Skip to main content

A Heart in Love With God!!!

It's interesting to me when I see how some of us work so hard at trying to serve our churches in so many ways, and still retain a bitter attitude, or a closed heart. We even strive to serve God in various ways, hoping that our service to Him will somehow cause Him to overlook our other worldly or sinful activities. Scripture teaches us that no amount of activity for God will ever take the place of a heart that is right with Him.

"For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." Hosea 6:6

Throughout the ages, God's people have been deceived into thinking that they could please Him through their service and their offerings, regardless of their heart condition. Some examples from Scripture would be when King Saul offered generous sacrifices, hoping God would overlook his disobedience (1 Samuel 15:22-23). Maybe David assumed that after all he had done on God's behalf, God would overlook his sin (2 Samuel 12:7-15). A good one in the New Testament is when Ananias and Sapphira thought that their generous gift to the church would compensate for their deceit (Acts 5:1-11).

The truth is that we are all susceptible to the same misunderstanding as all of these people were. We can be deceived into assuming that God is more interested in our activity for Him than He is in the conditions of our heart. Paul wrote that even if he had faith to move mountains, gave all he had to feed the poor, and offered his body to burned for the sake of God, if his heart was not right with God, it would all be for nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). God has constantly made it clear that He will no be pacified by even the most generous offerings and zealous service if our hearts are not right with Him. (Micah 6:6-8). So, what's the point? No matter how much we do in God's service, regardless of how active we are in our church, no matter how good our reputation is in the Christian community, He will not overlook a sinful heart. That would be like bribing the police man out of a ticket or buying our way into heaven.

God's desire is that we devote ourselves to knowing Him and loving Him with all of our hearts. Three words come to mind----Confession, Repentance, Surrender! Knowing God, Loving God, and serving God starts with all three and continues with all three. Have you started today?

May God richly bless you today!! H Trent!

Comments

  1. Very well said Harold, We all need to focus our heart and sole's towards God first and then do service in the world because of our love and devotion of Jesus.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you very much Matt, I appreciate the encouragement, and, yes, we all need to focus on God first and then our service.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We Are Royal Priests!!!

If you are a Christian, you are a priest, chosen by God. As members of the royal priesthood we have constant access to the King. If there is ever a need in our life, we don't have to find an intermediary or enlist another priest in order to gain a hearing from the King. Our position as royal priests allows us direct access. This privilege describes our position as a priest. "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9. We need to also understand that priests also have a function. It is the responsibility of a priest to work within a priesthood. Scripture does not promote the practice of individual priests, each with a separate ministry. Priests are supposed to function together. (Lev. 9:1). An unbiblical sense of individualism can isolate us from functioning within God's royal priesthood as He intend...

Thinking About Calling Down Fire!?!

James and John were refered to as "the Sons of Thunder" in the Bible. When they discovered a Samaritan village that would not receive Jesus, they were fully prepared to call down fire to consume the entire community. "And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?" Luke 9:54. Maybe they felt that through such a show of power, the gospel message might be enhanced. The two brothers were willing to sacrifice the lives of the village in order to further the cause of the gospel. However, Jesus rebuked them! Later, the apostles heard that Samaria had responded to the gospel. Guess who was commissioned to go and help them receive the Holy Spirit? None other but Peter and John! It was God's purpose that the people not be destroyed but saved! God chose not to rain down fire on the village, but to shower it with His Holy Spirit! I wonder what w...

To Give or Not To Give!

  As a society in today's world, we are taught that money is everything.  We will spend 3/4 of our lives amassing money and things to make us comfortable for the last part of our lives. The Bible teaches us that, "Money is the root of all kinds of evil." 1 Timothy 6:10 NKJV.  It does not say that money it's self is evil, but that it can lead to evil. There is nothing wrong with having vast amounts of money, the question is, where is the heart in great fortune?  Where is the heart with little fortune? Today I want us to visit a passage of scripture that deals with fortune and where the heart is:   "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings.   You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.   Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you ...