Month: December 2020

Posted in Ages 11 & above, Life Skills

The attitude of Gratitude

Posted on by christianliving4young

Yet another eventful year has passed by. Turning back, what do you see? A year filled with terror, uncertainty, distress and unhappiness? In fact, amongst all the unusual happenings around us, God has been so good to us and faithful to us. He has preserved us and kept us safe under the shadow of his wings. He has blessed us to see yet another year dawning– blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

We normally take all these for granted. Nothing comes to us because we deserve those, but only because God is gracious to us and merciful towards us. Let us take this opportunity to thank Him with ALL our HEART. Let us also appreciate our near and dear ones for being there for us and being our support system. As we begin a new year, let us fill our hearts with an attitude of Gratitude.

Let us open the treasure book to find more clues on being thankful.

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Clue 1: Why be thankful?

Oh, give thanks to the Lord , for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

I Chronicles 16:34

Our God is good all the time and His mercy endures forever. We should thank Him because He is so so so Good to us. Imagine a father who is mean to his children, it will be very difficult to survive in such a home. But our father in heaven is so good. He is ever loving, caring, protecting, compassionate and above all very good. There is no shadow of darkness in Him. So we should thank Him simply because He is good.

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I Thessalonians 5:18

In EVERYTHING we should give thanks because this is the will of God for us. If we love our God, then doing His “will” is our priority. His will for us is that we give thanks to Him in all things.

Clue 2: When to thank and for what?

Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”

Ephesians 5:20

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Colossians 3:17

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;

Colossians 4:2

There is no specific time and place for thanking God. The word of God says we should thank God the father ALWAYS, for ALL THINGS in the name of our Lord Jesus. Be it good times or bad times, rough times or easy times, sad times or happy times, healthy times or unhealthy times, God’s will for us is to be thankful always in everything.

Our words and deeds should reflect Jesus and should be with an attitude of Gratitude to Father God. Even in our prayers we should be thankful.

We should put on an attitude of Gratitude at all times and for everything.

Clue 3: The Ten Lepers ( Luke 17 : 11-19)

Jesus, during his ministry passed through a certain village where he met ten men who were lepers. They stood afar and shouted on top of their voices, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”. He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, a Samaritan, returned when he saw he was healed. With a loud voice he glorified God and fell down at Jesus’s feet, giving Him thanks. So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”

Here we see Jesus Himself commenting about the lepers who did not return to thank God. Let us not be in this category – people who go to God only for their needs and once needs are met they do not return to God but live their way. Let us appreciate God and be thankful for everything at all times – even when the circumstances looks dull and dim. Let us thank Him for everything small and big – the nature He created for us, our health, our food, our clothes, our shelter, our education and even our life itself as it is a gracious gift of God. Let us be thankful and do the will of God.

Treasures uncovered

Be thankful to God because He is good and this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us.

Put on an attitude of gratitude at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus.

Appreciate everything and everyone in life and do not take them for granted.

So let this be our new year resolution that we will not be grumpy and complaining about how bad our day and life is or how miserable our condition is, but will be content and grateful about everything. This is the will of God in Christ Jesus.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for teaching us about being thankful. Father help us to be thankful always and in everything as is your will. Help us to appreciate You and everything else in our life. Thank you for the gift of life and all our situations. We love you lord Jesus, in Jesus name, Amen.

Posted in Ages 11 & above, The Trinity

Getting to know Jesus

Posted on by christianliving4young

It is Christmas Eve. The best time of the year!!! A time filled with happiness and rejoicing. Even the air we breathe feels good during this time. Family dinners, Carol singing, gifts, brownies, cookies, Christmas Crib, Christmas tree, Santa Claus and decorations are few things that comes to mind when we think about Christmas. But the actual reason for this season is JESUS CHRIST. Even though God, He chose to leave the comfort of heaven and be born as a human to endure the cross, out of pure love for His creation – the human kind, including you and me. There is no other time better than this to get to know him, if you do not know him already.

