EMBRACING HONESTY. By Pastor Fernando

Scripture:
Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends. Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the Lord, and keep their promises even when it hurts.Those who lend money without charging interest, and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. Such people will stand firm forever.
Psalm 15

Observation:
King David understood the value of honesty in order to have a pleasing access into the presence of God. With the same breath, David mentions three things as the character traits of a man after God’s own heart--a blameless life, a righteous life and an honest life. His emphasis on honesty in this psalm is remarkable. A man that walks in the presence of God speaks the truth from a sincere heart. They use their words carefully and avoid gossip, judging, or evil conversations. Also they are faithful to their word and keep their promises even when its painful or inconvenient. They neither hide nor protect themselves with lies or masks. They are honest in all their dealings and they cannot be persuaded with money or power. Because their strength in character, God rewards honest people with more of His presence in their lives.

Application:
If we want the fullness of the presence of the Lord in our lives, we must embrace honesty in all levels of our heart. Honesty is one of the godly character marks that is very easy to compromise in the world we live. Since for many people the truth is relative, many people think they are honest to what they hold true. Their false honesty is based on a false premise and crumbles. Honesty is only honesty when it’s rooted in the truth of God’s principles. And honesty is developed and displayed the most in our conversations! If our hearts are sincere, we will speak the truth in a constructive and encouraging way. Honesty never gossips, nor harms viciously, nor highlights evil above the good. Honesty brings honor and cannot be compromised.

Character development without honesty is destined to fail. We must engage in a consistent and intentional pursuit of honesty in all our conversations and dealings. Brotherly love and sincere affection can only come when we are willing to speak the truth in love. Our skilled words should bring healing and encouragement. We will honor people with our words when they are present the same way than when they are absent. Our words will be the same at all times. Honesty will help us to be skilled spokesmen for the Lord. We must be willing to champion for honesty in our lives. We must fight for the truth, even if we must fight against ourselves. We must honor our promises, do as we say, and put all selfish motives away when embracing honesty. In this way, we will walk into the very presence of God in a way we have never experienced before.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, let me embrace honesty with passion and diligence. Let me speak with a strong conviction about the purity of my motives, the integrity of my heart, and the sincerity of my love for people. Please remove any human tendency in me to speak hurtful words, lies, exaggerations, or any comment that puts others down. Help me to have integrity towards the absent, to speak the same when they are present or when they are not around. Let me be a champion for honesty. Let me be transparent with my words and help me to honor my promises, even when they are hard to fulfill. As I develop more honesty in my life, please fill me with your presence and bring me closer to you! Amen!