Becoming a Christian is not a hard thing to do. Living as a Christian takes a lot of effort and commitment. We must guard our new heart to keep it pure for our God. Sometimes, we take a side road instead of staying on the path where God has led us. The people of Israel had a lot of problems with staying in God’s Way. In I Samuel 7:3, we read: “Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, THEN, put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hands of the Philistenesâ€.
God calls us to holiness, to right living. “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight. The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But He loves him who follows righteousness.â€Â Psalm 15:8-9. Even as God expects us to be holy, He gives us help to do this in the presence of the Holy Spirit. “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever…†John 14:16.
One of my frustrations is that my house won’t stay clean. I just finish washing dishes and as soon as I turn my back, there are more dirty dishes in the sink.  As soon as the laundry is washed, dried and folded, the hamper fills up with more dirty clothes. It often seems to be this way with my heart. I confess my sins and God makes my heart white as snow. It doesn’t stay empty for long. If I am not careful to keep my heart filled with the righteousness that the Holy Spirit gives me, I can have sin in my life. Psalm 51:10 says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within meâ€.
I think that this is why Paul exhorts us in I Corinthians 11:28 to “examine ourselves and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cupâ€. We need to do a checkup of the condition of our hearts before we partake of the bread and cup. If we find any wickedness, or evil, or unrighteousness, we should confess to God and accept his cleansing.
Have you had a heart checkup recently? I pray that your heart is right with God!
This is an old Gospel song:
HOW OFT DO WE HEAR SOME ONE TESTIFY, AND TELL OF A HOME FAR BEYOND THE SKY, BUT OH HOW THEY LIVE IS A SINFUL SHAME, THEY’LL STAND IN THE JUDGMENT WITH GUILT AND BLAME.
CHORUS: OH IT DON’T MEAN A THING IF YOUR HEART’S NOT RIGHT, IT WILL NO GLADNESS BRING IF YOU’RE NOT IN THE LIGHT. YOU CAN SING AND TESTIFY BUT BE LOST WHEN YOU DIE. CAUSE IT DON’T MEAN A THING IF YOUR HEARTS NOT RIGHT.