Saturday, June 27, 2015

A Decision of the Heart



From the CANON on this blog:

      How the worship of Baal breaks the Ten Commandments

1.    Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
 

Tyrants do not believe in the true God.  Their god is Tyranny.  They cause their subjects to worship and be dependent on them, rather than God.
 

10.     Thou shalt not covet.

This is what causes Tyrants and their subjects to violate all the other commandments.  The Tyrants covet, and their resulting actions cause their subjects to covet.

From today’s devotional:

The Christian life is, to put it simply, walking obediently with God. Obedience is so important to the Lord that Jesus made a point to model it His entire life on earth: "I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him" (John 8:28-29). Can you say the same?

The Lord’s desire isn’t simply to save us; He wants to live inside us to show the world who He is. God sent His Spirit to invigorate and inspire our lives—and also to empower us for His assignments. We can't succeed alone, but the Holy Spirit living within us enables our consistent obedience through the same power that raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 8:11).

We may stumble at times, but the important issue is which way our heart is bent. Is it inclined toward gratifying self or toward obeying God? Scripture shows us many heroes of our faith who were not always obedient, such as Moses, Sarah, Peter, and David. But God knew that David was a man after His own heart, and we also hear his heart-cry in the words he wrote: "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God" (Psalms 42:1). Do you have a yearning to obey God above all else, in every decision you make, no matter what? If so, you can be sure He will show you the way—the Lord always honors such hunger and thirst for Him.

Commentary

The important issue is which way our heart is bent. Is it inclined toward gratifying self or toward obeying God?

Can you say as David did, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God" (Psalms 42:1).

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