Distant

Verse: Luke 15:13
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.”

“The younger son…set off for a distant country…’ (Luke 15:13). When we choose not to follow or obey God we will end up far fro Him like the verse; ‘a distant country.” As a result our fellowship/relationship with Him will suffer. Our disobedient living will separate us from Him every time. When we distance ourselves from God, by not attending church or Sunday School, or by not studying or reading His word, or by not praying regularly, it will be hard to hear from Him. Just as being distant, far away, or physically separated from someone will cause us not to be able to hear them. Yet, when we realize the error of our ways and truly repent like the prodigal son did in verse 18, God will have compassion on us (vs.20). He will meet us where we are, even if we are still far off, but desperately wanting to return. Then He will walk with us back to our rightful place without condemnation. In fact, instead of condemnation He is filled with compassion and love for us (vs. 20). Just as the father in this parable met his son and threw his arms around him and kissed him, so our Heavenly Father greets us with love and compassion when we repent. He does not meet us with anger and condemnation asking us where we have been and what we were thinking? He does not react in that manner because He is love, 1 John 4:8. And, there’s more. He is willing to take us further on ahead, into a deeper more intimate relationship with Him. He is always waiting for us to return to Him.

May your blessing be on your people. Psalms 3:8

Prayer:

Father thank you for your compassion and love towards me even while I am working on returning to You. Help me return to You with my whole heart.

Read More:
Luke 15:11-31

Action Plan (James 1:22 & James 1:25):
Decide to start each day with prayer, even if it is just for 5 minutes.

Abiding in Him continued

This Sunday in church our pastor was away and Rev. Carl Butcher spoke. He said something that I thought was really good and I wanted to share it. One point he mentioned, was that we never drift toward God. That is so true, it takes our effort to draw close, or closer, to God. Rev. Butcher said we need to make prayer, and reading the Bible a priority, because we will never 'accidentally' get closer to God.

In Matthew 22:37 and Mark 12:30 it states that we are to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. To love God with all of our heart means with all of our emotions. Our soul means in the core of our being, our mind means in our thoughts, and our strength means in our actions. Rev. Butcher said loving God is a decision with action and commitment. Sometimes, because life can be tough, it is a decision we have to make over and over again in one week. Life happens therefore, self indulgence and sin happens. When it does, just make that decision again to pray or to return to the Word. It is human nature to drfit, just make the decision to return back to God through prayer. Don't give up! Galatians 6:9

Abiding in Him.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

Recently I was thinking about the prevalence and accessibility of worldly messages and it made me consider how often I make an effort to take in Godly messages. How much am I listening, paying attention to or taking in the things of God? How many times did I attend church this week? How many times did I open my bible to read His Word this week? How often this week did I have a prayer time? When I did pray, how many of my prayers were for others? Yet, how much T.V. did I watch this week? How many advertisements did I see? How many things came across my path that were disrespectful, or hurtful to others? How many crude jokes or inappropriate images did I see?

Worldly messages are prevalent throughout our culture and they are contrary to the Word of God. We are steadily hearing worldly messages all around us. To counter the messages we hear daily knowing the heart of God is crucial, and the heart of God is complex and profound. Therefore, it is important to realize that attending one hour of worship on Sunday is not enough to get to know God and hear His voice. Likewise, watching religious T.V. programs a couple of times a week is certainly not enough. Abiding with God daily is how we hear His word for us (John 15:5). If we don’t dwell with God more than one or two hours on Sunday morning it will be hard to recognize His voice. We can not have a relationship with Him, abide in Him, without reading the Bible, praying and attending church.

When we regularly listen to, or take in what is on the Internet, T.V., and radio that is what we are abiding in, whether or not it is a conscious choice on our part. It is so easy to ‘take in’ messages from the world around us. In the time it takes to watch one T.V. program or one movie we have seen and heard worldly messages repeatedly, but it takes our effort to take in God’s messages for us.

God doesn’t want us just to obey or abide with Him because He is God and He says so. He wants us to obey and abide with Him so He can bless us and so that our joy can be full (John 15:11)!

As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. Ps. 18:30

Read More:
John 15:4-11

Plan of Action:
Find a devotional book that praises God and begin to have a short quiet time with Him as often as possible.

Prayer:
Father, thank you that you always reward our obedience with blessings!