November 21, 2025

WITH ALL OUR HEARTS

1 Kingdoms 7:3 (1 Samuel 7:3)

Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, if you put away the foreign gods and the sacred groves from among you, and if you prepare your hearts for the Lord and serve Him alone, He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

Personal Challenge

Being a follower of Christ has nothing to do with wearing a cross or a WWJD bracelet. It is not about bumper stickers or license plate brackets. And, believe it or not, it has nothing to do with saying a one time, one-and-done, prayer and then continuing to act like everyone else in the world. As Samuel told the people of Israel, God expects us to turn to Him with our whole hearts and to serve Him alone. This means loving our neighbor, whether red, yellow, black, or white. It means getting righteously angry at the things that God abhors, such as lying, stealing from the poor, pedophilia, being a bully, and the list goes on. You cannot proclaim to love Christ and behave like the rest of the world. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!