Let us open the treasure book to find “JESUS”.

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Clue1: Introducing Jesus

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. 

John 1:1‭-‬2


He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

Colossians 1:15‭-‬17

Jesus was in the beginning with God. He is the Word of God, the image of God and first born over all creation. All things in heaven and earth were created by Him, through Him and for Him. He is Son of God, the Word of God and God himself.

Clue2: The Life of JESUS on Earth

The divine birth

In God’s appointed time, He sent His son to be born as a human to fulfil the eternal plan of salvation. First time in the history of man kind, a child was born to a virgin. The birth of this child – Jesus, even divided the timeline of the world into two eras – BC and AD. The devil tried to kill baby Jesus by the hand of Herod. But God gave visions to His parents and sustained them. Jesus grew in wisdom, favor and stature with God and with men.

The ministry

When Jesus was about 30 years, He got baptized by John the Baptist and the Holy Spirit descended on Him. From that time on, He started preaching the Kingdom of Heaven. Love and Compassion are two main characteristics we see all through His life. He was also impartial and was friends with specially those who were outcast – the sinners and the tax collectors. He taught the people, preached the kingdom, healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out evil spirits and did many wonders and miracles.

The suffering and death

In the olden days, once a year Israelites sacrificed an animal for the atonement of sins of all their people. Jesus became this lamb who was sacrificed for the Sin of the world. He was beaten brutally, mocked, cursed, ridiculed and crucified with thieves – all for no crime of His, but for doing the good He did. He died once and for all – a perfect lamb sacrificed for the sins of the whole of humankind. His blood bought us pardon from the punishment we deserve because of the multitude of sins we commit. He gave His life as a ransom for our sins and redeemed us from the clutches of sin. He took our punishments and in exchange gave us eternal life.

The resurrection

The people who crucified Him made sure His grave was sealed so well that no one would be able to remove the covering stone. They also kept guards to watch over. Little did they know that these weren’t strong enough to hold back Jesus. The grave cloths could not hold on to Him, the grave could not contain Him and Death could not detain Him. He rose back to life on the third day as He promised. Jesus ascended to heaven in the presence of His disciples. He is still alive and is the same Yesterday, today and forever.

Most people know these facts about Jesus. This doesn’t mean you know Him on a personal level.

Clue 3: Knowing Him intimately

To get to know someone on a personal level and to share an intimate relationship him / her, we need to spend more time with that person. This will help us to understand their likes and dislikes, behavioral traits and so on. So to get to know Jesus intimately, we need to spend more time with Him. We learned that He is the Word of God. Spending time meditating the scriptures will help us to get to know Him better – to know His likes, dislikes and other behavioral traits. Spend time talking to Him in prayer and hearing from Him.


Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.

I John 2:3‭-‬5

If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

John 14:7

The scripture gives us a test to check if we really know Him well. If we know Him intimately, we will Keep His commandments and walk in His ways. If we are not doing so, it means what we do not know Him so well as we think.

If we should keep His commands, we should know them first. We get to know it from the scriptures. So read the scriptures regularly to get to know His commands and meditate on it to get to know Him, to walk in His ways and to do His will. Also if we know Jesus, it means we also know the Father.

And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Mathew 7: 23

But on the other hand, if you do not walk in His ways doing His will, then the entry to the Kingdom of God will be denied. Our Code of Conduct is to imitate God and walk in His ways.

Treasures uncovered

JESUS is Son of God, the Word of God and God Himself.

To know Him intimately on a personal level we need to spend more time with Him – meditating the scriptures and hearing from Him.

If we know Him intimately, we will Keep His commandments and walk in His ways. If we know Jesus, we also know the Father.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for the divine plan of salvation. Thank you Jesus for enduring the cross for our sake. We want to know you on a personal level. We long for an intimate relation with you. Father, reveal the treasures of scripture to us. Help us to keep your commands and walk in your ways. In Jesus name, Amen.

