WILL WE RETURN?
I believe that one of the most important attitudes we can have in our life is a "returning spirit." Jeremiah 5:3 tells us about the children of Israel who "refused to return."
I should always have a "returning spirit" in my heart--returning back to God when I grieve the Holy Spirit, returning back to God's plumbline of truth when I get into deception, returning back to a soft and tender spirit when my heart becomes hard.
Not only should I have a "returning spirit" toward the Lord, but also toward my husband--returning to a soft a sweet spirit when I become haughty and independent, returning to a submissive spirit when I would rather do my own thing. I think that one of the secrets of a harmonious marriage is to keep a soft and tender spirit. This takes constant "returning."
What about the church of God today? I believe that "the spirit of returning" is the greatest need of the hour--returning to our first love, returning back to God's absolute truth and principles, returning back to the radical lifestyle of the earth church, and turning away from our mediocre, middle of the road, complacent, flesh-pampering and world-loving spirit.
God leaves us with the plea to return in the last verses of the Old Testament, "He shall TURN THE HEART OF THE FATHERS TO THE CHILDREN, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (Malachi 4:5-6). The Hebrew word is "shuv" and is translated "turn" 80 times and "return" 491 times. God's greatest longing is for a returning back to His heart for family, to see children as He sees them, and to embrace into our families the children He wants us to have.
Will we have a "returning spirit"? Or would we rather stay in our rut of "my way." In everything in life it is either "my way" which usually leads to destruction and deception, or "God's way" which leads to life and holiness.
Love from Nancy Campbell
Read More
I should always have a "returning spirit" in my heart--returning back to God when I grieve the Holy Spirit, returning back to God's plumbline of truth when I get into deception, returning back to a soft and tender spirit when my heart becomes hard.
Not only should I have a "returning spirit" toward the Lord, but also toward my husband--returning to a soft a sweet spirit when I become haughty and independent, returning to a submissive spirit when I would rather do my own thing. I think that one of the secrets of a harmonious marriage is to keep a soft and tender spirit. This takes constant "returning."
What about the church of God today? I believe that "the spirit of returning" is the greatest need of the hour--returning to our first love, returning back to God's absolute truth and principles, returning back to the radical lifestyle of the earth church, and turning away from our mediocre, middle of the road, complacent, flesh-pampering and world-loving spirit.
God leaves us with the plea to return in the last verses of the Old Testament, "He shall TURN THE HEART OF THE FATHERS TO THE CHILDREN, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (Malachi 4:5-6). The Hebrew word is "shuv" and is translated "turn" 80 times and "return" 491 times. God's greatest longing is for a returning back to His heart for family, to see children as He sees them, and to embrace into our families the children He wants us to have.
Will we have a "returning spirit"? Or would we rather stay in our rut of "my way." In everything in life it is either "my way" which usually leads to destruction and deception, or "God's way" which leads to life and holiness.
Love from Nancy Campbell
Read More