Deuteronomy 10:12 (ESV Strong's)
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
Truth: God requires that our hearts be like His so that our walk will please Him.
What are we required to do? That is a question we may ask at work, in a game, in our community, but, perhaps, not in our spiritual walk. God is not secret with His will for us. (The phrase "God's Will" appears over 50 times in the New Testament, indicating God doesn't want us to be in the dark about His will.) In the above passage we are told what God "requires" of us. Note another writer who wrote a similar phrase:
Micah 6:8 (ESV Strong's)
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
God requires that the change in our behavior begins in the heart, not our actions. If we only change actions and have no heart for God we fall short of what God is doing in us and with us. God wants a change of heart. When Christ comes in and dominates our life, God is working on our heart. We are saved from the inside out. Israel had a problem with only conforming to God on the outside. They would set up the "form" of worship, but not the "heart" of worship. We can get so caught up in the doing, we lose sight of the being. God wants us to have a heart that is in awe of Him and that loves Him with all our soul. He wants obedience, but it must be an obedience that is based upon faith in Who He is and therefore produces a heart for Him and others.
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