Sunday, January 20, 2013

Sunday Celebration - Return To Me

The questions were simple ... Can you think of a time in your life when you were closer to God than you are right now?  ...   If so, who do you think moved, you or God?

That's the way my pastor opened his message today. Honestly, I don't remember a whole lot more after that. You see, these are questions I have asked myself many times over the years. And sadly, I imagine I will come face-to-face with them again in the coming years. If there is one thing I have come to know about my heart ... it's prone to wander. Prone to leave the God I love.

Oh, the "things" have changed (most of them even very good things) but the pattern is always the same. First, these "things" begin to creep in and steal my attention, then they begin to consume my time, until finally they have stolen my heart. My heart has wandered from the God that I love. I wish I could say that we reach an age when this is no longer true ... but I can not. From what I have seen in my own heart and the examples given to us throughout the Bible of wandering hearts ... I dare say it's a life-long (this side of Heaven) struggle.   

Fortunately, God is jealous for our hearts. And so unlike me, God doesn't walk away when His heart is wounded. No, He stays and fights. He fights for His rightful place in our hearts. When our hearts wander from God...

  • He woes us.
  • He pursues us.
  • He wins our hearts back to Him. Again and again and again ... 

The God of the Universe. The One True God. God Almighty continually draws us back to Him.
Why? Because He loves Us. Because He is faithful, even when we are not.

Perhaps you needed to hear this today. Perhaps you may not have even realized you have wandered. Perhaps God is whispering in your ear ... Return to Me.

If you hear His voice ... Run. Run to Him, not away from Him.
Allow Him to restore to you the joy of His salvation.

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