Loving God

Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men…. the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.  Isaiah 29:13-14

Our prayer topic last Thursday night had to do with our love for God. I said that I believe that one of the things that must happen before we see a revival, is a return to our first love. “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee because thou hast left thy first love”.  Rev. 2:4

Love is not hard to discern neither is the lack of it. Shamefully, Christendom today is more energized by the love of “things” rather than the love for God. 1Cor. 16:22 says: “If any man loves not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha”. Anathema means a curse and Maranatha means the Lord is coming.

Our love for God is evidenced by the way we treat him. Do you reverence Him and his house? Are you actively evangelizing? What about involvement in church activities? And how about your prayer and Bible study life or even your giving and church attendance? These are but a few indicators of whether we love God or not.

If you love God, he must be first in everything: he must come before pleasure or leisure; he must come before personal interests; he must have preeminence in your home; he must be first even before your family. He is God, he is the Creator! The Bible says we should worship the Lord and Him only should we serve: not money; not material things: nothing should come before the service and worship of God.

Let us return to our first love and demonstrate it in all of our living and worship in this year 2004! Remember God knows our hearts and motives, let us genuinely love God! He knows if you do!

God bless you!

Pastor  Guthrie