GraceCreates

By Jon Walker

“Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.” Jeremiah 3:22 (NIV)

When was the last time you craved intimacy with God, wanting it so badly you chased after it with abandonment? Desiring God so much you’d follow him through the desert and through an empty and barren land (Jeremiah 2:2)?

If you’re like me, you may wonder if you can love God with such an everlasting, overpowering love again. You may be thinking, “God, I don’t think that kind of love is humanly possible!”
 
And if you’re thinking that, you’re right. Only with Jesus within are we capable of loving God with the supernatural mystery of his own love. God is able to change the desires within you; he is able to rekindle a deeply, devoted love within you.
 
God promises to bring you back to the devotion of your youth (Jeremiah 3:22; Jeremiah 2:2). If you’ve lost your passion for God, the way to get it back is not to try harder until you somehow reach that level of love. The way back is to ask God to fill you with his holy love.

God will forgive our prodigal nature; he’ll cure us of our lethargic faith: “Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.” The people of Israel respond immediately, “Yes, we will come to you, for you are the LORD our God” (Jeremiah 3:22 NIV).

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will. 2 Corinthians 8:5 (NIV)

God created us to make and stay in commitments, starting first with our commitment to him and then with our commitment to others: “They gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will” (2 Corinthians 8:5 NIV).

Staying committed to one another takes time, and it requires we experience life together beyond the walls of the worship center. It means we make others a priority by sharing our lives over coffee, after work, at the ballpark, in the hospital. It means taking the frightening step beyond superficial friendships toward becoming friends who stick closer than all others (Proverbs 18:24).

But it all starts with God: As we deepen our relationship with God, he compels us to deepen our relationships with others.

We don’t have to have deep commitments with everyone, but God did design us to develop at least a few deep commitments with others in the Jesus-body.

Who are you committed to? And who knows it? If you haven’t already, make an intentional commitment to one other Jesus-one, saying, “I want you to know that I will always be there for you. I want to grow close to you as a friend.”

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.