An Uncluttered & Focused Heart (Day 26)

“Set your hearts
on things above…
Set your minds
on things above,
not on earthly things.”
Colossians 3:1,2 (NIV84)

Continuing our focus on setting our hearts and minds on things above [Day 24, Day 25], let’s turn back to I Chronicles 29.

“I know, dear God, that You care nothing for the surface —You want us, our true selves —and so I have given from the heart, honestly and happily.
And now see all these people doing the same, giving freely, willingly —what a joy!
O God, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this generous spirit alive forever in these people always, keep their hearts set firmly in You.
And give my son Solomon an uncluttered and focused heart so that he can obey what You command, live by Your directions and counsel, and carry through with building The Temple for which I have provided,”
(I Chronicles 29:18-19, MSG).

We need God to give us uncluttered and focused hearts.

As David prayed for his son Solomon, we need uncluttered and focused hearts so we can:

Obey what God commands;

Live by God’s directions and counsel;

Carry through with building the temple.

What God Commands

What did Jesus say about commands?

"If you love Me,
keep My commands."

John 14:15 (NIV)

You don’t get more straightforward than that!

Do I love Jesus? Yes. Then keeping His commands is what I am to do.

What did Jesus command?

"This is My command:
Love each other."

John 15:17 (NIV)

Again, straightforward! Jesus commands us to love each other. In the context of John 15, He was addressing His disciples. If I love Jesus and I am keeping His commands, then loving my fellow disciples, my brothers & sisters in Christ, is what I do.

But is it what I actually do, day in and day out?

I Corinthians 13:4-6 Love Quick Check

“Love is patient and kind;
love does not envy or boast;
it is not arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrongdoing,
but rejoices with the truth,”
(ESV).

Paul’s famous passage tells us love is two things: patient and kind. This is the “test” I give my kids on a regular basis when sibling squabbles arise.

Do you love your brother or sister? Yes.
Have you been patient with him or her? Umm…
Have you been kind to him or her? No.

At that point they realize they have some work to do when it comes to loving their siblings!

Let’s ask ourselves…

Have I been patient toward others today?

Have I been kind to others today?

Obey What God Commands

¹²“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.
¹³Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
¹⁴For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
¹⁵What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
¹⁶Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
¹⁷But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,
¹⁸and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”
Romans 6:12-18 (ESV)

Romans 6:12-18 Obedience Quick Check

Am I presenting each part of myself to God to obey Him?
Have I submitted each part of my life to God?

My time?
My money?
My entertainment?
My relationships?

Is there any part of me that is going with the flow of

my feelings,
my opinions,
what others think or feel,
or the culture around me?

According to verse 16, we are either obeying sin or God’s commands.

The question is not, “Am I obedient?” The question is, “Am I obeying God or sin?”‘

Live by God’s Direction and Counsel

Flash Forward: A Summary of Living by God’s Direction from King Solomon Himself

“Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own; give Him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.
But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline; don’t sulk under His loving correction. It’s the child He loves that God corrects; a father’s delight is behind all this,”
Proverbs 3:5-12 (MSG).

Proverbs 3:5-12 Taking Direction Quick Check

Have I been trying to figure out something on my own?
Have I assumed knowledge I don’t actually possess?
Have I been giving God the first & the best of what I do have?
Have I been sulking about some of God’s “course corrections” in my life?

To Live by God’s Counsel, Embrace Wisdom

“I am Lady Wisdom, and I live next to Sanity; Knowledge and Discretion live just down the street.
The Fear-of-God means hating Evil, whose ways I hate with a passion— pride and arrogance and crooked talk.
Good counsel and common sense are my characteristics; I am both Insight and the Virtue to live it out.
With my help, leaders rule, and lawmakers legislate fairly;
With my help, governors govern, along with all in legitimate authority.
I love those who love me; those who look for me find me.
Wealth and Glory accompany me— also substantial Honor and a Good Name.
My benefits are worth more than a big salary, even a very big salary; the returns on me exceed any imaginable bonus.
You can find me on Righteous Road—that’s where I walk— at the intersection of Justice Avenue,
Handing out life to those who love me, filling their arms with life—armloads of life!”
Proverbs 8:12-21 (MSG)

Proverbs 8:12-21 Wisdom Quick Check

Do I use discretion: “the quality of having or showing discernment or good judgment;” “the quality of being discreet;” “circumspection;” “cautious reserve in speech?”

Do I hate evil, particularly pride, arrogance, and crooked talk… when it’s coming from me?

Have I been looking for godly wisdom, consulting God’s Word & wise Christian brothers & sisters rather than social media, popular opinion, or self-help books, articles, and podcasts?

Carry Through with Building the Temple

King Solomon did build a physical temple for the Lord. In our key Scripture from I Chronicles 29, David was praying in advance of this, prior to Solomon becoming king.

We also have a temple that is being built, that we are a part of AND part of building.

I Corinthians 6:19-20 refers to our individual body as a temple:

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body,”
(I Corinthians 6:19-20, ESV).

Paul says to “glorify God in your body.” This goes back to the idea from Romans 6:12: “Let not sin reign in your mortal body…”

God’s own Spirit inhabits each Christian (Romans 8:9); therefore, each of us is an individual temple.

II Corinthians 6:16-7:1 Individual Temple Quick Check

“But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way:

'I’ll live in them,
move into them;
I’ll be their God &
they’ll be My people.
So leave the
corruption
& compromise;
leave it for good,'
says God.

'Don’t link up
with those
who will pollute you.
I want you all
for Myself.
I’ll be a Father to you;
you’ll be sons &
daughters to Me.'
The Word of
the Master, God.

With promises like this to pull us on, dear friends, let’s make a clean break with everything that defiles or distracts us, both within and without. Let’s make our entire lives fit and holy temples for the worship of God.”
II Corinthians 6:16-7:1 (MSG)

Am I in any relationships that are “polluting” my life, including social media relationships?
What is distracting me from worshiping God?
With what or whom can I make a “clean break” in order to make glorifying God the primary focus of my life?

We are also “being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:19-22 (ESV)

“Do you not know and understand that you [the church] are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells [permanently] in you [collectively and individually]?
If anyone destroys the temple of God [corrupting it with false doctrine], God will destroy the destroyer; for the temple of God is holy (sacred), and that is what you are.”
I Corinthians 3:16-17 (AMP)

Ephesians 4:1-7 Collective Temple Quick Check

“…I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel.
I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands.
I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere.
And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.
You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly.
You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all.
Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.
But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift.”
Ephesians 4:1,2-7 (MSG)

What has God called me to do?
How has He called me to serve as part of the Body of Christ?
Am I “pouring myself out” in love for my brothers & sisters in Christ?
Am I “quick at mending fences” with others as far as it depends on me?
Do I feel “Oneness” with my fellow believers? Have I prayed for unity?
Is the Body of Christ a priority in my life, or are my individual concerns always taking precedence?

This post has been a long one! Thanks for hanging in there with me. Tomorrow we’ll review & pray together for uncluttered & focused hearts.