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Return to your first love

Christian, dear beloved brother and sister in Christ, let us be aware !!

It is possible to be doing all the right things in life and still be disconnected from your first love Jesus. Make sure to live a surrendered intimate life in Christ, out of which all your being springs forth.

‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. (Revelation 2:2-5)

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Naked I came, naked I depart

“I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The LORD gave me what I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD!” In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

Job 1:20–22

What a mentality Job had considering that He had little knowledge of who God is, yet He had a much deeper revelation that us all who have the complete truth in our hands.

Even though Job was left with nothing but pain, He never stopped praising God, He never once grumbled. He did not certainly worship God just because He gave Him plenty, but because God was His all sufficient God irrespective of whether He had a lot or nothing at all.

May we all get this same revelation as we dig deeper into our intimacy with God, deep enough to be saturated by His goodness leaving space to nothing else but Christ our hope of glory.

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There is no life without God

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” 

Psalm 14:1

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

1 John 2:15-17

As Augustine rightly stated, living a life without God will surely lead to a dead end. King David was of the same thought when he stated in Psalm 14 “ The fool says in his heart, “There is no God”

One of the major culprits that lead a man not to love God is the love for this world, love for what is sensual, what gives that temporary high in life, always seeking for the next best new thing but never satisfying that inner longing, which only God can fulfill.

As John said in the above scripture, there can never be space for both the love for the world and love for the Father, that does not mean we need to renounce to anything that the Lord blesses us with but anything pertaining to this world should never come even close to the love we portray to the Father and we should always be willing to part from anything that is material.

The Gospel is not about getting more, the Gospel is about getting to know more about the Father and His will so that we will live by His grace and fulfill all He planned for our lives, being content with what we have.

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Hebrews 13:5

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Looks deceive, the heart doesn’t

But the Lord said to Samuel, b“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, cbut the Lord looks on the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7

How many times have you been wrongly judged and felt victim of hearsay? This is because people judge by the cover or form an opinion by what others say to them about you, without verifying for themselves.

Even when an article is written, you will read comments knowing that the person commenting only read the title and did not even bother reading the whole article.

The good news is that God does not rely on appearance or hearsay but he reads the heart, that is the true motives behind every action.

This should teach us an invaluable lesson. Let us not give too much weight on what others say about us but let us make sure we are walking in God’s will, at the end of the day, God has the last say over our lives, so let us live our lives to please him, rather than man.

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Foundational Scriptures: John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

Coming from a Catholic background, today’s scripture was one of the most scriptures the Lord used to make rely on what His Word says rather than what man said.

Jesus is here disqualifying all other ways, stating there is no other truths and clearly showing that no one alse is life but HIM alone, confirming His deity but also being the ONLY mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5).

Of course this scripture goes against today’s believes and inclusive society and would label this scripture as intolerant and unloving, as that would mean all people who do not believe Jesus is their Lord would not go to heaven.

However once one will come to Christ, he has a decision to make, if we come to Christ we are stating through a life statement: “Not my will but yours be done Lord.” That would mean that we will surrender everything to what His Word states, right where His perfect will is.

Yes this will probably make us unpopular with society and even with some of our loved ones, but Jesus made it clear that unless we love HIM more, that is hating by comparison others, we will not be worthy to be called His disciples (Luke 14:26). The difference between loving others and loving Jesus has to be so big, clearly opting to follow what Jesus is telling us, even if it means that this decision will severe us from other meaningful relationships.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, you never said that it would be easy for us in this world and having rejections, let downs and persecution are part of the pack and parcel of a surrendered life to you, yet you promised us that you will never leave us, nor forsake us, so we thank you for giving us such a promise to hold on to, giving us the assurance that all will be well and that all will turn according to your purpose in our lives. We thank you Father for helping our loved ones, through our standing for your Son, in seeing us standing strong, not for the sake of opposing them but because we want to lead them to the only truth, that truth that will set them free, in Jesus name we pray, Amen.

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River of life

Then he brought me back to the door of the [a]temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side.

3 And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles. 4 Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist. 5 Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed. 6 He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river.

7 When I returned, there, along the bank of the river, were very many trees on one side and the other. 8 Then he said to me: “This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the [b]valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. 9 And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever [c]the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. 10 It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many. 11 But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt. 12 Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.”

