accepting and participating in the ways of the people around us

November 2, 2007

Dear Heavenly Father, Every time I read about Israel (including Judah) and its kings, the thing that strikes me is that You demand total obedience and worship and righteousness – before You. You will not share Your glory with other “gods” or things or persons! Oh dear God, the people of Israel keep accepting and participating in the ways of the people around them! And it seems to be so easy for us to do. Even though we might not “overtly” worship idols and stuff, we so easily accept all kinds of worldly ways that are clearly not honoring to You, according to Your word, and yet in a lot of cases we don’t even think about what we are doing… and if we do, we “justify” ourselves by saying we are “freed from the law” (but it says, “freed from the curse of the law”)… and that we will not live in legalism, just following a list of dos and don’ts.

But Lord, You seek after hearts that are totally dedicated to You, turned to You in humility and repentance… hearts that love You and truly worship You… in spirit and in truth. Then we will fulfill Your commands and principles… and we will fulfill Your great commands – which by the way, wrap up all Your other commands in them. You have replaced the “temple sacrifices” with the sacrifice of the shed blood of Jesus – but You still require our obedience in giving generously, and loving You and others ( in all our thoughts, attitudes, reactions, and actions!). And I do see that many of Your “laws” in the Old Testament were given for good, everyday reasons like good health, etc. Please, dear Lord, give me wisdom and understanding about these things, right down to their details.

And please, by the way, help me to eat healthy, exercise healthy, prioritize my life in a way that is healthy, yes, but also and most important, honoring to You. Lord, dear God, do You have a special word for me, for my heart today?

Thank You, Lord, for calming my mind and giving it rest and peace as I waited for You. Thank You for helping me tune out the busy voices in my head. Oh Lord, help me to hear Your voice as well! Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

(And I really want to get on with that study on the “Kingdom of God”! Lord, God, please, is it from You, or not?)