Isaiah 29:13 And so the Lord says, "These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.

Matthew 15:8-9 "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.'"

Seek God. Make Him the focus of your desire, the object of your search. Not for the blessings He gives to us, not for the bread He provides for us, not for the protection He covers us with, but for Himself, our Father in heaven, our Creator, our Lord. The worthy One, deserving of praise, destined to receive homage and honor from all, the Lord of all creation, the Center of the universe -- let Him be the One that your compass points to and that your daily walk draws you near to.

Prayer is essential. It is as critical to our spiritual well-being as breathing is to our physical existence.

God has our backs. He is all around us, of course, but He is our defense, even as He directs us in our battles.

Ephesians 6:12 For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age.

To know and to do the will of God is something that we all think about. Once we start our walk in Christ, learning about God, reading the scriptures, wanting to live in a new way, a way that will be pleasing to our Father that has given us a newness of life and a change of heart, we start facing choices. Choices of what we should say instead of what we used to say, where we should go rather than where we used to go, what we should do differently, what we should watch or listen to that won't cause our thoughts and feelings to draw distant from the closeness to God that we enjoy.