Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did his father David. And he banished the perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. Also he removed Maachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. And Asa cut down her obscene image and burned it by the Brook Kidron. But the high places were not removed. Nevertheless Asa's heart was loyal to the LORD all his days.
(1Ki 15:11-14)
We have 2 statements here about Asa. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and his heart was loyal to the Lord all of his days. All throughout the books of kings and chronicles we read that a king either did “what was right in the eyes of the Lord” or did “what was evil in the eyes of the Lord”. There is no in between, there is no middle ground… it is one or the other. These kings were not judged based on what was right in their eyes, what was right in the people’s eyes, or even what was right in the eyes of the religious leaders. It was the Lord’s opinion that mattered.
I love the term “right in the eyes of the Lord”. If something was right in the eyes of Tommy, it would be something I looked at and said “mmmmm, that’s good”. There are several godly men who have lived throughout history that have lived INCREDIBLE lives. When I look at a summary of these men’s lives from start to finish I say, “Mmmmm, that’s good”. This is what the Lord said about the life of Asa in its entirety… it is the same thing He had said about David.
So, if the Lord were to summarize your life today, would He say “mmmmm, that’s good” or “oooooooo, that’s bad”? The answer to that hinges on the second statement made about Asa. Is your heart LOYAL to the Lord? The word translated loyal here is the word “SHALEM”. It means in a state of peace, right, just, or complete. Asa had a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with the Lord. Do you have a right relationship with the Lord? Are you at peace with Him? Is His peace “reigning and ruling” in your heart today?
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know the answer to those questions. Because Asa had a heart that was LOYAL to the Lord, he drove out the idols, he cleaned up the spiritual state of the country, and he turned the focus of the nation back to the Lord. Asa’s HEART for the Lord affected ALL OF HIS ACTIONS. So what about you? Does your life communicate a heart of loyalty to the Lord, or does it tell people that you just do what you or the others around you think is best at the time? Think about it….
4 comments:
So does anyone else know who "the sharpest tool in the shed" is yet? And what did klye mean "bummer, that kid got his computer fixed."
wow, good DEVo. I know I'm not perfect. My heart it seemslik someimes, isn't even close to being a heart after God's own heart.
I know somebody that knows who the sharpest person is but they won't tell me. I begged and begged! but no.
Who knows who I am?
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