INTRODUCTION

The Lord blessed the throne of David and desired to do the same for his posterity. Because the Lord wanted to establish Solomon’s rule, He provided some guidelines for Solomon. One prominent issue involved Solomon following in his father’s footsteps by living with integrity of heart. Integrity is very much a matter of the heart. In fact, four times in scripture integrity is associated with the heart. Twice the Bible refers to the integrity of Abimelech’s heart (Genesis 20:5-6 [5] Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. [6] And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
See All...) and another two times it refers to the integrity of David’s heart (1 Kings 9:4And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:
See All...; Psalm 78:72So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.
See All...). Though these men had little else in common, both understood that integrity involved a matter of the heart. A lack of integrity is first and foremost a heart issue.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

• (For children): What we say and do comes from our heart (Luke 6:45A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
  See All...). Let's get God's word in our heart so we know to say and do the right things (Psalm 119:11Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
  See All...).
• (For everyone): Do you have a desire in your heart for moral purity? Do you want to be clean, righteous, upright, and holy in your actions?
• What things are you allowing to creep into your heart? We know the heart is a place where much wickedness finds its origins (Matthew 15:19For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
  See All...), but these things get in because we allow them access.

PRAYER NEEDS

• Ask the Lord to help you guard your heart from wickedness.
• Ask God to purify your heart.

HYMN

Give Me Thy Heart

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