Christ Leads The Way

“Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’“ – 1 Kings 9:4-5

Hey, friends! I hope that you are doing well. Thank you for reading and showing me love and support. I love you back! And as always, I appreciate you!

God is so not like us. How true is the scripture that says that His thoughts are not our thoughts, nor our ways His ways (Isaiah 55:8). As humans, we can be quick to judge others based on one act in their lives. It can be easy to label a person for something or things that they’ve committed. We even, at times, find it hard to forgive ourselves for mistakes we’ve made. But, God is not like that.

Remember King David who committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed? Guess what God said about him after he had died. He exclaimed to Solomon that his father David “walked in integrity of heart and uprightness” (1King 9:4). Yes, that’s what He said. You see, committing adultery with Bathsheba and killing Uriah her husband was an obstacle on David’s journey with the Lord. And it was a grievous sin, too; David paid the consequences for his sin and lost the child that he had made with Bathsheba. Yet, he repented. And David continued to walk with God in integrity of heart and uprightness.

So what does that mean for us? It means that God does not characterize us by our mistakes in life. I am not my failures. I am not my mistakes. I am not my sins. And you are not yours, either. God doesn’t see us that way. He sees us as precious souls created in His image.

And when we repent of our sins and turn back to God, He acknowledges us and sees us as pure as His Son Jesus. Whatever we have done in this life, we have to give an accounting for it to God on that Day when we stand before Him. But thank God for the blood of Jesus that covers all sin and cleanses us from unrighteousness.

David committed some evil acts against God and others. However, they did not define Him as a man in God’s eyes. And the wrong that you’ve done in this life does not have to define you as a person, either. If we choose the way of God, to walk humbly and to live justly before His eyes, then He may just see us as a person after His own heart, like He saw David (Acts 13:22).

Listen, friends: Everybody has committed some wrong in this life, for we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). But there is hope for you and for me. That hope is Jesus Christ. If you will believe in Jesus as the Son of God, repent of your sins, confess that He is Lord, and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins, then you can have that hope. And you can walk in integrity of heart and uprightness before the Lord.

Don’t let your past determine your future. And don’t allow your mistakes, your failures, your misfortunes, or your sin to define who you are.

Let’s walk with God.

“Let your heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.” – 1 Kings 8:61

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