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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”.

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