The Heirloom

Have you ever inherited anything? Had something passed down to you from a parent or a grandparent as an heirloom: a reminder of who you are and where you come from? God has prepared an inheritance for His children: a place where those who are not part of His kingdom will be removed.
Proverbs 2:20 tells us that the upright will inherit the land, and the perfect will dwell in it. This is an inheritance for Christians, something that God has saved for us to remind us of who we are and where we come from. We are His children, and we come from Him. The wicked and the transgressors won't have a part of the inheritance according to Proverbs 2:21. The inheritance is reserved for those who are loyal and faithful and part of the family, not for those who are not.

Are you a part of the family? Will you have a part of the inheritance, or will you be cut off and rooted out? You can turn your life over to God and follow in His will, or you can reject Him. He loves you and He wants you to choose to love Him. What will your decision be?

A Failure at Home

Do you consider yourself to be somewhat successful? God measures our success not only from the way we appear to others, but the way we live at home and follow His commandments in our houses. King Solomon, in all his wisdom, had some serious issues when it came to following God in his home. He was a great king, a leader among men, but failed when it came to leading his family.

Solomon is famous for having so many wives and concubines, according to 1 Kings 11:3 he had 700 wives of royal birth, and 300 concubines. 1 Kings 11:1-2 though shows us that Solomon was not following God's plan for the Israelites by choosing to marry the women that he did. In his later years, 1 Kings 11:4 says that his wives turned his heart after other gods. Solomon failed to keep the One True God the first priority in his home.

We see as we follow through 1 Kings 11:5-8 that he built "high places" for all his wives' gods. According to verse 5, he started following some of those gods himself. You can't force your family to become a Christian, and you can't force your family to get saved. There is no room for you in your home to pay homage to other gods, though. If you don't keep your resolve to follow God with your whole heart, and keep your resolve to lead your family in what's right, you will be led astray by those in your family who do not believe as you do.

1 Kings 11:9-13 reveals to us that since Solomon had turned from God and followed other gods, he would be punished, and would be unable to pass his kingdom to his son as kings normally do. This is why it is so important for us to follow 2 Corinthians 6:14, not getting ourselves tied to someone going the opposite direction. We don't get to choose all of our family, but those we do get to choose, we should carefully consider if they are following God, or if they're going to pull us off the path.

Non-Committal

What kind of Christian are you? Are you fully committed to serving God, or do you just attend church. Are you living a Godly lifestyle, or do you have to dust off your Bible on Sunday morning? There was a king of Judah named Amaziah who had a problem with total commitment to God. 2 Chronicles 25:2 says "He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly."

He wasn't fully committed to serving God. He showed up for his religious ceremonies, but then took revenge for his father's death into his own hands (2 Chronicles 25:3). He listened to the man of God sometimes, as is shown in 2 Chronicle 25:7-10. But then on his return from that same battle, he brought back their idles and started worshiping them (2 Chronicles 25:14-15).

God won't honor a partial commitment to serve Him. Matthew 6:24 says you can't serve two masters. If there's sin in your life and you're covering it up and you won't commit that to God, you're serving your sin. If you don't have time for God any time of the day or night then you're not fully serving God.

We see in 2 Chronicles 25:27-28 that from the time he turned away following God, his people began to conspire against him so much that he ended up running for his life and being hunted down and killed. While you aren't likely today to be hunted and killed for your rejection of God, when those who look to you for an example see the sin that you harbor in your life, there will be disappointment, resentment, and anger just the same.

Turn your sin over to God and follow Him with your whole heart, so that your testimony can be better than that of Amaziah. If you turn your heart completely over to God, you can have the testimony, "He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord wholeheartedly." It will make a difference in your life that you will never regret.