When you see someone talk about you in the past whilst claiming to know you, one will immediately realize that such a person had lost touch with you. When children of God talk about past experiences and glories with no recent experiences with the Lord, then they have lost contact with Him. As a result, their relationship with the Lord can be related to ash: dead! It only proves that something used to be there. Ash is good, but it cannot remain on the altar as it will put out the fire. The Bible tells us in Leviticus 6:12 that the fire on the altar which symbolizes our relationship with Him must be kept burning. Fresh wood must be added to the fire every morning to keep it burning. The fresh wood symbolizes the study of His Word and prayers: these must not be lacking in our lives or deadness will creep into our souls and spirits. So many yearn to recover the relationship they had with the Master but a lot cannot fathom at what point they lost Him or when they stopped putting fresh wood on the altar. Friend, backsliding does not happen instantly. It occurs in accumulated actions – a gradual pulling/tearing away from the Master. When the parents of Jesus in Luke 2:41-50 realized they had lost Him, they did not beat themselves up and wallow in self pity and condemnation. They did the first thing any concerned parent will do by searching amongst their friends and relatives. The truth of the matter is that’s exactly what we do spiritually. Once a man loses touch with God, he tries to look for Him amongst friends, relatives and colleagues. Friend, each will give you a version of where they think He might be. The Bible says after a day of searching amongst friends and relatives, Joseph and Mary decided to return to the place they last saw Him. When they got to the Temple and found Him, they told Him they had been looking for Him and he asked them why. He told them they should have known where He would be! The woman with the alabaster box of oil knew exactly where Christ was seated and went to Him directly despite the disapproval looks and comments of the people. You know where you had left Him return back to the spot and follow Him on His terms. No wonder He said if a man must follow Him such must first deny himself, take up his cross and follow. These are His terms without which one cannot have an intimate relationship with Him. God wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him not a ‘hello/goodbye’ relationship. To sustain our connection with Him, then our fellowship with Him must be a consistent one. God bless you.
"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; Walk [habitually] before Me [with integrity, knowing that you are always in My presence], and be blameless and complete [in obedience to Me]" (Genesis 17:1, AMP). A while back, I overheard a conversation between two young men; both were wondering how a person can be and remain holy in a world that daily encourages you to exhibit and enjoy every self-indulgent pleasure one desires. Of course, they knew the Scripture in Psalm 119:9-11, which describes how a young man can keep his way pure, but they feel it is increasingly becoming difficult to discern the way of the Lord from the world system. To them, many Pastors and children of God have been won over by the kingdom of darkness to subvert the principles of God as written in the Bible. They were not wrong, in light of some of the teaching coming from the pulpits! The above ...
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