Lose Something?

John 15:5; Ephesians 3:17-19; Colossians 2:6-7; 1 John 2:24; 1 John 3:24

Recently I have been reading Charles Spurgeon's daily devotion Morning and Evening. I'm certain that you can relate to going over a lesson, devotion, or scripture reading when something just sticks out and really grabs your attention. One such devotion from Spurgeon did just that for me. The basis for that particular devotion, as is for so many, was on where you are in your relationship with the Lord. He began with the statement:"Tell me where you lost the company of Christ, and I will tell you the most likely place to find him." The entirety of this particular devotion can be found at http://www.heartlight.org/spurgeon/0119-am.html. 

As I read those words I began to take a closer look at my walk with the Lord; not just where I long to be, but a true assessment of where I am. Am I trying to convince myself and others that I am further along than I am? Am I really where I want to be? Am I really where I should be? Such questions are not meant to discourage but to encourage. We must constantly determine where we are in our relationship with Christ, for our strength lies not within ourselves but in Him alone. 

If we are not careful we will find ourselves in a situation similar to Samson when he was abruptly awakened by Delilah; and as Judges 16:20 records ”did not know that the Lord had departed from him." His strength was gone and he was seized by the Philistines. Of course we know the rest of the story; Samson was avenged as he asked the Lord for his strength to return in one final action as he kills 3,000 Philistines, dying along side of them. Although he was avenged and had his strength returned, the consequences of his disobedience remained. 

In John 15:4, Jesus gives this instruction: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. Let us continually assess where we are in our relationship with Christ, lest we be awakened in a time of desperation only to find that we have unknowingly drifted much further off course that we could have ever imagined. He longs for a deeper relationship with us. Are we truly longing for a deeper relationship with Him?

Judges 16:20–21 (NASB) She said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison.

Pastor Mike Deese