For a real Christian, Christ isn't just part of your life, He's ALL of your life! Our lives should never be compartmentalized--having our relationship to Christ in one compartment and the rest of our life as another compartment. Christ is either who you are--or He's not!
The difference between involvement and commitment is like a ham and eggs breakfast: the chicken was involved-–but the pig was committed!
John 4:24 "God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."
Proverbs 20:10-11 "Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the Lord. Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right."
I've been reading through the book of Proverbs for my devotions the last several days. God brings up "divers weights" and "divers measures" several times. He hates them…why? because they are not true; they are a lie. Interesting, if you notice what the next verse refers to: "Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right." The two thoughts are connected with this thought: that all that we do should be with a pure and right motive, that we do it with all of our heart, not just half of our heart.
God desires truth in the inner parts. He desires a whole-heartedness in our worship, and with all dealings with Him [with every part of our life really].
I love the book of James. He is just so practical. God is practical! The whole book of James is about putting our faith to action, and in all practicality, just being real with our Christianity. In the first few verses of the book, it is speaking about trials and temptations, and when they come our way, that we're to allow patience to have its perfect work that we might grow and mature in Christ. But a little further down in James 1:6 it says, "but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." In other words, if his faith isn't strong and sure (if it isn't true and pure), then he's just going to waver and be tossed about with no stronghold. James 1:8 goes on to say, "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." Wow! If that doesn't speak volumes!! Ya can't be wavering about with an unsure, unstable faith; that only gets you tossed out somewhere along the roadside! "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." (Eph. 6:10) It has been said that "faith will dispel fear or fear will dispel faith." How strong and true is your faith, Christian?
It's interesting, too, reading through the book of Proverbs how many times the word "heart" comes up. Look at Proverbs 3 for example: in the first five verses alone, heart is mentioned three times. 3:1 "let thine heart keep my commandments." 3:3 "let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart." [notice that word "truth" again! but interesting, too, how many times "mercy and truth" are found together…might be for a good study sometime!] 3:5-6 "trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." God's direction--God's blessing--goes to those that truly put their trust in Him.
My point here though is that God desires whole-heartedness. He desires your complete heart in everything you do. Think for moment: when God saves us, there MUST be a heart change. His Word demands it! [2 Corinthians 5:17] No, that doesn't mean we instantly become a new creation-- but it DOES mean that God is at work in you, changing you…and that change comes from the inside out.
I have really only scratched the surface, but it would be interesting to do a word study on the subject "heart." There's a lot that God has to say about it. Let me close with this well-known thought and verse: Matthew 22:37 says, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."
May our hearts be true,
wholly given to the Lord
Merle
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