knolwedge – Praying Pint

151. And his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God,

1 Kings 15:1 Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah. He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father.

2 Chronicles 25:2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart.

2 Chronicles 31:20-21 Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.

When walking down the paths of; 1. And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God. 2. he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart. 3. seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered.

There are dangers we face that are self-induced and none so dangerous as not giving God our whole heart. When God does not get our whole heart then we get influenced and driven by our own sinful desires or those of others. When we separate our heart to serve other things more wholly than God we jump on a very wide deceiving path of influence, illusions, deception, false hopes, and fleeting satisfaction. Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” This is true in more than just money. If we try to manage our time with God in an attempt to satisfy both our self and God we most certainly will side with self. When that happens the word of God becomes less and less, serving Him becomes a burden, honoring Him becomes counterfeit, following Him becomes more of performing art than the desired walk, and obeying Him becomes at best a guess of what society deems ok. See what Peter says about slipping away from God and it’s the outcome: 2 Peter 1:3-10 “ His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble,”

Serving God half-hearted will lead to acceptance and tolerance of sin in our lives. It will rob us or true joy, peace, rest, hope, and faith.

20. Worthless men

Exodus 5:2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.

Psalms 10:4    In the pride of his face the wicked

Psalms 14:1   The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.

Proverbs 1:22    “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?

Romans 1:28    And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

1 Samuel 2:12    Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the LORD.

John 16:3     And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.

Jeremiah 44:16-17    “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you.

Isaiah 3:9    For the look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.

How we can read these scriptures and not wonder if anything at all has changed in the world we live. Culturally, socially, and educationally the door opens wider and wider to the gates of hell. Fear of God has been replaced with man’s own wisdom and denying God exists. Love for God has been replaced with love of self also in denial of God existing. Time in God’s word has been replaced with, well everything else that busies our lives and keeps us from thinking about humbly serving, honoring, glorifying, following and obeying God.

It is easy to get caught up in comparing ourselves to those who deny God and think we are better or not as bad. We think by comparison that we are made right in God’s eyes. By comparing what we do and say to those who deny God we end up thinking wrongly about a God honoring life. Comparison is easy. We don’t need to do anything more and can still feel good about ourselves. Instead of seeking God and desiring to know Him more and grow in understanding of Him, we sit idly by complacently thinking all is good.

How can we be light unto a dark world if the light of Jesus Christ is not humbly and thankful remembered each moment of everyday?

How can we be led by God if we neglect time in His word?

How can we grow in faith, love, patience, mercy, grace, peace, rest, and joy if we don’t know what precious promises are in His word?

How can we warn others of God’s judgement?

How can we tell others of the Good News of Jesus Christ?

The answer to each of these – be intentional in our daily commitment to seek and desire to honor God.

1 Wisdom and understanding beyond measure

Genesis 41:38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?

Numbers 27:18  So the LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.

Job 32:8  But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.

Daniel 5:11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers,

Job 35:11  who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’

Proverbs 2:6  For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

1 Kings 3:12  behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.

1 Kings 3:28  And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.

1 Kings 4:29  And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore,

Ecclesiastes 2:26  For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God.

1 Corinthians 2:10-12  these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.  For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

1 Corinthians 12:8  For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,

James 1:5  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Have you ever faced a problem and the solution was far from you? Can you remember a time when all your thinking came up blank on how to solve the problem. I can’t tell you how many times I have faced a problem head on, on my own, and without giving thought to God. These were times I thought I could handle it on my own. When I look back I recognize one facet of my life was constant, or should I say not constant. I was not seeking God daily, or spending daily time in His word, or intentionally wanting to honor, glorify, serve, follow and obey Him. I would like to say this period of my life was short lived. Not the case. I would have times or seeking and then fall back into very complacent times, neglectful times. These were times without the influence of Godly wisdom because I was not seeking it, did not think I needed, and was closed to even thinking about it.

Intentionally choosing, seeking, desiring, wanting to be close to God is a daily heart and mind battle of commitment. It requires repentance from the current way of living and commitment to God with all aspects of our daily life. Commitment to His word, Commitment to His leading, Commitment to listening, Commitment to being faithful, and Commitment to prayer. Soon Commitment becomes a God filled daily faithful habit. Our soul will thirst and hunger for Him. Our mind will think on His word. Our ears will listen for His quiet whispers. Our eyes will look for work of His mighty hand.

Humbly serving and following God is a daily commitment with daily rewards. Our life is filled with the indwelling, teaching, instructing, encouraging, strengthening, loving, warning, convicting, directing, leading, enlightening, and loving from the Holy Spirit of God, through whom we gain wisdom and understanding and knowledge.

Don’t try to face another day without being filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Don’t try to face a problem alone. Don’t try to find solution without His wisdom. God is willing and wanting to lead and direct and give wisdom and understanding to us if we give our whole heart, mind and soul commitment to Him.

Think about your commitment is it where you want it to be? If it is not, then repent and commit to God.

Ezekiel 36:25-27 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.. .