Daily Devotions

I am taking today’s devotional thoughts from Dr. Paul Chappell’s devotional titled, “Seeking God.” He uses Jeremiah 29:12-14 for his main text.
The people of Israel in Jeremiah’s day observed the outward forms of their religion. The Temple stood in Jerusalem, and the priests offered sacrifices there. Yet for most of them, it was only an empty ritual. Their hearts were not involved in their worship. Instead they were devoted to the other gods and idols they had borrowed from the heathen nations around them. They did not want to completely remove the God of Israel, but they were supplementing Him with other deities. And God brought judgment upon them for their idolatry.
Yet even in the midst of that judgment, God sent the prophet to them with the promise that if they would turn back to Him wholeheartedly, He would listen to their prayers and free them from bondage.
A. W. Tower wrote, “If we could find God among all the religious externals, we must first determine to find Him, and then proceed in the way of simplicity. Now as always God reveals Himself to babes and hides Himself in thick darkness from the wise and prudent. We must simplify our approach to God!”
The question each of us must answer is this: “How much of our heart is truly devoted to God? Is He our first and foremost love in all things, or is He simply one more item on a check list of priorities?”
We cannot expect to have a close fellowship with God unless our hearts are devoted to Him.