Posted in Ages 11 & above, Eternity

LIFE – The Bigger Picture

Posted on by christianliving4young

Have you been on a trip lately? Usually when we decide to travel, we first choose a beautiful destination, then the date & time, the route and then finally make all the arrangements for travel. When the time comes, we gather our supplies and set out on the path finalized for the journey.

Our life in this world is also a journey. Depending on the route we take in this life’s journey, we reach different destinations. Let us open the treasure book and find more about the destinations and the respective routes that leads to them.

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Clue 1: The destinations

There are only two eternal destinations to our life’s journey and these places are completely different from each other.

The Happy place

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”


Matthew 6:19-20

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 

Revelation 21:4

The first destination is a Happy place called heaven. It is a place free from sadness and pain – no tears, death, mourning, crying or pain. Moreover, there isn’t any kind of loss or destruction. So this is a perfect place which is completely filled with love, joy and happiness!!! Although God cannot be limited to one place, this happy place is where He dwells and sits on His throne.

The Horrid Place

But the cowardly,unbelieving,abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Revelation 21:8

The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 13:41-42

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched where — their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.”

Mark 9:43-44

The second destination is very scary. It is a lake that burns with fire and Sulphur. We should recall at this point that in Genesis 19, we read about a Sulphur rain that destroyed the complete area of Sodom and Gomorrah during the time of Lot – Abraham’s nephew. It was just a rain and the place was destroyed to an extent that it lay waste even now. So just imagine a complete lake of fire and Sulphur!!! It is a place of wailing and gnashing of teeth and torment. There are worms that do not die and the fire is never put off. It will just go on and on and on for eternity…

The time that we spend in this world is JUST a FRACTION compared to the eternal life that is ahead of us. So to be in the lake of fire for complete eternity is more than horrifying. It is more scarier than any horrific circumstances ever faced by human kind and more painful than any pain the human race has ever experienced. It is far beyond our comprehension.

Now we know the available destinations. There is a beautiful destination that is filled with joy and happiness and a horrid place that is very dreadful. These are the only two available options. Remember, you have to spend your entire eternity. So choose your destination right.

Clue 2: The Routes

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Matthew 7: 13-14

The variety of trails / paths that we see in our lifetime falls into 2 categories: paths that take us to the eternal happy place leading to eternal life and paths that take us to the eternal horrid place leading to eternal doom. The path to destruction is very wide and broad and most people take this way. This means the path to destruction / eternal doom is very popular and comes with many options. A path is popular doesn’t mean it is the right choice. On the contrary, the path that leads to life is narrow and difficult. It is not very popular and only very few find it. So choose your path right to get to the chosen destination.

The path to eternal life

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

John 14:6

The entryway is very narrow indeed. Jesus is the ONE and ONLY way to get to life eternal. If you don’t have Jesus and is not saved by His blood, then you won’t get to the beautiful destination. So if you have not accepted Jesus as your savior, invite Him to you heart today and change your destination from eternal doom to eternal life.

If you have Jesus, then your walking style changes. You will fear God and hate evil; be obedient to Him and keep His commands; walk in love, light and wisdom – a walk that is pleasing in the eyes of God.

The path to eternal doom

For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them.”

Ephesians 5:5-7

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Galatians 5: 19-21

This path is indeed very broad and wide and has a lot of options to get in. All of the evil ways, wickedness, disobedience and lawlessness leads to destruction and to the horrid lake of fire. Repent and invite Jesus to your heart and accept Him as your savior. Walk in His ways and change your eternal destination.

Treasures uncovered

There are two eternal destinations to our journey of life – the joyful, happy place called heaven leading to eternal life and the horrid lake of fire & burning Sulphur leading to eternal doom.

The route that we take determines our eternal destination. Narrow and difficult is the path to eternal life whereas broad and wide is the path to eternal doom.

JESUS is the ONE and ONLY way to ETERNAL LIFE.

All evil ways, wickedness and lawlessness leads to destruction and to the lake of fire.

