. It’s better that you never promise. Don’t make a promise you’re not going to keep. Be a person of truth and your word. If you say it, do it. He says it’s better to never have made a vow than to make a vow and break it. Be an honorable person. Honorable person, honor those who fear the Lord, but then be honorable yourself. Don’t just honor those. You be someone who others think of as honorable. You carry that. You carry that. I had looked up the word honor and, oddly enough, one of the definitions of the word honor is a dull weight. A dull weight Meaning to be honorable. Sometimes you have to carry the weight. Sometimes it means you’ve got to be the one who really digs in and carries the load.

I’m rejoicing I don’t know about you, but I’m rejoicing that donald trump was just inaugurated yesterday as president of the United States for his second term, and so for the next four years he will preside as president. We’re praying for his protection, that he does what God has called him to do for the next four years under God’s hand. So I’m praying for that, praying for our leaders, praying for those under him who may not know the Lord, praying for their salvation, praying that they be honorable people, praying that they would do what they’ve promised to do. But we elect someone because we’re expecting them to make good and be honorable about the promises that they made, and they made those promises, saying it was for my good, not for his personal good. For my good that’s what the scripture says.

Who swears to his own hurt and does not change, even if it costs him, that he’s going to write laws that benefit my life or stop laws that hurt my life or remove things that were put in to be a hindrance to my life Not about his life. We already know he was willing to not change. He was. There have been multiple assassination attempts and I pray, by God’s grace, that there will not be another. But that’s somebody who says to my hurt, I promise you I will do this. And at the end of his term he will be judged by whether he did this. Whether he was considered to be someone who was despised or whether he was considered to be somebody who was honorable and who he surrounds himself with will matter. His first term that he served was thwarted on so many levels because of the proximity of the people that surrounded him, who did not have his best interest at heart, who did not have the same ideas, who did not think the same way he thought, who had negative thoughts about what he would do, and it affected his performance.

Go back and listen to last week. You’ve got to listen to last week. These things go hand in hand. Hand in hand. To my hurt. Those who join up in the military are swearing by their lives, that to their own hurt. They will be honorable for your safety, for my safety, for our safety. They have said I offer my life, I give my life for you, the people, to stand for something honorable. I swear by my life. Jesus gave his life for my life. He said I’ll make good on my promises, so much so that I give my life to prove it. I shed my blood. I’m the only one who can make it happen. There’s nothing you can do to earn this place. I give it as a gift to you. Let’s go on to the next verse. Who does not put out his money at interest?

Now, this is not talking about if you’re a banker and you make a loan agreement, but this is talking about when those who have come to you in need. You don’t use those people to make a buck. You aren’t putting on somebody usury. You’re not harming somebody for your benefit. You’re not using them for your benefit. If we see one another the way we should, as the body of Christ, I don’t use. To my hurt something I don’t. How do I say that to my hurt something? I don’t? How do I say that I don’t use myself and the part of myself to benefit one part and hurt the other? I want both to be whole. I don’t want only if I were to be in a severe accident and my arm is in a severe accident, is hanging by a thread I don’t want you to go ahead and cut this one off, then cut the other one off to replace the one that’s hurt. I want, I want them both whole. So I’m going to take care of this one. I’m going to use whatever I’ve got to take care of this one. And we don’t use the body of Christ for usury, who does not put out his money at interest. What he’s saying is I’m not trying to use you and make myself better by using you.

Now he’s also fully talking about money. Let me give you some scriptures to back this up. Okay, luke 3, 14. Then some soldiers asked him Okay, luke 3, 14. Then some soldiers asked him and what should we do? He replied this is Jesus replying don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely. Be content with your pay, interesting that Jesus put these two things together. Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely. Let’s look at this verse, verse five he who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent, don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely. That’s saying the same thing. That’s in Luke 3, 14. If you, this is Exodus 22, 25.

If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal. Charge no interest. See, there’s the difference right there. It’s one thing. If you’re actually entering into a business deal and there’s interest to be made, that’s the difference, right there. It’s one thing. If you’re actually entering into a business deal and there’s interest to be made, that’s part of the business deal. A loan, whatever, that’s fine. But if you lend money to one of my people, he’s saying if you have somebody that’s a brother to you who is needy, you know they have need, and now you’re trying to even put a heavier weight on them. Do not treat it like a business deal, charge no interest. Oh, I had one more. Let’s see Deuteronomy 23, 19.

Do not charge a fellow Israelite interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest. And why? Why? Why would he say this? Not only not to harm them, not only not to put a burden on the needy, but Matthew 6, 21 says for where your treasure is there, your heart will be also there. Your heart will be also.

