Wholehearted

"This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul." -Deuteronomy 26.16

Following God is not easy, and it is not for the faint of heart. The commands that God has given are calls to holiness and righteousness. God has set His standards out before us, and as sinful humans it is impossible for us to live up to them. Jesus came to earth as a baby, grew up modeling how God would live life as a human, and then died and rose again to make it possible. God has done so much to bring His children back to Himself, and His children must be willing to do just as much.

Here Moses commands the people to follow God's commands with all their heart and soul. He knows that this is not something that they can do half-heartedly, and he also knows they are prone to wander from God. They must be careful to follow Him, and they must do it intentionally and whole heartedly. Without this mindset they can never live holy and righteous lives.

There is no place for cultural Christianity. There is no place for the Sunday morning Christian. If we would follow God it requires that we fully commit to it and jump in with both feet. This is not something that can be done ritualistically when we feel like it, it must consume us and be the very reason we live.

Men, do you wholeheartedly serve God? In the morning when you wake up is your first thought about getting alone with God and growing closer to Him so that you can live a more holy and righteous life? Throughout the day are striving to become more like Christ? Or is all of this simply a check list that you think results in heaven? I have said before, heaven is not the goal, it's the result. The goal is Christlikeness, and the result of becoming like Christ is heaven.

Let us be men, and as men, let us live fully for God. Let us desire Him more than anything else. Let that desire guide us to become more like Christ. And as we become more like Christ, may we live wholehearted lives of obedience to God's commands.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor