True Devotion

I was in my home office and I realized that I have been studying for 5 hours, it’s 11:30 pm. I figure I’d better go to bed since I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow. So, I quietly go upstairs to the bedroom. I take a shower and put my pajamas on. Sliding into bed every so gently and quietly out of respect for Ruth, I hear this soft raspy voice say, “Babe, can you get me some water?”

Jesus said, “If anyone wants to be My follower, let him deny himself…put aside, forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests…” This is speaking of a shift of focus. To deny ourselves means that we shift our focus from us (our needs, our interests), and shift our focus onto Jesus and His interests.

My focus was to fall into a tranquil deep sleep mode. But Ruth disrupted my focus and intentions by testing my love for her! In order for a shift of focus to hold strong, it must be borne out of our love for the Lord. There are times when Jesus will ask us to shift our attention onto Him when we aren’t feeling it! It’s at these times that your true faith and love for God will show themselves.

Here is the deal, our shift of attention onto Jesus must be motivated by our love for Him. Just as it is our love that gives value and substance to our consecration to our human relationships, It is our Love that gives value and substance to our consecration to the Lord. If a Christian is not willing to devote time periodically for intensified prayer and fasting, and not willing to sacrifice their desires for His purposes, they should question their love for God.

“We love Him because He first loved us.” (I John 4.19)

True devotion is based upon Love – not upon obligation, or need, or sacrifice. Devotion is a product of Love. I got the water for Ruth, even though I didn’t feel like it, and I really didn’t feel like it, because of my love for her.

Pastor Mike