Experience God For Yourself
Experiencing God second-handedly won*t do anything of lasting value for you. Experiencing Him must be personal and direct between you and God through the Lord Jesus.
John 14:6: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
1 John 5:11: And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
This devotional was written by Dr. Robert A. Cook. You can subscribe to his free daily email articles at Walk With The King Today and listen to his Spirit-filled 15-minute messages. Used with written permission.
Judges 2:10: *And there arose another generation which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel.*
Read also Judges 2:1-23.
Joshua was a trusted resource used by God to bring the Israelites into the Promised Land. He stood squarely for the power, blessing and presence of God, and so did the elders around him. But there came a day after Joshua and the elders had died when the last one who had shared in these great experiences under God*s mighty hand died also. And when that time came, people began to forget what God had done and been in Israel.
You, my friend, may be God*s anchor in a given situation. So be your best for Him, will you? You can keep a whole family, a whole community, a whole church, a whole organization in line for God -- simply by the force of your own dedication to your Lord! It is sad, but true, that unless people experience God*s power for themselves, everything else becomes merely a performance. We see this as we watch the children of great Christian leaders, children who are bored by their fathers* spiritual efforts because their own hearts have never been ignited and fueled with faith in the Lord. And so it was with the generation after Joshua... and, oh, the spiritual darkness that followed.
Small thought here. Be sure that you experience God firsthand in your heart and life. Otherwise religion and spiritual things will become sentimental traditions at best and tedious chores at worst. People who first become bored then become cynical, then critical, and finally bitter and despairing. Don*t give Satan a foothold. Live as God*s resource person all the time.
You may contact Ron with questions, comments or prayer requests via email at ronsbibletopics@yahoo.com. |