An Upright Heart

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KJB Daily DevotionFollowing Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Monday, May 14, 2018
Chapters: I Chronicles 20, Psalms 32, 86, & 122
Message: An Upright Heart

Hello My Friend,

God has laid it upon my heart to do something for Him that is going to disappoint my pastor, but I believe it is something He is leading me to. No, I am not quitting my service to God, if anything, I am trying to do what He has placed on my heart for years, that is, if I can get the pastor to agree to it. I wish I could say that my heart has always been into serving God, but have to admit that it has not been. The funny thing, I find that when my heart is right about something that God has called me to do for Him, everything else I do gets blessed, but when it is not I lose out on things. Of course, believe it or not, people can hinder us from doing what God has called us to do, yet everything we do for His is really in His time. I have not felt this passionate about doing something for God in the church for a long time, so, it must be something that He really wants for me. Now, for the hard part, talking to the pastor about it, but I know that if God called me to it than He will see me through it. “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:” – Ephesians 4:4-6,11-12.

I truly believe that the reason one falls into sin in the first place is because their heart is not right. For years I struggled with my finances, the guy that I was in bondage to, and my health, and no matter what I tried nothing changed, that made my heart weary. I know if I had continued down that path, who knows where I would be, but like I always say, God will not let us fall completely. Yes, He let me dangle there on the edge until I got my heart right, and I made some foolish decisions, but He kept me from falling away from Him. When David sinned with Bathsheba his heart was not right, we saw that because Nathan was the one who had to tell him that God knew what he had done. Now, after all that came to pass and he got his heart right with God, and was reminded of just how merciful He is when we confess our sins.

I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.” – Psalm 32:5-11.

all ye that are upright in heart.” Upright; Honest; just; not deviating from correct moral principles. When our heart is upright we do not want to do things that are immoral, but all it takes is for us to fall into sin is take our eyes off God for a second. However, God truly is merciful and will forgive every one of our sins when we get our heart right. The funny thing, God used some strange situations to get my heart right and helped me through each and every one of those struggles. While I am not doing what I really want to be doing as a career, I am blessed with jobs to provide for me, the chain was finally broken with that guy, and I am healthier than I was this time last year. Every now and then I feel as though I struggle because of the decisions I made from my past, you know, we may be forgiven for our sins, but that does not mean we will not face repercussions for them. However, just like God takes care of us when we are being chastised for the things we have not done, He takes care of us when He is chastening us for our sins. I believe this because, just as Nathan told David that the sword would never depart from him until he dies, Israel was at constant war. However, God was with him, and helped him defeat every one of them.

And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Sippai, that was of the children of the giant: and they were subdued. And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver’s beam. And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot: and he also was the son of the giant. But when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David’s brother slew him. These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.” – I Chronicles 20:4-8.

and they fell by the hand of David,” While God will judge the sins of His people, He will not leave them in the hands of their enemy, this is the power of His mercy. God’s hand in all that we do, even if we have messed up, His assistance will help us overcome all the swords that we are struck with, and then when the time is right He will put an end to the chastening, and it will not be when He takes us home to heaven. David reminds us of this.

Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them. But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid. Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.” – Psalm 86:11-17.

hast holpen me, and comforted me.” Holpen; helped. Do you think that God wants His people to live in misery and be tortured all their days on the earth for their sins? He does not, and while it may seem that we are punished the rest of our lives for our sins, we must not forget that we are forgiven, and there is an expected end. Yes, everything that God warned David about came to pass regarding one of his own overthrowing him, but when David became truly remorseful and understood that it was from God God changed it all around. If you did not know any better you could swear that it is actually Jesus speaking through this Psalm. This is spoken of God after those who actually listen to what is said, stop whatever they are doing and cry out to Him. No one that calls out to God is ignored, that is what His mercy is all about. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:11-13.

when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” There is that key again, “Search me with all your heart.” When our heart is right with God we are truly remorseful and start to see His blessings again. We are going to mess up, we are going to get chastened sometimes, but if we belong to Christ then we belong to God, and nothing can separate us from Him. “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38-39

Jesus Christ Magnified: “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” – Psalm 32:8.

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for Your mercy, no matter what I do or how many times I fail You You still love me and are merciful to me. I know that my heart is not always on You completely, life has a way of making that happen, but I know that You can change my heart because You have and still do. Just as I was talking about my failures You reminded me that You already got me through it, that I am forgiven, and the chastening is over. Lord, I do want to live a life that is pleasing to You, open my heart, remove anything that keeps me from wanting to do the things You call me to do, fill me with Your grace, never let it depart from me. Lead me and guide me, teach me Your will for my life and help me to walk in Your truths. In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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