This week’s blog is from CityLight friend and powerhouse evangelist Bonny Andrews.
A Call to Rediscover Your Path with Jesus
If you find yourself drifting from Jesus, living by your own compass, it’s time for a profound change. Imagine you’re driving away from your destination; now is the moment to make a U-turn, to redirect your life towards Christ.
Think about the truth of John 3:16, a reminder of God’s boundless love. In a world where many seek their gods among millions, remember, every other belief system speaks of striving to reach God through their efforts and sacrifices.
However, the Bible unfolds the most extraordinary love story ever told, distinct from every other religion – God reaching down to us. This isn’t about humanity’s quest to find God through works or rituals.
This is the story of God’s unconditional love, descending to meet us where we are.
It’s easy to seek God’s blessings, to desire prosperity and abundance, citing scriptures that promise such fortunes. Yet, the essence of our relationship with God should not just be speeding towards blessings but moving forward with purpose, guided by God’s will.
Commit to making a U-turn if necessary, reorienting your path toward deeper faith, embracing God’s plans, and living fully in His grace and truth.
Heeding the Call to Return: Revelation’s Reminder
Revelation 2:4-5 urges us to confront an uncomfortable truth: we may have drifted from our first love, Jesus. It’s a moment for reflection, remembering the zeal and devotion that once defined our relationship with Him. J
John’s message to the church is a threefold action plan: remember our initial commitment, repent from our current detachment, and return to those foundational acts of faith. This wake-up call isn’t just about attending church out of obligation but reigniting the passion for our Savior.
Are Sundays merely a routine, or are they an opportunity to deepen our bond with Jesus? It’s crucial to examine our motivations for church attendance and spiritual practices.
Are we drawn to the charisma of leaders or the true essence of worship? This inquiry challenges us to look beyond the external—the allure of personalities or the mechanics of religion—and to seek an authentic relationship with Jesus.
The contrast between seeking God’s hand for personal gain and seeking His face for intimate fellowship, as exemplified by Moses and the Israelites, underscores the importance of pursuing God’s presence over His presence.
Prioritize seeking His face, embracing His love, and dedicating yourself, fresh, to the One who first loved us. This journey back to our first love promises a revival of our hearts and a deeper, more meaningful walk with our Savior.
Deepening Our Connection with Christ: Worship, Word, and Witness
Elevating Our Worship and Prayer Life
One critical indicator of our relationship with our first love, Jesus, is our worship and prayer life. Reflect on your time alone with God. Is it a time of genuine connection or cluttered with a checklist of requests before you can truly seek and adore Him?
The essence of worship is to come before God without an agenda, to fall in love with Jesus, and to appreciate Him for who He is, not just for what He can do for us.
Reignite that profound love for Him, acknowledging your deep need for His presence in every aspect of your life. Jesus distilled all the commandments into one essence: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.”
Restoring the Altar of the Word in Our Lives
The second measure of our spiritual vitality is our engagement with the Word. In an age dominated by screens, it’s vital to ask ourselves: How does our time spent in Scripture compare to that on social media or streaming platforms?
With millions of downloads, the Bible app’s popularity indicates a hunger for God’s Word. Yet, the consistency of our engagement—our streaks of daily reading—deepens our connection with God. Let a steadfast commitment to the Bible mark your life and let its truths continually nourish your soul, transforming you from within.
Remembering the ancient boundaries God has lovingly placed in our lives is crucial. These aren’t restrictions to limit our joy but guardrails to guide us toward true fulfillment in Christ. In a culture where the lines between secular and sacred blur, we’re reminded that what may be permissible for others is not necessarily so for us.
Our calling is distinct and demands a lifestyle that reflects our commitment to Jesus, transcending societal norms and expectations. It’s about upholding the values and principles outlined in Scripture, especially regarding our personal conduct and relationships.
The call to be living sacrifices, as urged in Romans 12, is an invitation to worship through our daily lives. True worship extends beyond songs and prayers; it encompasses offering our bodies and minds as holy offerings to God, resisting the urge to conform to worldly patterns.
Our language, actions, and choices should mirror the holiness and love of Christ, challenging us to maintain purity in thought and deed.
Witnessing for Christ: A Reflection of Our Love
Finally, our witness to others directly reflects our love for Jesus. When was the last time you shared the Gospel with someone? If our hearts are genuinely captivated by Christ’s love, sharing His story becomes a natural overflow of our lives, irrespective of our busy schedules. Witnessing isn’t just an obligation but a joyous outpouring of the transformation we’ve experienced in Him. Let’s pivot from seeing evangelism as an SOS activity to one of adoration, eagerly sharing the good news of Jesus’ love with those around us.
As we navigate the complexities of modern life, let’s realign our focus on worship, delve deeper into God’s Word, and embrace every opportunity to witness for Christ. These pillars strengthen our relationship with our first love and illuminate our paths and those of others, guiding us all closer to the heart of Jesus.
Reclaiming Your God-Given Vision: A Path to Purposeful Living
In the hustle of life, especially when surrounded by influential peers, it’s easy to drift from our vision into one that’s more socially appealing or “cool.” Yet, this detour can lead us away from the unique path God has outlined for each of us. God’s call on your life isn’t about aligning with the latest trends or fitting into popular narratives but about embracing the distinct vision He has entrusted you and your family.
Vision is challenging, demanding commitment and clarity, but it’s also the compass that guides us through life’s uncertainties. Proverbs 29:18 reminds us that we need a clear vision to avoid losing our way.
Aligning Your Life with Your Vision
A steadfast commitment to your vision means every aspect of your life reflects this dedication—your time, resources, and even your social circle. If your calendar is cluttered with commitments that don’t align with your vision, it’s time to reassess. Your vision should dictate where you invest your energy, how you manage your finances, what you consume, and with whom you spend your time. Associating with wisdom breeds wisdom, but the wrong company can lead to destruction, as Scripture warns. Let your vision bridge your present with a purposeful future, infusing even the most challenging days with meaning.
Vision: Transforming Pain into Purpose
Vision is not just about lofty goals or distant dreams; it gets you out of bed on those cold New York mornings when motivation is scarce. It’s what pushes you beyond mere membership to actively pursuing health and wellness despite the comfort of staying in. The gym analogy is poignant: many sign up, hoping for transformation, yet few show up to do the work. Similarly, without a clear vision, we risk being members of a life we’re not actively participating in.
Actively pursue your God-given vision, allowing it to shape your decisions, your relationships, and, ultimately, your destiny.
By recentering our lives around the vision God has given us, we step into a life of intentional faithfulness and purpose. This call to vision is not just about personal fulfillment. Embracing God’s vision is about living in alignment with God’s grand design for our lives, transforming every challenge into a stepping stone toward our God-ordained future.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your mercy, which is new every day. Thank you for your fresh wind, your fresh anointing, your fresh love, your never-ending power, and your endless forgiveness.
Father, renew the joy of my salvation, fill me with the passion and the fire that is unmistakable of a fully devoted follower of you. Take my whole life, not just part of it, and do something far greater than I can do in my power. Father, we love you desperately and it’s in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.