Our First Love

Verse of the day: 1 Samuel 4:22, And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

One of the most tragic scenes I have observed are buildings that have been transformed into restaurants or condos, when they were once thriving local churches. There is nothing that can be sadder than having the light of the Gospel extinguished in a city or town. There are local churches that have gone from preaching Christ to being more concerned with church politics and how the building looks on the outside, rather than what is being preached on the inside. Like Israel, when the Lord is no longer our First Love, it will show in the way we wither away. Israel was in a sad and broken condition. They were defeated by the Philistines and the Ark of God was taken. The prophecy concerning Eli’s sons was fulfilled (v. 17), Eli fell back while sitting in his chair and broke his neck (v. 18). Phinehas’ wife, after hearing all this, dies after giving birth to their son. The long and short of it is that Israel is in disarray because they were unrepentant about their sin against the Lord. The God of Israel was no longer their first love and now they are paying the price for walking away from Him. There have been many Christian churches and ministries that have dwindled and died because they have strayed from the truth and compromised the Message for the sake of trying to win the lost. This dwindling and state of disarray can happen up close and personal for each one of us if we forget our First Love. How does this happen you ask? It happens when we lose the excitement of being saved and having eternal life. It happens when we begin to neglect prayer and the study of God’s Word. It happens when we begin to forsake the gathering together with others of like faith (Hebrew 10:24-25). It happens when the things of this world become more important in our lives than the things of God. James 4:4 tells us, “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” How do we get back to where we were in making Jesus our First Love once again? The best advice we can follow is Jesus’ own words to the Church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:5, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.” We must remember the days when we were so excited that we would tell everyone about our new found faith, and start telling people again. Ask ourselves, “When was the last time I told someone about Jesus?” Ask God to show us what is in our hearts and are we harboring sin that needs to be repented of and confessed. Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; 24 and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Then we must be ready to go before the Lord and do just that, repent and confess. Once we have done that, we need to serve the Lord in the same manner in which we are encouraged to in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” The time is long overdue for us to get back to making Jesus the First Love of our lives again.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

Daily Devotional Audio Track: God Is Always Present

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God Is Always Present

Verse of the day: 1 Samuel 4:8, So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, “Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before.

The Philistines, who really did not believe in the God of Israel, made a statement that reminds me of the fact that we often forget, as God’s children, that God is always present. Although they initially reacting with great fear, it was obvious from their choice to fight against Israel, that they did not have a true belief in the Lord. When we read this account, Israel made the same mistake that the Philistines made. Israel called for the Ark of the Covenant to be brought to them in the midst of this war, as if God had not already been present. The Philistines reacted in fear upon coming to know that the Ark was in the midst of the Israelites, as if God had not already been present. I would like to remind each and every one of us who already know the Lord that our God is always present, regardless of what the circumstances look like to us. We sometimes feel as if God is not watching or does not care that we are going to difficult times, but that is a lie from the pit of hell. God promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). There may be different reasons why we do not feel His presence, and the reason usually lies with our own tendencies to walk away from Him. The Word of God is very clear that our God is omnipresent. He is everywhere, and there is not one single detail in the entire universe that escapes Him or His knowledge of what is happening every second of every day. Jeremiah 23:23-24 tells us, “‘Am I a God near at hand,’ says the LORD, ‘And not a God afar off? 24 Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?’ says the LORD; ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ says the LORD.” I often hear Christians pray, as I used to pray, “Lord be with us as…” or “Lord by with so and so…” Then one day as I reading God’s Word and praying, the Lord reminded me, “I am always with you.” From that point forward I stopped praying, “Lord be with me…” Instead, I start my prayers with, “Lord, thank you for being with me and never forsaking me…” Israel made the grave mistake of thinking that they could summons God’s presence by bringing the Ark into their midst, not realizing that God was already there, He had simply chosen not to help them because of their existing sin against Him. Regardless of where we are in life or what we are walking through, God is always with us. Therefore, when we are walking through turbulent times, we must stop and examine the status of our relationship with Him. Although we can never lose our salvation in Christ (John 10:28-30; Romans 8:38-39), we can certainly hinder the Spirit working in our lives. We can grieve Him (Ephesians 4:25-32) and cause God to allow some heavy consequences for our refusal to live a life that honors Him. The devils do not want us to draw near to God, and they want to convince us that God has forsaken us. King David’s Psalm 139 is one of the best reminders that there is no place we can go to, or hide in, where God is not present. Meditate on Psalm 139:7-12, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall fall on me,’ even the night shall be light about me; 12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.” Beloved, let us always be mindful of God’s presence in our lives. God has not, and will never, forsake His children.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

Daily Devotional Audio Track: False Assumptions and Impressions

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False Assumptions and Impressions

Verse of the day: 1 Samuel 4:5, And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook.

