Good morning and welcome. This is pastor lucy painter with your daily insights. And yesterday we started a topic called Matters of the heart and we say the prayer that the Lord was such our hearts and see if there is anything like David prayed and as we continue today, I understand that some of the most basic components of identity include language, values, customs and expectations of the world around you. You see when you say you are an american, there are those things that people automatically ascribed to you when you say you are african or an asian, there's some things that people expect you to be familiar with or to be doing and we call that biases and assumptions. Um, identity inspires in us a sense of who we are and who we relate to others that we are.

Our identity forms a stable call and an uncovering point to our individuality, ease and value and that identity or in other words who we are is what determines what we do. You know, we're doing a study uh in the teens and tweens program this season and one of the theme focuses on identity. If you read the book of someone and Sam's or anywhere else, that David is mentioned, you realized that he was not called a man after God's own heart for no reason. As imperfect as he was. As a man. David is portrayed in the bible as a kind man, a generous and a noble man. He was a repentant man. A man who had unwavering faith in God. Sam 78: verse 72 describes another character of this man, and this is what I want us to talk about.

As we continue with this month's topic of matters of the heart. He is described as a man of integrity who governed Israel by the skillful nous of his hands. David aimed at nothing else but the glory of God during his reign, integrity, and the fear of God, but the maxims of his government. This was a man who was humble first before he was exalted. His beginning was as small as it could get. But at the height of his achievements, the heart he had when he was a Scheffler, did not leave him. This is a man whose character was shaped by his relationship with God. He remained upright before God, never slavering in heart from the indigenous of God. He was sincere in his allegiance to God, and he shepherded his people with an honest heart. He avoided and about the council and the causes that were contrary to the will of God.

And he acted in singular prudence and saw the good and the welfare of his people. He did not seek his own honor and interest or the advancement of his family. David fulfilled his vocation with a pure heart. He realized God's design and followed it to his last day, and I've said so many things about David, and you'd like to point out of the sins he committed of the times. We know that he didn't do as according to the will of God. And as we talk about matters of the heart this month, I want us to assess our heart and ask ourselves if our hearts can be described in the manner that David's heart was described, Does our relationship with God inspire a sense of identity in us? Does what we relate to the world reflect our people who know God? You know, we said at the beginning of today's podcast that our identity is determined by what we do.

Sometimes our values, our thoughts, our actions, all these are anchored to a certain core. And if that core is not stable, if what lies in our heart is not founded in God, we can only maintain some characters for some time before we slide back to our real cells. So I want us to be challenged today. You know, I mentioned that many at times. We remember that David slipped. He made a mistake. He committed sins. But we see a heart that is repentant. His relationship with God really matters. And so let us desire to have the kind of how that David had a hat that seeks for nothing less than the glory of God, a hat that has unwavering faith in God. May we desire to let our relationship with God shape our characters. Until those who interact with us can say these people are people of integrity.

This is a man, a woman with an honest heart. This is a young man or a young woman whose obedience and allegiance to God has not wavered because what is in their heart is solid, in jesus, mighty name is what is in your heart Solid. Mhm. Moments of reflection reflect on that as we meet again tomorrow Shalom. This is pastor, lucy painter with your daily insights, and this is matters of the heart, but to.