If you are using people, it shows the condition of your heart. If you’re not wanting to give to care for in a way that Jesus did, without making a buck or using somebody for your elevation in some way, then we show the condition of our heart. We show what’s really inside of us, what we’re, what’s really inside of us, where our treasure really is, where our love really sits. And it obviously, according to Jesus, goes in hand in hand with not taking a bribe against the innocent, the innocent. Taking a bribe against the innocent meaning I don’t accuse you because it benefits me. Taking a bribe against the innocent means that I don’t lie about you because it benefits me. You are innocent of that and it is wrong for me if I benefit off of the back of my brother, if I benefit off of the back of my brother. So I don’t put out money, I don’t change my word. I don’t take a bribe.

It matters how I treat people, it matters how I live. It matters. It matters folks. It matters so much that it is contained in this passage of scripture that tells me how and who gets the privilege of living in the presence of God, living in his presence. If you are serious about living in the presence of God, you will be serious about how you treat people, how you. You know.

The scripture says that we are not to prefer people over others simply because of their financial status or position or power, whatever they might have. That we are to treat one another with equity, and not only that, but we are not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought, that we are to see our brothers as the body, as myself I treat you like I would treat me. These kind of people, these honorable people, are those who shall never be moved. These are the people who live and sojourn in God’s tent, who dwell on his holy hill, in God’s tent, who dwell on his holy hill. These people will never be moved.

I know it’s a challenge, but that’s what the beginning of a year is for right. We challenge ourselves to live differently. We have resolutions about things that we want to resolve. We want to make changes. We want to solidify right habits and remove bad habits. It’s perfect timing to say you know what, before I deal with anything else, I’m going to get this right. I deal with anything else, I’m going to get this right. I’m going to say Lord, you matter most, what you say and how I live my life and how I answer you. And answer to you matters most. And if I get this right, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. What he says is right, and all of these things will be added unto you. That’s the goal. That’s the goal this year, that’s the goal for 2025, to live in the presence of God.

Take this word, digest it, meditate on it, water it. Really do it. Really do it. Make yourself accountable. If you’re going to do it, make yourself accountable to somebody. Use the body, use the local body, the local church. Get in a home group, find a pastor, do something with a trusted, honorable, god-fearing person and say I’m making myself accountable to you.

This year, I’m going to live these things, I’m going to do these things, I’m going to make these sacrifices and I’m going to swear, even to my own hurt, and I’m not going to change it. I’m going to do it for the glory of God. And if I fall, folks, don’t let a spirit of condemnation come on you. If you fall, get back up. A righteous man falls seven times but he gets back up. Don’t let the enemy make you think, if you didn’t do it, you can’t do it. Therefore, don’t try to do it.

Let’s be those who say, by the grace of God and by his power and his might, he wants this for me, he will enable me to do this. It is the covenant that he has cut for me that this is by his power. It is not by might and not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord, and we agree with that spirit. We take hold of that promise and we live it by faith, just like Abraham did, and we will reap those same benefits, and so will all the generations after us. We can do this. Make this your goal this year to live in the presence of God in 2025.

Let me pray for you, father. We just thank you for your word, for your power, for your grace, for your might, for your enablement, for your protection. God, stir up your people. Stir them up to desire what they are to desire. You said you give us the desire of our heart, make wanting to live in your presence the overwhelming desire in our heart today and then equip us to do the work we need to do every day. Let us love our neighbor as ourself and walk honorably before you, lord, and in so doing we receive your promise that we shall not be moved. We will live in your presence and not be moved. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Thank you so much for tuning in today. If this was a blessing to you, do me a favor hit that little thumbs up, give us a like and subscribe. That way you’re notified every time a new episode comes out. Share this with somebody that you know needs to hear it. Let the encouraging word of the Lord go forth. Do your part. Do your part today. Share with somebody the word of God, share this podcast, but share If you learned something today that you can call somebody, text somebody, share with them encouragement.

Be the body of Christ, minister to one another. Get accountable to somebody. Get accountable to somebody. Get accountable to somebody and make this your goal list. Put it wherever you need to do and be looking at it and seeing it, and let the Lord stir it up in you continually by seeing Repetition. We talked about this one last week, but repetition and proximity matter. Do what you need to do, folks, the power’s in our hands. He has given us everything that we need for life and godliness, so we have what we need. You are not lacking anything that you need to make this happen today. Thanks again for tuning in today. We’ll see you again next week. Bye-bye for today.