01/28/2022
As Christians, and members of the larger Church, we have been metaphorically prepared to become the bride of Christ. We have fallen into an agape love with the Son of God. However, our betrothal is a long one, and much can happen as we wait for our wedding day; especially if we don’t guard our faith carefully. Paul uses this analogy when speaking to the Corinthians, and it would be wise for us to heed his words today.
“For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.”
2 Corinthians 11:2 ESV
Our God is a jealous God; we know this because He has told us so, and we are by nature weak creatures who are easily distracted, fooled, and misled. Listen as God speaks of His jealousy…
“(for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),”
Exodus 34:14 ESV
Paul reinforces the truth about ourselves by pointing us back to the Garden of Eden, and man’s original sin. Thus, to maintain our faith, our eyes must be constantly fixed on Jesus, and our hearts dedicated to Him as He abides in us, and we in Him.
“But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”
2 Corinthians 11:3 ESV
There are many ways in which we can lose our way in faith; we can become lax, and over time place the world before God by losing sight of the intensity with which we once loved our Him. We can hear reasoning that leads us to believe that God, and Jesus are myths. We can hear false doctrine, and find that God’s truth is being eroded by it. We can find ourselves reconstructing the image of God in an attempt to make Him more like man so that we feel better about how we live. All of these, and more, will lead us astray, and they all begin by placing ourselves, or something in our lives ahead of Him, and diminishing our love for Him. Oh, but how easily we can be distracted from the truth in God’s Word, and the Gospel of Jesus. In fact, we are not any less vulnerable today than the Corinthians were in Paul’s time…
“For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.”
2 Corinthians 11:4 ESV
So how do we guard our faith against Satan, and our own various forms of malaise? How do we maintain our relationship with God, and Jesus Christ, in perfect order, and remain true to God’s Word? Well the Bible is filled with advice to help us with this. We are told to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We are told to pray without ceasing, we are told to put on the armor of God, we are warned against false prophets, we are told not to change a single word of God’s Word in Revelation. We are told to think on things that are good, and not to lean on our own understanding. There are too many warnings and helps regarding this subject to list here today in this short devotional, but as we read the Bible they leap out at us… if we will only pay attention.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV
How is our faith faring today? Is it based on the Word of God as it is written? Is Jesus the cornerstone of our lives? Have we replaced God with something foolish that we have convinced ourselves should be first over God? If we have strayed then today is the day, and now is the time, to pray that desperate prayer…
“And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!””
Mark 9:23-24 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Holy Word, and for your Son Jesus Christ who teaches us of how we should live in faith. Thank you for your Holy Spirit that gives us remembrance, understanding, and convicts us when we wander from the truth. Help us to remain firm in our faith, obedient to your commandments, and true to your Word. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who is first in all things, and the loving heart of our faith. Praised be your name for revealing our wrong turns in faith, and for mercifully returning us to the path of righteousness. Great are you who can reclaim the sinner, and restore the faith of the faithless. Amazing is your grace that is sufficient for us, and for your Holy Spirit that calls us back from the precipice that is the edge of hell. Wonderful is Jesus who cleansed us with His redeeming blood and removes the sin that once separated us from you. Help us to know your truth Father, and to restore our faith to fullness through Christ as we pick up our crosses and follow Him towards Calvary… and eternity with you. All glory be to you Lord, and may we join all of creation in praising your name.
“As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.”
1 Timothy 1:3-7 ESV
Rich Forbes