104 degrees, officially, 114 degrees in our garden, yesterday.  It is about 10 degrees cooler, as of this writing than it was at the same time yesterday – we are supposed to cool down over the next few days.

That will be good, Saturday Ian graduates – the ceremony is held outdoors.  The temp is supposed to be 72 degrees, with a possibility of rain.  I will bring my own chair and try and get into the small grove of trees above the field – so I am out of the sun, have four meds that say cover up when outside in the sun – don’t get too hot and don’t sweat heavily. 

I appreciate the cooler weather.

Not too sure just how I am going to handle it if the ceremony last too long, we will have to see.

2 Chronicles 25:1-2 Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.

² And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart.

And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart.

This, of course is not the first time God tells us that regardless of what we are doing in His Name, if our heart is not right it is meaningless.

We can go through the actions, and they may indeed help someone, but if we claim to be doing it for God and our heart is telling HIM something else, He doesn’t honor our work.

I can remember a Sergeant I worked with who knew what a good Sergeant should do to lead his men – but it was all form.  His heart was not in it and the officers knew it. 

Even though he was going by the book, it was obvious he just didn’t have the understanding of how to reach the crew.  They were professionals and continued to do their job, regardless, but he wasn’t as effective as other Sergeants in motivating his men.

We know the form, we know the format in worship and prayer, but does it come from the heart.  Do we honor God at all times with our heart – or just our words?

If we are not careful it is easy to forget who we owe our success to – even if we say otherwise - and we find we are going through the motions and not doing them with a perfect heart.

Later as God gave Him victory over his enemies, Amazian chose not to recognize or honor God:

Verse3 14-15  Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them.

¹⁵ Wherefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand?

Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand?

Indeed why?

Why would he honor idols, when God is the one who gave him the victory?

Why would he turn from God to worship idols?

Yet, we also have to be careful, because we could end up doing the same thing.  It is important to be in constant communications with our Lord. 

The world besets us with satan’s temptations every day, it is dangerous to rely on past experiences, only, we must renew our heart before God, daily, and sometimes several times a day as satan throws sin our way.

Only God has the power and authority to deliver us from evil, and He expects us to have a heart molded by Him, to forget that could be fatal.

Later, Art :-)