Keeping things straight...

1 Kings 9:4-9 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’ “But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.’” Solomon has just dedicated the Temple to The Lord. As a bonus, he has build a beautiful palace. He has asked God not for riches or power, but for wisdom. All would seem to be set, done, in order, and ready to ride. But God appears to him again, to remind him that this is not the end, but the beginning of his commitment. It is a daily walk of integrity of heart - humbly and sincerely seeking to love and serve the King of Kings. In the same way, our relationship with The Lord is not a one-time decision or commitment, or even a series of actions and rituals, but an ongoing, deepening relationship that results in increasing submission to His will. May we see new ways to obey Him today!