WHOLEHEARTED DEVOTION
The Bible warns against being a lukewarm Christian. Not being hot or not being cold deceives the mind into thinking all is well. In between is not good. To just go through the motions of Christianity without wholehearted devotion to Jesus Christ is dangerous; trying to live up to religious expectations does not make a true disciple either. What’s vital here is giving God our “all.” Remember, life is not divided into secular or sacred. God wants all of me. All of you. Let’s see what the Bible has to say about this wholehearted devotion to Jesus Christ.
Read Mark 12:30
1. How are we commanded to love the Lord?
Read Deuteronomy 30:1-3
2. What else are we to do wholeheartedly in verse 2?
Read Ephesians 6:7-8
3. What does it mean to serve wholeheartedly?
Read Joshua 22:5
4. List the commands Moses gave to the people.
Read I Kings 11:1-6
5. What happened when King Solomon’s heart was not fully devoted to the Lord?
We’ve learned it’s important to obey God with all of our heart. King Solomon was the wisest king that ever lived, but he disobeyed God. We read in I Kings 11 that he ignored God’s command regarding intermarriage. Solomon married 700 foreign wives. He also had 300 concubines. God had given this command because He knew foreign wives would lead his people astray. Solomon’s wives actually turned his heart to worship false gods. Scripture says Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord because he did not follow Him completely. I believe this is a warning for us. Don’t be lukewarm. Don’t be halfhearted. Don’t divide life up into the secular or sacred. Don’t make up your own rules. Love, walk, obey, hold fast and serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Stop right now to check your spiritual temperature. Make sure God has all of you…it’s vital!
I love this important reminders, Karen. Thank you!
So glad you joined in, Paula! We all need reminders!
from Orlando, Florida.
We are commanded to love the LORD with all our heart and with all our Soul and with our entire mind and with all our strength – We must honor the first commandment of GOD – we must give GOD all of us. We must all OBEY HIS voice – our lives and our children’s with all of our hearts and with all our souls – Why would we not want to give back all of our lives to the LORD who made us – keeps us – heals us – loves us? We are to do all things to other people as coming from the LORD himself – We always get the greatest rewards from the LORD when you and I do HIS will in our lives. Wholeheartedly means to give everything until the LORD – DO NOT hold back – the LORDS rewards are so wonderful.
LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD.
WALK IN THE LORDS WAYS.
KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS.
CLEAVE UNTO HIM – HOLD ON TIGHT AND DO NOT LET GO.
SERVE HIM WITH ALL OUR HEARTS AND SOULS.
Well – King Solomon went after the things of this world and lost his sight on the things of the LORD – his many women led him away – far away from GOD – He was not after the LORD or HIS things any more – that is the way the DEVIL gets into lives today – we must stay in the Bible – GOD’S word every day – Prayer – and doing good things for others. Command because He knew foreign wives would lead his people astray. Solomon’s wives actually turned his heart to worship false gods. Scripture says Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord because he did not follow Him completely. I believe this is a warning for us. Don’t be lukewarm. Don’t be halfhearted.
Love, walk, obey, hold fast and serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love – LOVE – Love these words and comment – we all must do this in our lives each day. Thanks – Karen – wonderful Lesson.
I love how you explained wholehearted as giving everything unto The Lord, Odella.
You said do not hold back, too! Thanks for that godly wisdom!
Great lesson! I loved the story of King Solomon. What touched my heart was that even in his open defiance to God, God didn’t strip him of his throne right then. Because of his father David’s love & faithfulness to God, King Solomon got yo reap the favor of The Lord on his life also. It made me very thankful that I am a 4th generation Christian & that my children are 5th generation Christians! What a wonderful, merciful God we serve! As soon as I finished this lesson the song by Jeremy Camp was playing through my mind. “What a wonderful maker.” Thank you Karen for another great reminder that we are to surrender everything to Christ & to live every aspect of our lives with Him as our focus & guide!
Thanks for bringing out God’s love and faithfulness to David as He dealt with his son, Solomon. God does keep His covenant promises, just like you said, Teresa. You also are reaping the benefits of godly grandparents and parents who paved the way for you and your family today. What a great privilege to know that the Lord blesses the righteous for a thousand generations. I love that we can claim those promises for ourselves. My favorite covenant promise is in Isaiah 59 that says the Spirit that is on us and the words that He put in our mouths will not depart from our mouths or the mouths of our children or descendants says the Lord. Thanks for bringing up that point.
Karen, I love what you said: “Don’t make up your own rules.” That’s something I’ve toyed with in my walk more than once. Thankfully, I serve a God who disciplines me because He loves me. Trying to make up our own rules as we go can be a dangerous and deceiving mistake. But in the end, God’s plan is ALWAYS the best. Nothing added…nothing taken away. I don’t work outside the home. I honestly try to apply Ephesians 6:7-8, taking joy in my daily chores as I clean the house, grocery shop, plan & make meals, do the laundry, run the kids here, there & everywhere, etc. It can become mundane and cause me to feel unimportant at times. But I try to keep the mindset that in serving my family, I am serving the Lord. I have worked outside the home for many years, and I have also worked IN my home with an in-home business for 8 years (10 hour days daycare, 5 days/week)…and now I am working in my home for my family. To me, this is my reward for trying in earnest to keep God vital in my life: He has given me the desires of my heart…to be a stay-home mom & wife PERIOD. And I am well aware that it is because of this that I am able to have quiet time every morning to sit with the Lord however long I choose instead of being rushed around by schedules trying to find the time to squeeze Him in. I have been blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
Being a stay-at-home mom is a great blessing, Tara. Not all women can choose to do so, but I love how you recognize the value of serving your family. Also love how you said it’s a reward from God and helps you to keep Him vital in your life. I was also blessed by being able to stay home with my kids; but no matter if we work outside the home or not, it’s a daily discipline to spend time in the Word and prayer. You have learned you must have that time with the Lord in the morning and you do your work at home as if you were serving the Lord. That’s beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
Good devotion. Just because King Solomon was the wisest man didn’t mean he was perfect and his sin of marrying foreigners caused him to do evil in the sight of the Lord. You would have thought he would have been wise enough not to marry them.
You’re right Marisol. It’s true his wisdom didn’t keep him from sinning. He disobeyed God and suffered the consequences. A good warning for today.