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Good Afternoon! Thank you so much for your patience. My family made a crazy last minute decision a
couple of weeks ago and we are in the “crunch” part of things. It is exciting and nerve-racking at the same
time. I have found, probably as you (in
your situation) have also, that our study has melded perfectly with the life
situation we are facing right now. I
love it when God just knits all things together so we can apply what He teaches
us immediately!
Acts 13:22—“And when he had removed him
(Saul), he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I
have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my
will.’” (ESV)
This one verse just made me jump for joy
because of the hope that it brings. You
see, it shows that God is in control period. He removes and raises up
leaders. He testifies for His
children. God recognized David’s heart
and that it was directed towards God. We
all know David made his mistakes but his overall definer of his life is that he
was a man after God’s own heart. Oh that
just makes my heart so full. Then God
goes on to say that he knows that David will do (the NET says “accomplish”) all
God’s will. The Amplified version says “carry
out my program fully. So, why is Paul
saying this? Let’s take a look at the
passage in Acts that contains this verse.
If you look at the passage which contains
this verse (Acts 13:16-31) you will see that it is Paul talking to the Jews in
the Synagogue and Gentiles who believed in God.
What they do in this passage is outline the Story of the Israelites and
Jesus from their time in Egypt until the appearance of the risen Jesus. The verse we are looking at is showing Jesus
as a descendent of David. God used
David, a man after God’s own heart, to be the lineage Jesus came from.
So what does that tell us? Well, it tells us that no matter what the
circumstance, God is in charge. It also
tells us that when we have a heart that is actively pursuing God, He is going
to do great things through us and through our descendants. It shows us that even with all of our yucky mistakes,
God allows us the grace to NOT be defined by them. We CAN be women after God’s own heart and we CAN
accomplish EVERYTHING that God has planned for us.
Sister, our Jesus is in heaven right now testifying
for us to the Father. When we accept
Jesus as the definer of our life and forgiver of our sins, we are covered in
his righteousness. When we choose to
purposefully pursue our relationship with Christ, there is nothing that cannot
be accomplished through him!
This is why we are told that our beauty
comes from the “gentle, peaceable spirit within us,” it is a reflection of the
God we love and serve. Those we have
been entrusted to care for and instruct will have glimpses of God based on what
they see in us. The fruit of our Hands
is the saving knowledge of Jesus that we tell and show them. In my case, it is for my children, for you it
may be your neighbor, niece/nephew, or spouse.
This is our praise, that we reflected the light of God so that they
could come into the same relationship with God.
It isn’t always easy to, but isn’t it worth it?
I am well aware this was long, and I am
tempted to edit this to death, but I am going to just put this out there for
you as is, or I will never get it out.
My prayer for each of us today is that we will develop a heart that is
more in love with God than it was yesterday.
That each of our lives in which God can testify about us, “she is a
woman after God’s own heart and She will accomplish all my will for her life. ”
I love you ladies, have a beautiful day!
