| A Heart
Prepared for God An essential part of
doing anything that is significant in our lives is preparation. We often set aside time and resources to
prepare for many of the things that are important to us. Serving God is one of the most important
things we will do and preparing a heart to search His word and then put it
into practice is essential to our faith.
Ezra is a great example ofsomeone who did just that. Ezra 7:10 shows
us just what he was willing to do as a man that God could use for His divine
purpose. In the bible, both young and
old, experienced and beginners are encouraged in preparing their hearts.
(Ecc. 12:1, Eph. 6:4, Rom. 10:10, Prov.23:6-8, Matt.12:34-35) I. How to Prepare our Heart a.Recognize our heart is like soil (Matt.
13:3-9, 18-23) b.Put aside the things
of this world and immorality
i.Rehoboam (2 Chron. 12:14) ii.Thessalonians
(2 Thess. 2:10-12) c.Delight on the
Law of the Lord ( Psalm 1:2, Phil.4:8, Prov.4:23) d.Understand the war between the physical
and the spiritual (Rom.7:22-23, 8:5-9, Gal. 5:16-18, 22-23) II.Why Prepare our Heart a.To search God’s Law ( 2 Tim.2:15) i.An attitude of seeking is what God wants
( Matt. 7:7) ii.It builds the
necessary faith ( Heb. 11:6) b.To do
the will of God (Matt. 7:21-27, James 1:22-25) c.To be able to teach the others God’s
plan i.Remember Ezra’s example (Ez.
7:11, 25) ii.We should become good
teachers, moving God’s plan forward (Heb. 5:12-14, 2 Tim. 2:2) A life dedicated to God is the most
important priority we can have.
Setting our mind and heart to that task is the challenge that is
before us. (Col.3:2) How we prepare
and the time we give to doing so, will certainly affect our faith and help
our conviction remain strong. Let’s be like Ezra and prepare our heart to
seek the law of the Lord, becoming a shining light for the glory of our
God! |
