Wed 3.3 – No Turning Back

Today’s Readings: Col 3.1-4, Phil 3, John 21

Yesterday’s devotion was all about the passionate pursuit we should all have for the WORD OF GOD as we strive to SEEK those things above. We saw how it was a heart desire for the WORDS of Jesus that allowed Mary to be remembered as a WORSHIPPER. I hope that was a challenge to everyone like it was to me!

Today I want to just make it short and sweet. We will have a big night at the fridge with lots of information to help you live this Christian life, and I pray you will spend time preparing your hearts and minds spiritually through prayer by SETTING YOUR AFFECTION on the THINGS ABOVE as you go along your way today. As you do, just let this thought hang around your mind. . .

Think about the Apostle Paul. If there was ever a guy we could say was truly living the Christian life fully aware of God’s plan for his life, it has to be Paul. I mean, it was Paul after all who gave us this amazing KEY passage of scripture in Colossians 3.1-2. So, what was it that made Paul so effective? So successful? So connected to God? Well, actually there are probably a hundred things, but I think one of those things that would probably effect all of the other ones was that to Paul, once he started SEEKING and SETTING his affection on God, THERE WAS NO TURNING BACK! Paul never got comfortable with his relationship with God. I do not mean he was never comfortable HAVING a relationship with God, I mean he was never comfortable with the level of relationship HE DID HAVE. He always wanted more. He always wanted to get to the next level. He always wanted to see the next step the light of the WORD OF GOD (Ps 119.105) was shining along his path. For Paul, THERE WAS NO TURNING BACK in his passionate pursuit of God.

Take some time and (1) slowly read through Philippians 3. Notice all of the things Paul says that show his low perspective of himself, but his high perspective of Christ. Notice in verse 10 Paul’s purpose in all of his life (trials and triumphs alike) was to KNOW HIM!!! Ask the Spirit of God to speak to you and challenge you to a new PASSION in your PURSUIT as you read this passage.

Next (2) think about the events of John 21. This may not seem like such a heart-wrenching story when you first read it, but remember…Peter was a (what?) before Jesus called him to be a disciple? And after Jesus died and was resurrected, he finds Peter in the same condition he was in BEFORE Christ entered his life. Wow. And what is Jesus’ response when He finds Peter this way…”do you love me?” I know sometimes in my life, EVEN AFTER Christ has come and called me out of my old life and into a new one, I have been found of Him still living according to the OLD WAY. Is He asking you this morning, “do you love me?”

May we all live a life so PASSIONATE in our PURSUIT of Him that the question never needs to be asked. Amen.

2.6 – The Rest of the Remedy

Today’s Readings: Col 3.1-4; Rev 2.1-7, 4.1-11; I Jn 5.7; Ps 119.89; Isa 6; Eph 3.14-15

Today we will be looking at the conclusion of God’s REMEDY to LOSING our FIRST LOVE from Rev 2.5. Before we get there, let’s remember one thing. Sometimes, the REMEDY leaves an AWFUL TASTE in our mouth. Just because it is good for us does not mean it won’t taste like we are drinking motor oil in the process. Just as that is true of physical remedies like cough syrup, often the same is true of spiritual remedies. Isn’t that the way it usually is, the things that are the best for us are the things that are the hardest to go through?

We’ve seen before that the first step God gives us in returning to our FIRST LOVE is to (1) REMEMBER where we’ve fallen from, which has been the focus of our devotions for the last 2 days.

The next step in God’s remedy for our situation, is to (2) REPENT. Now if there was ever a term we American Christians do not like to hear, it is REPENT! We don’t like to be told we are wrong, and that we need to change something. Do you remember when John the Baptist appeared on the scene in John 1-3? His message was “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” What he was saying, is that the Kingdom God had been promising was just around the corner, and in order for people to prepare to enter that kingdom, they need to REPENT from their way, and TURN to God’s way. There is a connection between REPENTING and TURNING that we cannot overlook. To REPENT from something simply means that we TURN AWAY from that thing, and TURN TOWARD it’s opposite. For example, if I wanted to REPENT from going south on the highway, I would bust a U-turn and head NORTH. That is as simple as it gets. God is telling us that the next thing we need to do, once we REMEMBER where we came from and REALIZE the new (incorrect) direction in which we are headed, we simply TURN BACK to that original direction, that FIRST LOVE.

The last, and very simple step that God gives us is (3) REPEAT. I actually like the words He uses much better, but we use that for alliteration. God’s words to them are, “DO THE FIRST WORKS” which means to DO THE WORKS you did when you FIRST were in LOVE with God. That’s pretty short and sweet isn’t it? In our culture, this is a concept we seem to lose in the mix most times, the JUST DO IT factor that is. I can remember my father teaching me as a young man that, “…sometimes you just have grit your teeth and get through it…” That is so true. There are things in life that are hard, that are no fun, and that you wish were different, but that doesn’t change the facts. And truly, sometimes you just have to grit your teeth, roll up your sleeves, and get to work. The easy thing to do is for us to stop before STEP 3. We REMEMBER what it was like “back then” and we mentally REPENT of the ways we have chosen since then, only to fall short of actually REPEATING or DOING THOSE FIRST WORKS AGAIN. I pray this will not be the case with us today. I pray God will give us the discipline we need to JUST DO IT, and move on our way getting back to Him.

To conclude today, let’s take those steps to the REMEDY and apply them to what we learned are the “THINGS ABOVE” Wednesday night. Here are those four things again, and then there will be a fill-in-the-blank below to help guide us in our evaluation of our spiritual temperature this morning…

1. The Person of God (I Jn 5.7)
2. The Word of God (Ps 119.89)
3. The Throne of God (Isa 6, Rev 4)
4. The Family of God (Eph 3.14-15)

Now, let’s evaluate for the REMEDY just fill in the blanks with the four THINGS ABOVE listed here…

“How was my love for the _____ of God when I was first saved? (REMEMBER) What is in my life today that keeps me from having that same kind of first love for the _____ of God, and what do I need to turn away from in order to get back there? (REPENT) What can I do today to show that I am serious about loving and seeking the ____ of God? (REPEAT)”