Choose Jesus, the only way to eternal life. Repent and change your path from wickedness and lawlessness to Jesus and his sacrificial love. This will change your eternal destination from eternal doom to eternal life.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for teaching us about the path that leads to eternal life. Help us to live a Christ-centric life that is pleasing to your eyes. Help us to hate all evil ways and never to set foot there. Help us to always choose the right path. In Jesus name, Amen.

Posted in Ages 11 & above, Life Skills

Code of Conduct

Posted on by christianliving4young

There is a “Code of Conduct” established by the society we live in which we are bound to follow. The country that we live in also has its own rules and regulations and we have to follow them very strictly. If not, we have to pay a price – fine or prison. Even at home and schools there are rules… We have been taught endless lists of do’s and don’ts from a very young age. Are you fed up following these disciplinary rules put up by parents, schools and other institutions? Are we obliged to follow this “Code of Conduct” and the never-ending list of rules?

Let us see what the treasure book says about this:

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Clue 1: Why Code of Conduct?

Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done”.

Genesis 8:21

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Ephesians 2:1‭-‬3

When sin entered the World, it disrupted everything. It changed the normal course of the world planned by God and even the thought process of humans. The human mind became naturally inclined to evil from a very young age. By nature, i.e., naturally men became the children of wrath, walking in the course of this world which is trespasses, sins, evil and wicked ways, thereby living according to the spirit of disobedience. This is human nature by default. So if there is no Code of Conduct, then it will be a total chaos.

Imagine you live in a society that do not have any kinds of rules or Code of Conduct. You are free to do what you like and is free to live as you please. Remember, not only you, but everyone in the society is free to do what they want.

Let us assume that you love Hotdogs. One fine evening you crave for a hotdog and remembers the hotdog vendor across the street who sells these amazing hotdogs. You run to the stall and see a hungry mad crowd already around the stall screaming on top of their voices to get the vendor’s attention because there is no queue system. Slowly there will be fights over who should be served first and in no time, it will turn into total chaos because there is no proper Code of Conduct. Similarly, imagine there are no traffic rules. People would drive madly as they please causing accidents and even deaths of many. Also, such a society will be filled with theft, robbery, crime, violence and all kinds of wickedness because there are no rules to regulate the public. Everyone will do as they please. It will not be a healthy environment or a peaceful place to live.

We see a similar kind of society in Genesis 6. People did not fear God and lived as they pleased doing wicked. They did not follow the Code of Conduct expected of them. It grieved God and He regretted to have ever created man. The earth was so corrupt and filled with violence that He decided to destroy mankind because of their wickedness.

Rules and Code of Conduct are in fact to protect us and to help us be fruitful. The absence of rules which is lawlessness and indiscipline will result in total chaos, violence and destruction since the inclination of human heart is towards evil from a very young age. So if there are no rules or “Code of Conduct”, people will be barbaric and it grieves God. The world will be in utter chaos.

Clue 2: Our attitude to disciplining

Disciplining is the practice of training people to obey rules or a Code of Conduct and it uses punishment to correct disobedience.

Disciplining by God

For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.”

Proverbs 3:12

God disciplines whom He Loves. So God is very much “for” disciplining because He loves his Children.

Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.”

Job 5:17

The Correction from God might not look okay initially but eventually will make us Happy. So do not despise His disciplining. He knows the best for us and disciplines us in the best possible way.

Disciplining by parents

We normally hate all these rules and disciplinary actions by our parents. It usually looks like they are totally against us and that they do not love us or understand us. Is it actually so? We saw in Proverbs 3:12 that a parent corrects the child who is a delight to them. If your parents do not love you or care for you, they will not correct you as your Code of Conduct does not matter to them. But if you are their delight, and they love and care for you, they will definitely correct you as everything concerning you matters a lot to them.

Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

The word of God instructs the parents to discipline their children in the way they should live. No wonder parents puts up those rules for us from a very young age.

