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A heart divided
2 Chronicles 25:1-3 tells us that Amaziah was 25 years old when he began to reign and he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart.
When King Saul disobeyed the Lord’s instructions through Samuel because he felt under pressure and wanted to make the people happy, Samuel thundered in 1 Samuel 15:22, "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,”
What God loves is a united heart, an undivided heart, a whole heart. In 1 Chronicles 28:9 King David said, “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought.”
In Psalm 86:12 David said, “I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.”
In Psalm 119:2 the psalmist said, “Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart” and in verse 10, “With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!”
In Jeremiah 3:10 God said, with a broken heart, that Israel’s sister Judah “did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense.”
Then in anticipation of a glorious future, God said in Jeremiah 24:7, “I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.”
The Scriptures are clear. God loves for us to worship and love Him with an undivided heart. Lukewarmness and half-heartedness destroy God’s wonderful plans and intentions for our lives. Allowing our hearts to be divided, trying to live in two worlds at the same time is an impossible goal and choosing who we will serve is the most important decision we can ever make.
Reflection: Jesus knows your heart, and He wants you to know Him and rejoice over His presence in your life. Here's how! Romans 12:1-2, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers (and sisters!), in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."
About this Plan
Half-hearted, lazy, who cares? Don’t you hate that attitude? Jesus hates it more, as He declared in Revelation 3:16; but how easily we fall into the deception that makes Him want to vomit us out of His mouth! Let’s look at ways we become lukewarm without realizing it, and how to move with our whole hearts into the joy and security of knowing and being known by Him.
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