In Touch Devotional 2nd January 2025, By Charles Stanley, Thursday Message
TOPIC: A Man After God’s Own Heart
SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Acts 13:13-22
Have you ever seen a gravestone with a poignant epitaph of the person buried there? Perhaps it read “Devoted Mother” or “Beloved Friend.” What would you want etched on your tombstone? What epitaph would summarize your life?
In the book of Acts, we discover how history remembered King David. In a sermon presented to a primarily Jewish group, the apostle Paul made reference to David, who was well known to the audience. Remembering all of the king’s great accomplishments during his reign, how did Paul choose to describe him? He declared that God called David “a man after My own heart” (13:22 NKJV).
What does it mean to be a person after God’s own heart? For David, it required an intimate relationship with the Lord (Psalm 63:1; Psalms 63:6-8). This entails more than a regular routine of rote prayers and church attendance. Rather, such intimacy is founded upon a desire to grow closer to the Father (Psalm 42:1).
What would it take for you to be described as a someone after God’s own heart? Which activities would need to be removed from your life? What would need to be added? Ask God for His help in making these adjustments—and for the commitment to make this epitaph the goal of your life.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 4-7
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Ask God to give you the desire to move ever closer to Him.
Dr. Charles F. Stanley was the founder of In Touch Ministries and a New York Times best-selling author. Throughout his ministry, he demonstrated a keen awareness of people’s needs and provided Christ-centered biblically based principles for everyday life.