June 11

1kings 8:1-66;acts 7:51-8:13;psalm 129:1-8;proverbs 17:1

May the Lord our God be with us...may He not leave us or forsake us, that He may incline our hearts to Him, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His precepts...that all the earth's people may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. Let your hearts therefore be blameless and wholly true to the Lord our God...

I love the Word of the Lord. There's so much richness in these words. First of all, our God is huge. But for His grace, His love, we would not incline our hearts unto Him nor would we walk in His ways. I think often of the line a friend used to say, "But for the grace of God there go I." In other words, know that it's the Lord who keeps your heart close to His instead of allowing your feet to go astray in any particular area of your life. One of my daughters loves many worldly things. I pray for her heart to be inclined unto God's, and I watch God answer and do just that as the song of the Lord takes over her mind and mouth. It's beautiful to hear and watch. He ever so gently and lovingly draws her attention to Him. We are wholly dependent on Him and not capable of walking in His ways without His help. Second of all, our God is huge! He isn't just after your heart and mine. He's after the world. And it's our job, our privilege, to walk with the Lord in a manner that makes the world take notice that we serve a Mighty God who is Great and Loving and like no other. Again as we yield to Him, He makes that possible in our lives. We never accomplish such tasks on our own accord.

Because God is huge and because He is great and loving and because He's after a world of lost people living in darkness, He compells us to maintain blameless, loyal, wholly devoted hearts to Him. I'm reminded of one of my favorite Scriptures to read to my kids - Phillipians 2:14-16. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life... If we are to walk blameless and pure before the Lord and the world, we must know the Word and speak it out instead of our own vain ideas and complaints. God's Word is life! We must take our eyes off ourselves and our circumstances and put them on Him all the while He is helping us to do so.

May the Lord God incline our hearts to His heart today, and may He lead us to walk in His ways and to speak His Truth and hold out the Word of Life that others may see and hear and know that the Lord is God and there is NO other. Amen.

Blessings,
Rolanda