When we allow sin to go unconfessed in our lives, it becomes easier for the enemy to deceive us and for us to deceive ourselves. In this verse we see how completely oblivious Israel that they were on a path of destruction due to their unrepentance and complete lack of relationship with the Lord. The have stooped to the level of using the Ark of the Covenant as some good luck charm, and now, under false assumptions, are celebrating a victory that has not yet been won. The ruckus they created gave a false impression to the Philistines, as we read in verses 6-7, “Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, ‘What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?’ Then they understood that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp. 7 So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, ‘God has come into the camp!’ And they said, ‘Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before.’” Let us fast forward to present day, and how some local churches and many believers worship. I will say up front that we all know that there are different preferences as far as methods of worship. Some local churches prefer a quieter time of corporate worship, while others prefer to bring the house down with their approach to worship. I want to caution us, that we do not fall into an emotional trap when it comes to worshipping the Lord. I have seen far too many “worship” services where it was all about putting on a show and where they equated being excited and loud as being more spiritual. Israel was so loud that the Word of God tells us that the earth shook. Yet, they could not have been further from the Lord at that moment. In Isaiah 29:13 it is written, “Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men”. Jesus repeated this verse in Matthew 15:8-9, but put it this way, “‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” Note that He said that “in vain they worship Me.” Our noisy worship does not always equal true worship. True worship is not about getting together, singing a few songs, and hollering amen, holding up our hands and putting on a show for everyone else to see. True worship is about having a genuine relationship with God that shows up in the way we treat others, how we live by faith, and how we live when no one else is looking. It is about living a life of gratitude toward God, regardless of what is going on in our lives and worshipping Him by giving Him praise and thanksgiving in the toughest of times (Hebrew 13:15-16). If we are doing all of that and then choose to worship God by raising our hands in praise and hollering amen, then I would say it is acceptable before the Lord. Like Israel, too many born again believers are coming before the Lord raising hands that are dirty with unconfessed sin, and putting on a façade that gives the false impression that we are more spiritual than we really are. In the end, the Philistines chose to challenge the Israelites. Not only was Israel defeated, but God’s holy Ark of the Covenant was captured (v. 11). I will also say this…the people not only brought the Ark of the Covenant into battle like a good luck charm, but it was brought in by two men who, even though they were God’s priests, did not honor God in their life or service. May we be careful to serve God with a pure heart and pure hands, because there will come a time when the Lord will expose our hypocrisy. I will leave you this to consider from James 4:7-10, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

Daily Devotional Audio Track: God or Good Luck Charm?

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God or Good Luck Charm?

Verse of the day: 1 Samuel 4:3, And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies.”

Here is a sad commentary relative to Israel’s relationship with God, or lack thereof. What is even sadder is that I see the same thing happening with Christians today. What I am referring to is our tendency, as Christians, to try and use God as our “good luck charm”. This I fully expect from the world. When major tragedy strikes the world remembers God, “Pray for our country” “God bless our country”, and so on. Israel did something similar in that they did nothing to consult with God before they went out to fight against the Philistines. When things went from bad to worse, they remembered God. How often do we neglect our quiet time with God, our Bible reading and study time, and prayer time? Yet, we get spiritual when we face trials and tribulations. When life pulls the rug out from under us, we pull God out of our pocket like some lucky rabbits foot. When we want Him to provide for us, because we have failed to be good stewards of what God has already provided for us, we treat Him like He’s a genie in a bottle. As born again believers, God should not be an “afterthought” in our lives. He should be front and center and take precedents over all else and everyone else. In Luke 10:27 Jesus said, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” In one instances He said this, in Matthew 10:37, Jesus also said, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” Even when we study, it is not for the purpose of knowing more than the next person, or boosting our own ego. 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us, “Study to show yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Note that we are to show ourselves approved, meaning acceptable or pleasing, not to man, but to God. When we make God the priority of our lives, and when we truly seek intimacy with Him, when tragedy strikes, we will not treat Him like He is some good luck charm in our pocket to be taken out only when we need Him. Instead, we will be steadfast, and ready to suffer, if needed, for His glory, realizing that He has not forsaken us at any moment. As a matter of fact, the closer we draw to Him, the more we will realize how wretched we are and how much we need to be repenting, confessing, and getting right with Him. In Luke 5:8 it gives this account when the Apostle Peter realized who Jesus was, “When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’” Let us stop and consider our relationship with Jesus, and I will ask this, “Is He the Lord of our life or the good luck charm we pull out of our pocket when we get into trouble?”

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).