A Devoted Heart
Son, the biggest struggles I’ve had in my life all stem from having a divided heart. I have loved God, and I have loved the world. I wish I could say that I’ve always loved God more, but the reality is, I often looked for a shortcut to anything that would bring relief in the moment. Hear me say this now, relief is not healing. Healing comes in Christ alone.
In the first days of the church in Acts, they experienced nothing short of amazing. Miracles were happening, needs were being met, generosity flowed, people outside the church had so much respect for how they were living, and everyday people were coming to faith in Jesus. Like I said, amazing! We have access to the same things they had, maybe even more. Good teaching from God’s word, fellowship with other believers, and a life-line connection to God through prayer. So, why aren’t we seeing what they were seeing? They had one more thing, a devoted heart.
Another way of saying a devoted heart is the idea that we would be wholehearted. The great enemy of devotion is division.
In the first days of the church in Acts, they experienced nothing short of amazing. Miracles were happening, needs were being met, generosity flowed, people outside the church had so much respect for how they were living, and everyday people were coming to faith in Jesus. Like I said, amazing! We have access to the same things they had, maybe even more. Good teaching from God’s word, fellowship with other believers, and a life-line connection to God through prayer. So, why aren’t we seeing what they were seeing? They had one more thing, a devoted heart.
Another way of saying a devoted heart is the idea that we would be wholehearted. The great enemy of devotion is division.
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If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
-James 1:5-8 (NLT)
-James 1:5-8 (NLT)
__________________________
To experience true joy, peace that defies reason, and a depth to life that is rare in this broken world, we can look to only one source. God moves freely when the path is made clear by a wholehearted devotion.
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