KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Chapters: I Kings 8, II Chronicles 5
Message: A Perfect Heart
Hello My Friend,
We talk a lot about Christ perfecting us or doing a great work in us as we start our walk with Him, but there is one thing that tends to slip our minds, especially when life comes into play, and that is having a perfect heart. We can be perfect in so many ways and things, but if our heart is not perfect we can forget about seeing Christ doing a great work in us. Thousands of people get saved every year, very few see Christ’s full potential in them because their heart is not perfect, we too lose out because our heart is not always perfect, but the more we all Him to do His perfect work in us the more He will shine through us. “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” – Hebrews 13:20-21.
Perfect; Finished, complete. Just like we are not complete until we know Christ as our Saviour, our heart is not complete until we let go of our pride and truly seek God’s presence in our lives. Now after the temple was complete it was time to bring the Ark to its final resting place. Solomon gathered the elders, priests, and Levites together and put the Ark and holy vessels in their place. The Ark, although it only contained the two stone tablets that God wrote the first ten commandments on, was a token of the presence of God, when the people saw the Ark they knew He was near. With praise, music, and singing all the people gathered together as one.
“Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims: And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.” – II Chronicles 5:6-7,11-14.
“as the trumpeters and singers were as one,” Do you see what happened here? It was not the presence of the Ark that caught God’s attention, it was their praising Him that did. You see, we can have and even read the Bible all day long, but unless we have a perfect heart for God we are not going to get His attention. I Kings 8 is one of those chapters where you can find something in every verse to write an entire devotion about, Solomon was is such awe that the only thing he could think of to do was get down on his knees and pray. He starts by reminding God of His promise to His father, but also knows how imperfect he and all of them were.
“Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me. And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day: That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.” – I Kings 8:25-30.
“and when thou hearest, forgive.” God knows when our prayers are from the heart, He will hear and forgive any transgression, any doubt, any fear, and any plea that we send Him when our heart is perfect. I admit, I have prayed when it did not mean anything and it was not until I poured my heart out completely that I felt God. We do not have to say a thousand word prayer to get God’s attention, we just need to talk to Him with a perfect heart. “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” – Mark 11:23-24.
Solomon continues his prayer, acknowledging that God had given Israel everything He has promised, He also pleads with God to be merciful to all, including those who are not of Israel, for all who call on Him and want Him to be a part of their lives.
“If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name’s sake; (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.” – I Kings 8:37-43.
“and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest;” Solomon knew all too well that there was only one God, that He looked upon the heart, and that His presence was not just contained in that small building, but in every perfect heart for the believer. Solomon goes on to ask the people to get their heart right.
“Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us: That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers. And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the LORD, be nigh unto the LORD our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require: That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else. Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.” – I Kings 8:56-61.
“Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God,” God knows our heart, whether the things we are asking are true and whether or not we really believe that He will give them to us. Prayer is a wonderful privilege given to us by God, through our faith in Jesus Christ, but all our prayers are worthless unless we have a perfect heart. Now, we can from time to time get out of the will of God, but out heart should never be a factor. Before asking of anything, may we all pray for God to open our hearts and eyes toward Him all day long. “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.” – I John 3:30-22.
Jesus Christ Magnified: Today Jesus is revealed as the one who dwells in the darkness. “The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.” – I Kings 8:12b. Jesus dwells and shines in our hearts through our darkest hour. “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” – II Corinthians 4:6.
Today’s Prayer: God, You have so much to give me, even more than what I ask for, but I often do not receive or even forfeit them because my heart is not perfect with You. Lord, open my heart, remove any doubts, fears, or pride that keeps if from trusting You completely. Help me to keep my eyes on You, stay in Your Word, and have patience to wait on Your timing for the things I am asking You for. Let me not forget all the things You have done already, even the little things that I forget to mention on a daily basis. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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