(Ezekiel 47:1-12)

How many times we hit a dry place in our lives? Trying to strive amidst a chaotic life but never finding a place of true rest. Yes life can be hard when faced alone. In today’s refreshing scripture, we see a river slowly flowing out of the santuary a river that increases in intensity and gives life to whatever nourishes from it.

This river of life is a type of Holy Spirit that uses the Word of God to bring strength and a hope to us all who desperately need a breakthrough and a touch from God.

The Key

The key to get the benefits from this river is to be planted by its banks. This shows us how important it is to commit ourselves to spending intimate time with God in meditating on His Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts, removing the dross that the old self generates. Here is were submission and the importance of obedience take priority. The willingness to say to God “Not my will but yours be done my Lord”

The Promise

If we lead an intimate life in Christ and therefore be planted by this river of life, we will yield fruit in due season. Yes there is a season of preparation and then there is a season of harvest. During the season of preparation you will not see much fruit but that does not mean that the Holy Spirit is not working. In this season, which a season of strengthening, we have to cling more than ever to the promises of God. It is a season in which it is of utmost importance not to let go of God but abide in Christ like never before.

The Harvest

Once the preparation phase has been done, its time for a plentiful harvest. A harvest that will bring glory to God and which will serve to feed others, and will serve as a contribution in furthering the Kingdom of God.

So if today you are finding yourself in a desert, its time to come by the river of life and plant yourself by the river so that your roots will nourish from the streams of life. Do not let anyone tell you it is too late in the day, no if you are still breathing, then you still have the opportunity to do so, The Father is running to you with open arms.

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Trust beyond comprehension

Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land. 19 Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety. 20 You may ask, “What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?” 21 I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. 22 While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.

Leviticus 25:18-22

God was laying down the commands for the Israelites to live safely in the promised land, a land which was not virgin as it had other inhabitants in it and even though it was promised to them by God, there would have been still people living in it. Different societies as we call them today with their ‘gods’ and practices that go against the will of God. So God was giving them detailed commands to abide to that will assure them of His protection and all around blessing with promises of holistic propserity and well being. Apart from allowing them to remain set apart so to keep the Messiah’s lineage intact.

In today’s scripture, God was demanding a leap of faith from the Israelites. Not working the land for a whole year, in the natural thinking, that would mean no food provision for at least two years. Yes God was asking them to trust in Him, that kind of trust that goes beyond compreshension.

How many times we find ourselves in this kind of situation? Being at the cross croads to make a decision in life and many times end up doing things abruptly based on our instinct rather than waiting for guidance from the Lord?

I did fall into this trap several times and its results were bad at their best. Having such bad experiences, lead me to go on my knees infront of God’s throne asking Him for forgiveness and to have His way. He always responded through His amazing grace, yet I always had to endure the consequences of my actions in the flesh.

God is showing us a way to avoid all this self inflicted troubles, simply by obeying His commands and trusting him unconditionally, knowing that He who promised is always faithful.

If only we take at heart what scripture tells us, we would so much avoid complicated issues in our lives. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to guide us through His Wisdom and humble ourselves to follow His lead.

Thank you Lord for your Word is a lamp unto our feet, that will light our paths so that we will not stumble, help us in moments of decisions to rather wait on you if we are uncertain and guide us with your peace, so that we would know that the direction we will take is coming from you. This we pray in Jesus Name. Amen.

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Salt of the earth

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven

Mat 5:13-16

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Col 4:6

Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Mark 9:50

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Foundationsal Scriptures: Hebrews 13:5

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Hebrews 13:5

What is one of the most sought after things in this world? It is certainly security and who can give us more security that the One who can do all things but one. God is bound to His Word and will never contradict it.

That means that whatever He promised, He is bound to deliver. Yes our God is a faithful God and today’s scripture is one which should fill us full of courage to face all things in HIM and always end up victorious.

This promise comes with a conditional. We have to be willing to trust Him with our lives and not in the riches (false security) of this would as the first part of this scripture states.

His perfect love will cast out all types of fear, including insecurity, the more revelation we have of this scripture the more we would want to abide in Him, He who is our strong tower and refuge.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for this wonderful promise, we gladfully surrender our lives to you and allow you to have your way in us. No we will not rely on the riches of this world or other types of worldly securities which are all based on shaky foundations. Here today, tomorrow gone, but we willingly and joygully decide to stand on the Rock of our Salvation Jesus so that when the stroms of life hit us, we will remain immovable. This is all because of you, so that you Lord and we praise your Name, Amen.

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