This morning Pastor Dale took us through Ecclesiastes 5 and what the Teacher says about approaching the house of the Lord. We are told to "guard our steps," but what does that mean? The Hebrew word that is used for guard is "shamar" and it means to keep, to watch, to protect. It's in our nature to carry things with us when we enter the house of the Lord. It could be we had a hard week. It could be an agenda of what we wish God would do differently in our lives or those in our lives. It could be thoughts and distractions or it could be wounds or unforgiveness we're carrying. The Teacher guides us as we enter the house of the Lord, as we approach our Heavenly Father, to prepare our hearts. That could be setting aside our agendas, releasing our burdens to him, opening our hearts to wait and listen for what He wants to say to us. To do this requires intentionality, honest and vulnerable intentionality with our Father.
When we do this, when we guard our steps …
- We slow down to be with Jesus
- We go beneath the surface of our lives to be deeply transformed by Jesus
- We offer our lives as a gift to each other, and the world, for Jesus
We invite you to sit with the Father today and ask: Father, are there places in my heart where I'm coming to you with an agenda or carrying things that you want me to release to you? Will you reveal what those are? Will you show me what it looks like to guard my steps as I approach you?
POWERED BY BLUBRRY
