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The Chronicles Advice

 

There is a powerful verse in the Old Testament book that comes from a father to his son. You may have heard of these two men: King David and his son, Solomon. The time is coming for Solomon to be the next King and Dad has some advice for him as he is facing the daunting task of building the Temple.

This is what King David advised: 1 Chronicles 28:9-10, “And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. So take this seriously. The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work.”

That’s good advice. No, wait. That is great advice. No, maybe there is even a better way to say it. I know! It’s life-changing and sensational advice that we all want to embrace as a Christian. The fact remains that the life of a follower of Jesus is no easy task. Just as daunting as building a massive Temple compound with intricate details is our walk with Christ Jesus as Lord.

Notice David’s advice, up front, was learning to know God intimately. That’s deep! There are no “Sunday only” acknowledgements here. This is an every-day, all the time, every moment lifestyle of staying deep with God as Father.

That, above all, is the greatest of Commandments. Luke 10:27, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.’” A real Christian will live a sanctified life of intimacy with their Heavenly Father.

The next round of advice that sticks out to me is to not only to worship, but to serve God with our whole heart and a willing mind. Our God is not the “use as the last resort” God. He is not the “scraps and left over” deity. He is the always first, never last, agape-loving, grace-filled, mercy-rendering God who is worthy of our never-ending worship, love, obedience, and service. Always. No less.

Christians must stop living such below-standard, not-trying-very-hard, spiritual lives. Let’s be honest and just admit that many claiming Christianity as their “faith group” are so below the minimum qualifications that they are truly, religiously, bearing a false witness. That is no way to live as it is shameful, if not, heartbreaking.

Walking aimlessly without effort by drifting day to day is not the Christian way. You will never find those directions or commands in Scripture. What you will find are words such as “fight” and “sacrifice.” You’ll also find concepts such as obedience, repentance, holiness, self-control, giving, and fearlessness…just to name a few.

The key for me is David’s statement “with a willing mind.” You must choose to live a radically obedient and sanctified, holy life. Nobody will make you. Some may actually encourage you and possibly urge consistently, but in the end, it’s still your choice.

Just be advised that this involves the issue of making the effort. You have to honestly and passionately choose to live this way. I am not saying “give it a shot and see if it works.” Half-hearted effort is no effort at all. Taking a shot at it is no different than taking no shot at all. Again, you will never find in Scripture the permission to “just take a stab at it and do the best you can.”

So, take David’s final statement to heart: “Be strong and do the work.” Take your faith seriously and work hard at it. Worship with passion. Dig deep into Scripture and learn the truths of God’s Word. Love your neighbor and serve, give, evangelize. Reconcile each day in confession and repentance of sin. Spend large amounts of time alone with God in conversation and prayer. Take Jesus with you everywhere you go and keep Him with you no matter where you are or what you are doing.

David’s words to Solomon are words to us today. Heed them. Live them.

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