June 18, 2001
For when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to them,
I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices,
but I gave them this command:
Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people.
Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you.
But they did not listen or pay attention;
instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts.
They went backward and not forward.
Jeremiah 7:22-24
The heart of God is relationship! It is so easy for me to get caught up in doing things, good things, the things that God asks for but.. in that it's so easy to miss the point... then as now, God wants relationship with us. Actions without heart are empty. They're meaningless to him and they only hurt us. We are given commands to follow to bring us closer to him, to help us understand his heart for us not to replace the relationship. It's such a simple thing but I find I need to fight all the time to break away from the hold that activity can have on my heart and simply throw myself into the outstretched arms of my God who loves me unconditionally and without reserve!