Then I said, "I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High."
I will remember the deeds of the Lord. Yes, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will ponder all Your work and meditate on Your mighty deeds. (Verses 10-12)
Remember not to forget. That is what the Lord wants from us. Remember our first love and get back to it. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for My name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Jesus. Remember we have an enemy. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he might devour. (1 Peter) Remember we are powerful. That same Spirit Who raised Christ from the dead lives in you. (Romans 8)
It's easy to forget in the turmoil. When Bill and I were first married we were all we thought about. Couldn't get enough of each other. Crazy about him. Loved his guts. We were kids. I, a mere twenty years old....he, much older at twenty-four. Five years in we had our first child. Less than two years later, another. Life became more complicated. Stuff in between us now. We had to work harder at the connection. Baby number three in my mid-thirties. A father arrested. A mother dying. Another mother with Alzheimer's. We got out of touch with us. First love spread around. Faltering. Almost lost in transition. Don't forget how you loved this man.
In the middle of the battle for our lives, we can only see what is happening with our own fist-to-fist war for survival. If we forget there is a war at all, we don't fight. We give up and are overrun by the enemy. Taken prisoner, we get comfortable in enemy camp drinking what is served, doing what is commanded, marching around the camp in endless circles. I know. I have been a POW. Kicked in the stomach, beaten about the head and shoulders, lied to, brainwashed and useless. Because I forgot I was at war. That the enemy has come to steal, kill and destroy (John 10). But Jesus found me there in my solitary confinement at the bottom of the hell hole I wandered into. He whispered my name. Got my attention. Reminded me into which army I'd enlisted. You're at war, Kay. Get up and fight.
I stood up on wobbly legs. Hadn't had much food in a very long time. I picked up the handbook on fighting spiritual warfare. Dusted off my armor: helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, belt of truth, shoes of the gospel of peace, the sword of the Spirit and the shield of faith. It all felt heavy when I put it on. I'd almost forgotten how to wield the sword. I almost dropped the shield. Weak at first. "Leave me alone. I belong to Jesus." In my closet. On my knees pointing a sword at the devil holding my faith over my heart. Climbing an inch at a time out of the dungeon of my captivity. In the name of Jesus, who stripped you of all your authority at the cross of Christ, I come against you and take back all you have stolen from me.
When life becomes all about survival, we often become all about ourselves. Pain leads us into more pain in the enemy's kingdom. Then pain is all we can see. It is then we need the Lifter of our heads. To look up...not in. To remember what we already know. We are loved by the Almighty God of the universe and everything in it. To remember the day we became His child. The rush of knowing He came into our hearts and made us new. To love our God like that again. Past all that has come between us in the months or years that followed. Jesus isn't interested in all the religious activities we indulge in in His name so much as that we sit at His feet and be with Him....like we did when we first loved Him. He knows we're weary, busy, bearing up, but Jesus wants more for us in this life than that. He wants a romance with us, His Beloved. Jesus wants us to let Him court us again. Make a date to be caressed by your first love. Don't forget how you loved this Jesus.
I will remember the deeds of the Lord. Yes, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will ponder all Your work and meditate on Your mighty deeds. (Verses 10-12)
Remember not to forget. That is what the Lord wants from us. Remember our first love and get back to it. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for My name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Jesus. Remember we have an enemy. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he might devour. (1 Peter) Remember we are powerful. That same Spirit Who raised Christ from the dead lives in you. (Romans 8)
It's easy to forget in the turmoil. When Bill and I were first married we were all we thought about. Couldn't get enough of each other. Crazy about him. Loved his guts. We were kids. I, a mere twenty years old....he, much older at twenty-four. Five years in we had our first child. Less than two years later, another. Life became more complicated. Stuff in between us now. We had to work harder at the connection. Baby number three in my mid-thirties. A father arrested. A mother dying. Another mother with Alzheimer's. We got out of touch with us. First love spread around. Faltering. Almost lost in transition. Don't forget how you loved this man.
In the middle of the battle for our lives, we can only see what is happening with our own fist-to-fist war for survival. If we forget there is a war at all, we don't fight. We give up and are overrun by the enemy. Taken prisoner, we get comfortable in enemy camp drinking what is served, doing what is commanded, marching around the camp in endless circles. I know. I have been a POW. Kicked in the stomach, beaten about the head and shoulders, lied to, brainwashed and useless. Because I forgot I was at war. That the enemy has come to steal, kill and destroy (John 10). But Jesus found me there in my solitary confinement at the bottom of the hell hole I wandered into. He whispered my name. Got my attention. Reminded me into which army I'd enlisted. You're at war, Kay. Get up and fight.
I stood up on wobbly legs. Hadn't had much food in a very long time. I picked up the handbook on fighting spiritual warfare. Dusted off my armor: helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, belt of truth, shoes of the gospel of peace, the sword of the Spirit and the shield of faith. It all felt heavy when I put it on. I'd almost forgotten how to wield the sword. I almost dropped the shield. Weak at first. "Leave me alone. I belong to Jesus." In my closet. On my knees pointing a sword at the devil holding my faith over my heart. Climbing an inch at a time out of the dungeon of my captivity. In the name of Jesus, who stripped you of all your authority at the cross of Christ, I come against you and take back all you have stolen from me.
When life becomes all about survival, we often become all about ourselves. Pain leads us into more pain in the enemy's kingdom. Then pain is all we can see. It is then we need the Lifter of our heads. To look up...not in. To remember what we already know. We are loved by the Almighty God of the universe and everything in it. To remember the day we became His child. The rush of knowing He came into our hearts and made us new. To love our God like that again. Past all that has come between us in the months or years that followed. Jesus isn't interested in all the religious activities we indulge in in His name so much as that we sit at His feet and be with Him....like we did when we first loved Him. He knows we're weary, busy, bearing up, but Jesus wants more for us in this life than that. He wants a romance with us, His Beloved. Jesus wants us to let Him court us again. Make a date to be caressed by your first love. Don't forget how you loved this Jesus.
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