With The Whole Heart

The Whole Hearted Life

“Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea,

I shall observe it with my whole heart.”

Psalm 119:34, KJV

The law kept with the whole heart not only obeys it, but does so, believing the worth of the law.

• The whole heart genuinely trusts the one making the law.
• A heart wholly devoted to the Lord rests in peace.
• Anything less than the whole results in uncertainty and eventually falters.

“And if a house be divided against itself,

that house cannot stand”—

nor can a heart.

(Scripture from Mark 3:25, KJV; The last four words are my thought.)

A divided heart is motivated by half an effort, half a conviction, and half the passion. It  ends in an empty result.

• A work done half-heartedly … Is a work not done.
• A word spoken half-heartedly … Should remain unspoken.
• A half-hearted love … is no love at all.

The Lord commands and deserves our whole hearted service.

“Now therefore fear the LORD,

and serve him in sincerity and in truth:

and put away the gods which your fathers

served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt;

and serve ye the LORD.

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD,

choose you this day whom ye will serve,

whether the gods which your fathers served  …

but as for me and my house,

we will serve the LORD.”

Joshua 24:14, 15, KJV

The whole heart serves the Lord—

• in sincerity and in truth;
• and the Lord alone, no others.
• He fills the heart with all that fills his heart;
• with a committed choice.

When Joshua presented Israel with the two choices, the people vowed to serve the Lord and him alone. But when they watched their neighbors, their hearts became divided. They spoke before searching their hearts. They spoke out of emotion not a heart wholly given to the Lord. Joshua told them as much. (See Joshua 24:14-28)

The whole hearted servant of the Lord speaks from the heart not just the lips.

“Be not rash with thy mouth,

and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God:

for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth:

therefore let thy words be few…

Better is it that thou shouldest not vow,

than that thou shouldest vow and not pay …

THIS PEOPLE DRAWETH NIGH UNTO ME WITH THEIR MOUTH,

AND HONOURETH ME WITH THEIR LIPS;

BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME.”  

Ecclesiastes 5:2,5;Matthew 15:8, KJV

The Lord does not accept a half-hearted work, a half-hearted commitment, nor a half-hearted love. We are:

• to offer our— “bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1b, KJV
• to heed Jesus’s words— “THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL, AND WITH ALL THY MIND.” Matthew 22:37, KJV

Salvation, justification, sanctification, glorification is a whole hearted work of the living Word of God born our of his whole hearted love for us.

“We love him, because he first loved us.”

1 John 4:19, KJV

It’s time to praise the Lord with our sacrifice of praise offered from a heart wholly devoted to him in love.

“I will praise thee, O LORD,

with my whole heart;

I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.

I will be glad and rejoice in thee:

I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.”

Psalm 9: 1-2, KJV

 There really is no half a heart. Let’s make our choice—all or nothing. Which will it be?

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Where is God?

Where is God?

In our last post, we witnessed the Lord God high and lifted up above the clouds, yet, near enough to walk with us through every trial and sorrow.

Ezekiel told the children of Israel, after being taken captive by a hostile nation, their hope of returning to Jerusalem, anytime soon, would not happen. The Lord God was not there anymore, and the city was finally destroyed.

Ezekiel did not leave the people hopeless. He told them there would be a time of returning and after relating the boundaries of the land and the rebuilding of the city, he said—

“and the name of the city from that day shall be,

The LORD is there.”

Ezekiel 48:35

Not only would the Lord free his captive people to return to Jerusalem, He would be there with them.

This was the first time the Lord spoke his name, Jehovah-shammah, The LORD is there, to his people, but it was not the first time He was there with his people. When the children of Israel fled from four hundred years of captivity to Egypt, the Lord was there.

“And the LORD went before them

by day in a pillar of a cloud,

to lead them the way:

and by night in a pillar of fire,

to give them light;

to go by day and night:

He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day,

nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.”

Exodus 13:21,22

The Lord called his people out of Egypt and was there with them when they left. He revealed his presence in the cloud and in the fire to assure them of his presence and show them the way.

When the Lord calls us out of the kingdom of darkness into his kingdom of light, He leads us out of the one and into the other where we will find him always there leading us in the way we should go. We, as his people, live under the Lord’s cloud. The cloud identified Israel as the Lord’s. His Holy Spirit is our cloud in us identifying us as our Lord’s.

When the sun shines bright, our skies fill with white fluffy clouds, and life is good—following the Lord is a breeze. It is easy to believe He is there with us. But when the night falls into our existence and we cannot see past our next step, we become fearful, afraid to take the next step. That is where the pillar of fire becomes our guide. We remember we are not alone. The Lord is there giving light to our path. We may not know exactly where He is taking us, but we know He is there leading us. He is our covering by day and our light in the darkness.

“And the LORD,

• he it is that doth go before thee;
• he will be with thee,
• he will not fail thee,
• neither forsake thee:

fear not, neither be dismayed …

And I will pray the Father,

and he shall give you another Comforter,

• that he may abide with you for ever;
• Even the Spirit of truth … ye know him;
• for he dwelleth with you,
• and shall be in you.
• I will not leave you comfortless:
• I will come to you …
• I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

So that we may boldly say,

THE LORD IS MY HELPER,

AND I WILL NOT FEAR WHAT MAN SHALL DO UNTO ME …

lo, I am with you alway,

even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

(Deuteronomy 31:8; John 15:16-18;Hebrews 13:5b,6; Matthew 28:20b)

Are you traveling secure, covered by the cloud of God or walking in a dark night where the way cannot be clearly seen? Whether the day or the darkness, take comfort, the Lord is there leading you in his way. He will not forsake you.