Skip to main content

A Spiritual Life

            I do not know anyone who wants to just go to church.  Church services, even the very best of them, are not really worth our time if they are not accompanied by life-changing faith.
            The question, though, is “How do we find that ‘deeper faith’?” 
            In 1 Chronicles 28, King David gives his son Solomon some advice as he prepares to pass on both his kingdom and his faith.  Maybe these thoughts will help us.
            "So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever. And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you” (verses 8-9).
            First, David tells Solomon to follow the commands.  It is interesting that he does not tell Solomon to "know the commands” (he already knows them).  Instead, he tells him to "Do something”.   Too often, churches get caught up in talking and discussing instead of doing.  Knowing what to do is the easy part.  The real question is “What are you doing?”
            Secondly, Solomon is told to acknowledge God.  The point here is that he needs to know the "Real God".  If we are not careful, it is easy to create a God that makes us comfortable and who never asks us to do anything that is difficult or demanding.  It would do us well to remember that we are here to serve God, not the other way around.  If we get to know the real God, we will be challenged at every turn because he is more concerned about our holiness than our selfish desires. Knowing the “Real God” will be more demanding, but also more rewarding.
            Lastly, note the phrases "wholehearted devotion", "willing mind" and “seek him”.  For faith to mean anything, it has to be a heart-level, life changing thing.  Attending church is not the same thing as “having faith” simply because it does not produce the same results.  Too often people settle for a religious event when God is calling us to a life-changing experience.
            Faith has the power to change both this life and eternity. All these blessings and many more will be ours in abundance when our faith is “the thing” and not just “another thing”.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

 What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly.  https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s    
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This.... Which Way Are You Leaning?

   When Ben Patterson agreed to join three friends climbing Mount Lyell, the highest point in Yosemite National Park, he did not realize what he was signing up for.  Early in the day, it became clear that he was completely unprepared for the task.  In an effort to keep up with his more experienced friends, Ben took a shortcut.  It did not occur to him that there might be a reason the others had not selected this route, but he soon found out why.  Ben became stuck on the glacier.  He could not move up, down or sideways and one wrong move would send him sliding down a forty-five-degree slope to the valley floor miles below.   That is when one of his friends came to the rescue. His buddy leaned over the edge and carved some footholds in the ice.  He told Ben to step to the first foothold and immediately swing his other foot to the second, then his buddy would pull him to safety.  Lastly, his friend gave him one more piece of advice....
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This: Press The Button!

  Consider This:  Press the Button! My favourite TV game show is Jeopardy.  I used to like it even more when my kids were younger, because I could easily beat them and look smart.  These days, after they have grown up and gone to university, it is much more difficult.  However, Jeopardy is still the only game show I will watch. In a book I read, a contestant who did very well on the show shared the secret to his success.  He said (and I am paraphrasing here), “You must press the button before you know the answer.  Everyone on Jeopardy is smart. Everyone knows the answer. The key to winning is to act.  You must jump in and press the button, assuming that your brain will catch up and supply the answer.  If you wait until you are sure, you will be too late!” Press the button! Too often, we hesitate, not because we do not know what to do, but because we do not want to do it.  Sometimes, we fail to act because we are not sure how the situatio...
Post a Comment
Read more