Psalm 119: 35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.
36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.
I hope that you all had a wonderful thanksgiving weekend. I must say my joy has been overflowing with the grand opportunity that I had to spend the holiday with my son and his fiance. God has so blessed me as I see evident in the lives of my children. There is no greater joy for a mother than to watch their children grow in faith and flourish in their lives with God as their guide. As we now enter into the Christmas season, I know that there may be many who feel caught in the wilderness of this life. We listen to all the debates about the financial crisis that the country is in. Many of you may be living in fear of your own financial situation. This is made even more evident as some feel pressured to buy gifts beyond their means in order to "not let anyone know that their finances are crashing around them." Much like our government, they are borrowing beyond their means–part of what has started the crisis that we find ourselves in. But there is a much greater crisis lying at the heart of it all, that is the wilderness of our own hearts. It begins with broken relationships that begin with a covetous heart. First and foremost is the broken relationship with God as we like Adam desire and seek after the counterfeit joys of this world and ignore the only true source of joy that is found in God, Himself. We live in a world of broken relationships that begin with the words, "I deserve better, I want more, I will have more at any cost." We are broken people and we need a savior–that is the good news which we must follow if there is to be any hope. Christ came down from heaven to reach out to us in the very wilderness of our souls so as to offer a means of reconciliation with God. He paid the price for our arrogant pride and covetous heart, so He might share His love, His joy and His Glory with such an undeserving bunch as we are. The Gospel message must be more alive within our hearts and we need to cry out as David did in Psalm 119 that God incline our hearts toward Him. We need to cry out to Him to turn away our eyes from vanity and covetousness that we might follow after Him. Today, my prayer is that God change my heart each and every day that I might be true to my Savior. I ask that He remove all selfishness, all covetousness that I might be more like Him today. I pray that He fill my heart with His love so that it overflows to the world around me.