A fool despises his father’s instruction, But he who receives correction is prudent.”

Proverbs 15:5

The word of God calls the child who despises father’s correction “A FOOL”. One who receives correction is considered prudent or wise.

God loves us the most and after that it is parents who truly loves us. They try to provide us the best according to their abilities. This even involves a lot of sacrifice from their side. So embrace their love and affection towards you. Honor them, respect them and love them. They discipline us because they love us. It is your call to decide whether you want to be WISE or FOOLISH.

Clue 3: Our Code of Conduct

We are ambassadors of Christ and hence our code of conduct should not reflect anything else but one that is fitting to be His ambassadors. We represent Him and not our “self” anymore to the outside world. So, if our Code of Conduct is not right then we will be degrading Him and bringing disgrace to Him.

In Genesis 6 we see a very wicked generation who grieved God. In that wicked generation one man found favor in God’s eyes and that was Noah. How did he find favor? Noah walked with God and was found to be just and perfect. He did not walk in evil ways like others in his generation. Walking with God will make you walk in righteousness and to hate evil and wicked ways. So Noah found favor in the eyes of God because his Code of Conduct was pleasing to God and hence he and his family survived the destruction caused by flood.

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Ephesians 5:1-2

Our Code of Conduct is to IMITATE GOD and WALK WITH HIM. If we walk with Him and imitate Him then we will Walk in Love, Light and Wisdom – a life fully pleasing to Him.

Treasures uncovered

The absence of Code of Conduct will result in chaos, violence and destruction.

God disciplines us because He loves us and His disciplining will eventually make us happy.

Parents discipline their children out of love and everyone who despises disciplining by them is called a FOOL.

Imitate God and Walk with Him. This is our Code of Conduct.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for teaching us about the importance of being disciplined. Help us to never despise disciplining by You or our parents. Help us to imitate You and walk with You and live a life pleasing to your eyes. In Jesus name, Amen.

Posted in Ages 11 & above, God & Me

What is your relationship status?

Posted on by christianliving4young

We humans are social beings and so we associate with many people in our life. We share various types of relationships with them such as friendship, partnership, family relationships, romantic relationships, etc. Among these, certain relationships are very special to us. We invest our heart and soul in such relationships. We love and care those people so very much. But what if, they did not value us or our feelings and what if they ignore us? Each one of us has definitely experienced at least one such relationship. How did it feel? Weren’t you hurt to the core? Have we hurt anyone likewise?

What about our relationship with God? Are we ignoring and hurting Him?

Let us open the treasure book to find clues on this!

OPENING THE TREASURE BOOK undefined

Clue 1: The relationship

Our relationship with God

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

John 1:12-13

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

Romans 8: 16-17

If you have received Jesus then you are a rightful child of God. In this world that we live, legal children inherit everything that their parents own. If there is more than one child, their possessions will be divided among the children. Here the scripture says we are his legal children, so we have an inheritance from father God and we are joint heirs with our big brother Jesus.

Furthermore, GOD is our Creator. He is our Lord and our Savior, our King, our Strength and our Refuge, our Best friend and our Brother, our Super Hero, our Help and our Healer, our Comforter and our Counselor. In fact, He is EVERYTHING to us.

God’s relationship with us

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8

God loves us so very much that he gave his beloved son to die for our sake. If we believe in Him we do not have to take the eternal punishment we deserve but can have life everlasting. Romans 5:8 confirms that God loves us unconditionally – while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Our friends or our family will not dare to die for our sake, not even our parents who loves us the most. The love of God towards us is unconditional and above every other love we see and experience.

Zechariah 2:8 says he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. God considers us as the apple of his eyes. This expression indicates that we are very precious for Him and are His priced possession whom He values very much.

So the RELATIONSHIP that we share with Him is VERY SPECIAL. No “one” or no “thing” can ever fill His “shoes” in our lives. We are incomplete and lost without Him. And for Him, we are very precious and are His priced possession.

