Serve The Lord With All Your Heart

           1 Samuel 12:20-22 quoted below tell us to “Fear not…”  yet, we are a people of vanity and we show NO Fear of the Lord.   That is, our lives show we are a worthless people.  We claim God through His Son Jesus, like the modern and historical Jews, yet, He is not important to us as Christians, and certainly not to the world.

            God pleads with us time and time again to repent from our wickedness. He asks us to get back to our Jesus and love and concern ourselves about Him.  God asks us to turn away from the vain things, (the things in our life we apply importance to,) yet they are vain (worthless of no value) to God.  He tells us we will not profit from these things, yet we follow them.  

            What is the good of a barn full of goods, when God calls us home?  Pride is the seat of our vanity.  We are so proud of our things, yet, God says they are vain.  We may gain with a “full” large barn, but what about the reward we expect at Christ’s judgment seat.

(Matthew 6:19-21)  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal  20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  

              God knows where our hearts are, what He wants us to know is, “Do we know where our hearts reside?”

            Knowing where our hearts reside will give us a start in our repentance, the changing of our ways, ridding ourselves of the vain things of life,  learning to please God, learning to serve Him, and learning to obey our Lord Jesus.  We are a naturally stiff-necked people, resistant to change, and resistant to being told we are wrong.

            Yet, God is pleased we are His people.  He will never forsake us. We have left God behind, behind all those “things.”  If we will turn from them, God will bless us.  Serve Him with all your heart.

Bro John R. E Chastain

1 Samuel 12:20-22  And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart;  (21)  And turn ye not aside: forthen should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.  (22)  For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.