There’s something cosy about a fire, to sit by it and watch the flames dancing and feel the heat of it warming your body.
But it’s of little use to us from a distance, we may be able to admire it if we’re not too far away, but we won’t feel the warmth of it.
It’s the same with God’s love friends, it’s like a fire that is always burning, strong and true BUT we need to be close to Him to feel the warmth and the fire of His love.
Jude tells us this…
‘Keep yourselves in the love of God,’
Maybe your response to that is, ‘but I can’t, I so often fail and mess up.’ Ah Friend, you’re right, we can’t keep ourselves, we are….
‘kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.’
But, we can keep ourselves close, as Jude tells us in the previous verse, by…
‘building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,’
building ourselves up on our faith in Christ through His word, through seeking and searching, by learning more about just how great God’s love is, praying that the Holy Spirit will…
‘Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.’ and teach us more about Jesus and His love.
Friends, just as you have to get close to the fire to feel it’s warmth, so we have to draw near to God to feel the warmth of His love…
‘Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.’
He will draw nigh to you Friend, He WILL, if you seek Him earnestly.
I proved it after having spent years with a lukewarm love, just waiting for God to give me that fire of my first love again, not even realising that the desire for a deeper love was Holy Spirit drawing me and all I needed to do was to draw near in response earnestly seeking Him once more through His word and in prayer.
God doesn’t want cold, half hearted devotions so that we can get our ‘quiet time’ ticked off our to do list, He wants our all, He wants us to be constantly drawing near to the fire of His love, basking in it’s warmth.
God wants you to draw near to Him Friend, He waits to hear from you and desires to help and bless you if you’ll just draw near and trust Him to keep you close by His power.
The work is His but when He gives the desire we have the choice whether to respond or not, whether to keep near the fire of His love, whether to lay aside the distractions or leave the warmth and go after temporary pleasure.
Friends, as we end this year and enter the new year, may we each be found earnestly seeking to live and keep ourselves from distractions and in the warmth of His love.
Jude 1:21, 1 Peter 1:5, Psalm 119:18, James 4:8,
Encouraging Women to Seek and Abide... 