Who Is Your First Love?
In Psalm 42:1,2 David talks about his yearning for the Lord. And this is what he says: As the deer pants for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God (NLT).
In the Song of Solomon, the bride longs for her beloved. She talks about the voice of her beloved. She compares him to a young deer. Her beloved is hers and she is his. He brings her to his banqueting table and his banner over her is love. She seeks him. She rises to meet him. She watches for him. She rises up early for her beloved. This book of the Bible ends with the radiant bride turning to her beloved who is the love of her soul and with unconcealed eagerness she begins her life of sweet companionship with him. She says to him: Make haste and come quickly like a young deer and take me to our waiting home (AMP).
In Revelation 22:17 we read: And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Where am I going with all this? Are you more in love with Jesus than when you first began? Has your desire for His Presence intensified? Could you be labeled as a child of the love of the Father? Does someone have enough evidence to convict you of loving Him to excess?
God is calling us to His Presence more than ever before as we are living in the last days before the coming of Jesus Christ. He is calling us to intimacy with Him, to a place of personal intimacy. We are His and He is ours. He wants us to totally depend on Him for everything in our lives. He wants to be #1 in our lives. He wants to be first place in everything we think, speak and act and live. He wants to take us into His inner chambers and lavish us with His Blessing of all the good things of His kingdom. What a God!
We need to ask ourselves where we are in the Lord. What is it that we need to do to get into this place of yearning for His Presence, of yearning for Him to make Himself known to us? He has so much to give us and truly wants to give us.
We must allow Him to prepare us for His coming. I am asking Him to show me areas where He is not first in my life, areas that need cleansing of earthly impurities, fleshly pursuits that are contrary to Him. There are hidden areas in all of our hearts that we are not even aware of. The Spirit of God will go into those areas and shine the Light of His Presence in there to flush out all the junk. For example, do you have fear of something? That needs to be dealt with because fear contaminates faith. Are you believing God for something and not receiving? Perhaps it is because there is fear in your life which is blocking your receiving by faith. Perhaps it is because there is a trust issue between you and God, based on past failures and disappointments. Open your heart to Him today and let Him reveal those things that are holding you back. He so longs to set you free to be all that you can be.
Freedom is a wonderful privilege in the Lord. Jesus Christ has purchased freedom for us to walk in the spirit in our earth walk. We are free to be overcomers in this life. We are kings and priests to our Lord. He has given us all that we need for life and godliness. He has given us the tools we need to live a successful life here on this earth. And what is the key to all of this. I think we will find the formula for successful, victorious living in Joshua 1:8.
Joshua was taking over from a great leader, Moses, and getting ready to take the people of Israel into their promised land, which they had missed a generation ago. He is older and has put up with these people for 40 years, and he was still carrying the dream, the vision God had given him to take the land. What a man of faith. And yet God says this to him: Joshua, be strong and of good courage. I am with you. I will never forsake you. Every place the sole of your foot treads, that have I given you. He was reassuring Joshua, who apparently needed reassuring. Joshua, I am with you.
So God tells Joshua what He will do and then He tells Joshua what he must do. In Joshua 1:8 we read God’s instructions to Joshua, which are still just as true for us today. Don’t let the Word of God depart from your mouth. Mediate on it day and night. Observe to do all that is written therein. And then you shall make your way prosperous and then you will have good success and deal wisely. These are our instructions to live the victorious life, even in our loving the Lord. We love Him on purpose, deliberately, by choice, when we have no feelings of love or sense of love. We love Him by choice. The feelings come. Today, purpose in your heart that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength. He is waiting for that commitment from both you and me.
In the Song of Solomon, the bride longs for her beloved. She talks about the voice of her beloved. She compares him to a young deer. Her beloved is hers and she is his. He brings her to his banqueting table and his banner over her is love. She seeks him. She rises to meet him. She watches for him. She rises up early for her beloved. This book of the Bible ends with the radiant bride turning to her beloved who is the love of her soul and with unconcealed eagerness she begins her life of sweet companionship with him. She says to him: Make haste and come quickly like a young deer and take me to our waiting home (AMP).
In Revelation 22:17 we read: And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Where am I going with all this? Are you more in love with Jesus than when you first began? Has your desire for His Presence intensified? Could you be labeled as a child of the love of the Father? Does someone have enough evidence to convict you of loving Him to excess?
God is calling us to His Presence more than ever before as we are living in the last days before the coming of Jesus Christ. He is calling us to intimacy with Him, to a place of personal intimacy. We are His and He is ours. He wants us to totally depend on Him for everything in our lives. He wants to be #1 in our lives. He wants to be first place in everything we think, speak and act and live. He wants to take us into His inner chambers and lavish us with His Blessing of all the good things of His kingdom. What a God!
We need to ask ourselves where we are in the Lord. What is it that we need to do to get into this place of yearning for His Presence, of yearning for Him to make Himself known to us? He has so much to give us and truly wants to give us.
We must allow Him to prepare us for His coming. I am asking Him to show me areas where He is not first in my life, areas that need cleansing of earthly impurities, fleshly pursuits that are contrary to Him. There are hidden areas in all of our hearts that we are not even aware of. The Spirit of God will go into those areas and shine the Light of His Presence in there to flush out all the junk. For example, do you have fear of something? That needs to be dealt with because fear contaminates faith. Are you believing God for something and not receiving? Perhaps it is because there is fear in your life which is blocking your receiving by faith. Perhaps it is because there is a trust issue between you and God, based on past failures and disappointments. Open your heart to Him today and let Him reveal those things that are holding you back. He so longs to set you free to be all that you can be.
Freedom is a wonderful privilege in the Lord. Jesus Christ has purchased freedom for us to walk in the spirit in our earth walk. We are free to be overcomers in this life. We are kings and priests to our Lord. He has given us all that we need for life and godliness. He has given us the tools we need to live a successful life here on this earth. And what is the key to all of this. I think we will find the formula for successful, victorious living in Joshua 1:8.
Joshua was taking over from a great leader, Moses, and getting ready to take the people of Israel into their promised land, which they had missed a generation ago. He is older and has put up with these people for 40 years, and he was still carrying the dream, the vision God had given him to take the land. What a man of faith. And yet God says this to him: Joshua, be strong and of good courage. I am with you. I will never forsake you. Every place the sole of your foot treads, that have I given you. He was reassuring Joshua, who apparently needed reassuring. Joshua, I am with you.
So God tells Joshua what He will do and then He tells Joshua what he must do. In Joshua 1:8 we read God’s instructions to Joshua, which are still just as true for us today. Don’t let the Word of God depart from your mouth. Mediate on it day and night. Observe to do all that is written therein. And then you shall make your way prosperous and then you will have good success and deal wisely. These are our instructions to live the victorious life, even in our loving the Lord. We love Him on purpose, deliberately, by choice, when we have no feelings of love or sense of love. We love Him by choice. The feelings come. Today, purpose in your heart that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength. He is waiting for that commitment from both you and me.
posted by Rev. Kialeen Potterton @ 8:14 AM
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