Today's passage: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=jeremiah%2030-31&version=NIV
Chapter 30 opens up with a positive theme: the theme of restoration. It is a message of hope, healing and rebuilding. But God wants to do more than just restore the fortunes of his people and bring them back to the land of milk and honey. He wants to restore the relationship. In verse 30:22, He says “And you shall be my people and I will be your God.”
God has used this phrase a lot throughout the Old Testament. What does it mean to you to be a part of God’s people, with Him as your God? To me, it means developing a relationship based on faith, love, surrender & obedience.
Faith – Faith in his promises, in his grace and in his salvation.
Love - His amazing love for us. Love so amazing that He sent His son to die on the cross for our sins that we might be saved. Love that is deeper and wider than we can imagine.
Surrender – giving up control; trusting him to take the reigns of my life. Inquiring of Him for guidance and help and acknowledging that His wisdom is beyond ours.
Obedience - A desire and commitment to obedience. Obedience is part of our love relationship with God. God wants us to follow the example of Jesus and live a life that is holy and righteous. Obedience means joining God in his kingdom work - serving Him and serving others so that He may be glorified. It is a product of love, rather than fear.
A few years ago, I found myself in need of restoration. I needed God to take control of my life and rebuild my faith. I needed Him to plant in me a desire for obedience and service. How is a relationship like this built? Just like any other relationship. Through time. I began spending time with God again. It started out with a few weak prayers and some Sunday visits to church and has grown into a new life for me. It’s a life of prayer, praise, & worship. He’s given me church family where I can fellowship with other believers and study His Word. He’s blessed me with opportunities to serve Him and others. Together, we are still working on our relationship constantly. It’s a process that I am so glad that He is committed to. I am his child and He is my God and the love that He lavishes upon me is greater than anything I can possibly even imagine. It’s so amazing that He –mighty God, architect of the universe, author of life – it’s so amazing that He would even would want a relationship with me. I thank Him for being a God of restoration.
Today's blog submitted by Kelly Coxe
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I love God's restoration verses human restoration. Restoration in the natural sense means a return of something to a former, original, normal, or unimpaired condition.
ReplyDeleteWhen God restores something, it is better than its orginal condition! Taking about having a future and a hope, with God things will just get better and better with us.
Until finally, in the end, we are made into the image of the son God, the perfect man, into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Not remembering our sins anymore nor having the tendency to sin! What a day that will be
2 Cor 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.