Clue 2: The relationship status

Commitment, faithfulness, loyalty, honesty, respect, love and care, being available for one another are certain key aspects in all relationships. Just that the levels of these aspects vary for the different types of relationships. If the levels of all these aspects are weak, then the relationship grows cold and will not last for long. People in serious relationships are expected to stay committed to one another, be faithful, sincere, love, respect and care for one another, be true to their word and be there for each other through thick & thin.

God’s part

God keeps all these aspects required for the relationship. We know that he loves us unconditionally and cares for us. He introduced Himself as “I AM WHO I AM” to Moses in Exodus 3:14. HE becomes the “WHO” we are in need of, at any given point of time. He is always available and very committed in this relationship.

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”

2 Corinthians 1:20

Furthermore, He is faithful and always keeps his word. All His promises are Yes and Amen. He is very serious about the relationship.

So the relationship status of God is ” SERIOUSLY COMMITTED”.

Our part

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.

Matthew 22:37-38

“You shall have no other gods before Me.

Exodus 20:3

The first and the greatest commitment from our part for this relationship with God is to put Him First and to Love Him with All our HEART, All our SOUL and All our MIND. All our heart, soul and mind should be committed to loving Him as we already learned (Give it all). If we love God with all our heart then nothing else will take His place in our life. There won’t be any place for Evil or Wickedness. We will depart from it and hate it. And if love for God takes up all of our heart then we will not have anyone / anything else before Him. God should be our first priority no matter what situation we are in!

So what is your relationship status? Seriously committed ? Or not?

Clue 3: Signs of a broken relationship

If we prioritize something more than God then it means we Love that “something” more than God and it is IDOLATRY. The literal meaning of Idolatry is extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone. Idolatry shifts our focus from God to other worldly things. Everything that takes up place in our heart more than our God is our Idol. Every impure and evil desire in our heart is also Idolatry.

Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity”.

Ezekiel 14:3

Idolatry will let us to trip over into SIN because moving our focus away from God will make us fall into SIN. Nevertheless, Idolatry itself is SIN. It is being unfaithful to Him. It is same as cheating on your partner with some one else. Idolatry in heart is similar to sexual immorality done in the body. As how sexual immorality defiles ones body, IDOLATRY DEFILES your HEART.

We should do a self check as to what is our Idol. It might be our studies, our friendship, our family, our smartphones, our games, our social media accounts, our endeavors, our obsessions or anything else that takes away our focus from God and takes the place of God in our heart!!!

Clue 4: Mend the broken relationship

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry

1 Corinthians 10:14

Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry

Colossians 3:5

We should flee from Idolatry and all evil that tries to get into our heart. Put to death all wickedness and evil desires in your heart. Fill you heart completely with Love for God and do not let unwanted garbage to creep in!!!

Communication is key to any relationship. Find time to communicate with God. Talk to God daily and spend time with HIM in PRAYER. Get to know HIM better by reading the scriptures. Worship Him and give him the honor that is due to HIM. Ask the guidance of Holy Spirit in everything and in due time your relationship status will change to “SERIOUSLY COMMITTED”.

Treasures uncovered

We are in a RELATIONSHIP with God that is VERY SPECIAL.

For Him, we are very precious and are His priced possession.

In this relationship with us, God’s status is “Seriously Committed.” HE becomes the “WHO” we are in need of, at any given point of time.

Our commitment is to put God first and to Love Him with all our Heart, Soul and Mind.

Find your idols (everything that takes up space in our heart more than God) and put them to death. Flee from Idolatry. Fill your heart with the Love for God and change your relationship status to “Seriously Committed“.

When our relationship with God is in order then every other relationship will be in place and balanced.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for teaching us about the commitment required in the relationship with you. Holy Spirit, help us to find our idols and put them to death. Help us to flee from Idolatry. Help us to be seriously committed in our relationship with You and fill our hearts with Love for you. Lord Jesus, we thank you for loving us unconditionally. In Jesus name, Amen!