GOD DEMANDS OUR HEART RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY MARCH 03, 2023.

SUBJECT : GOD DEMANDS OUR HEART RELATIONSHIP WITH  HIM!

Memory verse: "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God." (Psalm 42 vs  1.)

READ: Exodus 33 vs 8 - 11:

33:8: So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. 

33:9: And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses.

33:10: All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each one in his tent door.

33:11: So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend...

INTIMATION:

A wise person once said, "When God measures you, He puts the tape around your heart, not your head." So how is your heart doing for God? Our memory verse indicates the heart relationship of David, the man God testified thus, "a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will." ( Acts 13 vs 22.) How is your heart relationship with God? In the passage we read today, Moses had such heart relationship with God, that he enjoyed the presence of God most times. God spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. 

Throughout our lives, we look for those rare individuals with whom we feel relaxed and comfortable and can share our heart and our secrets and know they will not betray us, who will always be there for us, and in whom we can have confidence. These are individuals we can respect and who in turn admire us and want us to be successful.

God wants to be in the aforesaid type of relationship with us, and He is even better than any earthly companion. For God is a perfect companion: the One who knows the road we are traveling on and all of the problems that lie ahead; the One who can give us dependable advice; the One who wants to share our lives with Him and will not put us down when we stumble; the One who will never desert us if we fail or do not live up to His standards. He accepts us just as we are, wants to be with us forever, is able to help us be all that we can be, and can enable us either to avoid or overcome every obstacle or problem in our lives.

Heart relationship can best be explained through a human illustration. Some children grow up in families where their father is a strong disciplinarian. They obey because they do not want to suffer the wrath of their father. Although they may even respect their father and his accomplishments, but they don’t want to do with him on a personal basis. It is not unusual for such children to dread the return of their father in the evening. As adults they spend as little time with him as possible. There is a physical relationship with obedience, but not the close heart relationship. Fear and mistrust are barriers to their ever being close.

On the other hand, some have fathers who have definite standards and rules to obey, but the relationship is one of love and respect. They are excited when Dad walks through the door at night. They love the weekends because Dad can be with them and they do fun things together. Such children obey because they love and trust their father, not because they fear him or the consequences of their disobedience. 

In our relationship with God we can respond and obey either out of love or out of fear.

When we realize God's desire to be our Faithful Companion in our relationship, we find Him less an authority figure and more a desirable companion Who is no less in charge in our lives. We now realize He is on our side, how much He wants the best for us and how absolutely dependable He is. The inborn unhealthy fear of God that stems from our sin nature, and is often stirred up by the enemy of our souls, is weakening as we are getting a clearer picture of who He really is.

Unfortunately many people never really seek Him with all their hearts. They are content to learn as a child would. That is, learning and following rules in order to avoid big problems, but not as willing to spend any great period of time with the Lord in the free time they have. There is little delight in the relationship, only obedience out of necessity. They have salvation from penalty of sin, but they will enter heaven "through the flames" (First Corinthians 3 vs 15). They have yet to cross that line of spiritual familial relationship into a deep or spiritual heart relationship.

First Corinthians 3 vs 15 states "If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." This means that good work will be rewarded; unfaithful or inferior work will be discounted. Though unfaithful workers will be saved, but like people escaping from a burning building, all their possessions (accomplishments) will be  lost. Those are the people Jesus Christ described as the least in the kingdom of God. 

Prayer: Abba Father, I desire You as my companion. Build in my heart Your steadfast Spirit, so as to follow and obey You in every aspect of my life. My utmost heart desire is an intimate relationship with You. But by my strength I can do nothing. Help me to accomplish this, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!