DEVOTIONAL SERIES ON LOVE (part-02)

AVOID DRIFTING AWAY FROM YOUR FIRST LOVE OF THE LORD

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“We must pay the most careful attention, therefore,
to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”
(Hebrews 2:1)

MEDITATION:
Whenever we think about the word ‘stand’ more than likely we
think about someone in an erect position with both feet on the
solidly on the floor; we think of someone who is not sitting, or
lying down. Webster defines it as,
    ‘to be in an upright position’;
    ‘to move onto your feet from a sitting or low position’;
    ‘to be in an upright position with all of your weight on your feet’.

When we hear the term, ‘stand your ground’ we can visualize
someone who is not moving in any direction, regardless of the
winds of influence that blow.

However, when the scriptures tell us to ‘stand’,
it takes on an entirely different meaning, doesn’t it?
    Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that
    when the day of evil comes, you may be able to
    stand your ground, and after you have done
    everything, to stand.
    (Ephesians 6:13)

We can think of ‘stand’ as ‘being unmovable’ whenever
our circumstances change, (and especially when we feel
the brunt of the temptations from Satan). But if our focus
is on standing in one place, then we are like a ship without
a sail or rudder (which of course means, that we can drift
depending on our circumstances).

Did you notice the key words in Ephesians “done everything”?
Doesn’t that imply that standing means “doing something”?
A ship without a sail drifts depending on the water currents,
because it is doing nothing; it is not moving forward, and it
has no direction.

If we are going to avoid ‘drifting’, then we need to be ‘doing something’.
As Christians, we need to have some spiritual ambition and goals to
achieve. If we are wondering what we should be doing, we can find
comfort in knowing that God has given us some much needed help.

First of all, the scriptures tell us that He will send the
Holy Spirit to believers when they receive His salvation.
    But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will
    send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind
    you of everything I have said to you.
    (John 14:26)

When we receive the Holy Spirit, we have an Advocate who will not
only help us in the transformation of becoming more like Jesus, but
He will also guide us in our efforts to serve the Lord, and to grow
closer to God.

When God saves us, He begins a sanctification process which
purges us of unrighteousness, and fills the void left with more
righteousness. It doesn’t necessarily happen instantaneous,
but can be lifelong process of increasing our spiritual maturity.

Does it mean we will have to change our focus, attitudes, thoughts,
and habits? Absolutely! Does it mean we will resist making these
changes? Possibly. But the good news is, God wants us to become
more like His Son, so He will do whatever is necessary to help us
make the changes.

Some of His methods could be painful at times, but the end result is,
we will appreciate how He has helped us do what we could not do in
our own strength. Think about how many times you have tried to
overcome some overwhelming and relentless sin in your life.

We may have some temporary victories, but before we know it,
the sin returns and once again we are defeated. That should be
an indicator to us that we absolutely need additional help. God
knows that and God gave us the Holy Spirit to fight our battles
with, or for us. Our responsibility is to embrace His help, and
not to resist it.

Additionally, the Holy Spirit prays for us whenever
we struggle expressing our heartfelt needs and desires.
    In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.
    We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the
    Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
    (Romans 8:26)
Sometimes, we don’t know exactly how to pray about some things,
but aren’t you glad that God can read our heart, and the Holy
Spirit can put into words, what we can’t?

I need to pause here and talk about the Holy Spirit in my own life.
You might be thinking that since I distribute the devotionals the
Lord gives me, that I have it all together and don’t have the same
need for the Holy Spirit.

That’s just not the case. I am no better than anyone else, and I have
the same struggles with temptations in my own life. I need the Holy
Spirit’s help just as much as you do, and I am thankful to God for
sending an Advocate to help me. Satan doesn’t like it when we are
serving the Lord, and I believe he intensifies his efforts to tempt
and discourage us when we do.

Secondly, God gives us spiritual gifts
which are specifically designed for each individual.
    There are different kinds of gifts,
    but the same Spirit distributes them.
    (1 Corinthians 12:4)

Why would He give us these spiritual gifts? There are many
different reasons and one of them is to ‘build up the church’.
    So it is with you. Since you are eager
    for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in
    those that build up the church.
    (1 Corinthians 14:12)

ACTION:
In Hebrews, we are told to
    ‘pay the most careful attention…to what we have heard’
Why should we ‘pay attention’? We ‘pay attention’ so that,
    ‘we do not drift away’.

‘Paying careful attention’
means
    ‘we apply to our own lives the instructions we have heard or read’.

In order to do that, we need to be
    ‘eager for gifts of the Spirit’
(which means we have a strong desire to discover them;
the kind of desire we would have for finding a valuable
treasure, because that’s exactly what our spiritual gift is,
a valuable treasure from God).

And, once we have discovered our spiritual gift, we need to
depend on the Holy Spirit to show us how to use it to glorify
God. Additionally, we will find that when we are ‘using’ our
spiritual gift, it will create a new awakening in us and we will
have a desire to use it more often.

When we are actively using our spiritual gift to serve the Lord,
and we are depending on the Holy Spirit to guide us and make
us aware of the changes we need to make to become more like
Jesus, we will know what it means to ‘do everything’, and we
will become less of a ship without a sail, or rudder.

Imagine for a moment the impact on your life when you know
that God has given you a precious gift to use in serving Him.
If God has given us something special, then we would have to
know that it is for our benefit, right?

Can you visualize the possibilities of new opportunities that will
enrich your life, and give you a new purpose for living for Jesus
in a ‘broken world’? We may have ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ in our lives,
but a world that is opposed to the Lord can never promise us the
‘breath of fresh air’ we can attain through our commitment and
focus on serving the Lord, using the ‘tools’ He has provided!

The scriptures make it clear that if we want to avoid being vulnerable
to ‘drifting’, we need to be busy serving the Lord. Have you prayed and
asked God to give you goals for living the Christian life? If so, hasn’t it
created a spiritual enthusiasm and excitement in you to realize that you
have a new purpose and focus for living a fulfilled life?

If we are honest with ourselves, none of us want to ‘drift away’ from
our love relationship with God (His love for us, and our love for Him).
However, if we remain idle, we are in danger of many outside influences
that can damage our fellowship with our Heavenly Father who loves us.
So, we need to heed what we have seen in His Word, and
    ‘stand our ground, and after we have done everything, to stand’

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, You know how easily I can drift away
from You as a result of the incredible temptations from
Satan. Your Word tells me that I can avoid drifting when
I follow Your instructions for living. Help me to invite the
Holy Spirit to guide me in all things, and show me how to
surrender more of myself to Him. Too many times I have
had a desire to do things on my own, but I realize now that
I need the help of the Holy Spirit in order to overcome my
tendency to drift. Father, I pray that you would make it clear
to me which spiritual gift You have given me, and I ask You
to help me actively use it so I can avoid drifting away from You.”

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