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Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-07-05 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Psalm 42:1-3 (Voice) |
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Text: |
1 My soul is dry and thirsts for You, True God, as a deer thirsts for water. 2 I long for the True God who lives. When can I stand before Him and feel His comfort? 3 Right now I’m overwhelmed by my sorrow and pain; I can’t stop feasting on my tears. People crowd around me and say, “Where is your True God whom you claim will save?” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| It seems like the Psalmist had come to a time in his life where he may have plateaued in his relationship with God. I don’t feel like he had lost faith in Him, but things were just not as fresh, or alive, or active as it used to be. In fact, it seems like his contemporaries had even noticed that he was not on fire for the Lord as he once were. Let’s analyze whether these times come to Christians today…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| It seems like at the moment that a Brother or Sister accepts the Lord, they are so on fire for the Lord that it may appear like they are definitely the saint who will save the world. Then, like I heard one preacher say, older Christians rub off on them and they lose their enthusiasm! Why do you suppose this happens? I believe that new Christians have just been transformed from a life of sin, to a life on fire for the Lord. They realize the total opposite impact on life compared to their life before Christ when they were simply led by the crowd, beat up by the world, and felt no sense of accomplishment nor hope for heaven. Christians who are out of touch with Jesus Christ, could feel just as helpless and unfulfilled, for they are back to their previous life of self fulfilment and self satisfaction. Fellow Christians, just as the Psalmist shared in verse three, it is amazing how quickly your friends will notice the void or lacking element in your life. They might quickly question if you have lost touch with God or had a massive interruption in your relationship with your God. So I bet you might be asking how might we overcome this or avoid this disconnect. I firmly believe that when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, He sticks to His promises 100%. So guess where the disconnect comes in? It’s you and I friends. You cannot stay close to God and stand on His promises when you live out the promises of this world and are constantly suffering the consequences of that lifestyle. There must come a time when, like the Psalmist, you have such a desire to refresh your relationship with your God, that your whole being feels like it is suffering from an unquenchable thirst for Him. Like a deer that pants for water, you may even feel like your whole body is panting for more of God. Once that thirst is satisfied, an animal settles down, breathes much easier, and is much more amicable towards others. I believe you will do the same friends. But this begins with recognizing your need, seeking the face of Jesus to receive the help you need, and actually stepping in there to make it happen. I trust that might be the sincere desire of those who have drifted away from God or feel the need of refreshment from God so that you might be more effective in your ministry for the kingdom of God. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Precious Lord, we feel dry, parched and thirsty for You, when we realize that we have lost touch with You and have become ineffective in our witness for You. Please be a constant reminder to us that You will never leave nor forsake us, and that we should set a daily goal to do the same. Help us to pray in the good times, as well as the times of need and distress. Help us to habitually get into Your Word, so that we might hear words of affirmation, love and promises to encourage us and draw us closer to you each day. Our relationship is not one where we do nothing and You constantly cram blessings and words of wisdom into our life. It’s about relationship! Please help us to be alert to, and actively pursue, actions that will draw us closer to You each day, so that You might be glorified even by those that we witness to each day. I ask these things in all hope and honesty, all for Your glory alone dear God, AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
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