HIS WORD IN THE WORLD! 🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥 BETWEEN CHRISTMAS AND EASTER(THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT CHRISTIAN EVENTS! 🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥 My intention is not to debase Christmas nor Easter. But a Bible studying, believing and practicing christian(not a theologian or religious christian) will easily see the manipulative craftiness of the ancient serpent at work...the devil has always strived to drive a hedge into God's Purpose,and in each of such cases, the OMNIPOTENT, OMNIPRESENT AND OMNISCIENT GOD has always turned every spanner thrown in His Works by the devil into His Own Advantage. We men are likened to sheep. And sheep have a tendency to follow the crowd without questioning. Christ Jesus however came and taught us to examine everything by God's Word. The Pharisees exalted HUMAN TRADITION, Christ Jesus EXALTED GOD'S WORD. Man was to live by every WORD that proceeded from GOD'S MOUTH (Matt. 4:4). The battle that Christ Jesus was constantly engaged in with the Pharisees was the age-long battle of God's Word versus the traditions of men. In the church, we are engaged in the same battle today. God's Word is the only light that we have on earth. And when God created light initially, He immediately separated it from the darkness. The darkness is both sin as well as human traditions. We also are called to separate both these from the pure Word of God so that there is no mixture in the church. 👉CHRISTMAS Consider Christmas, which is celebrated by many as the birthday of Christ Jesus. Shopkeepers of all religions look forward to Christmas, for it is a time when they can make much profit. It is a commercial festival, not a spiritual one. Millions of Naira and whatever currencies are spent on Christmas cards and gifts. Sales of alcoholic drinks also go up at this time...a time when the gravest evils are physically manifested... fornications,adulteries, fighting and drunk driving etc, are symbols of the celebration. In my adolescent and early teenage years in my community, on every 24th and 31st December night, the tarred road from beginning to the end must be littered all over by the broken pieces of beer bottles or other alcoholic beverages, otherwise,it means the festivals never held. Alcohol sellers do really suffer losses of bottles. Now, the question is...Is this really then the Birthday of the Son of God, or of another 'Jesus'? This controversial subject has so been thrashed out,that there's nothing left or new to add. Biblical records and the geographical history of the times and place absolutely confirmed that Christ Jesus was Birthed on that day. Therefore, December 25 then must be the birthday of another 'Jesus' that has been foisted on an unsuspecting Christendom by unconverted men! Okay, even if we did know the exact date of Christ Jesus' Birth, the question would still be whether God intended His church to celebrate it. Mary, the mother of Christ Jesus, would certainly have known the exact date of birth of her SON. And she was with the apostles for many years after the day of Pentecost. Yet there is no mention anywhere of Christ Jesus' date of Birth. What does this show? Just this... that God deliberately hid the date OF Christ Jesus' Birth, because He did not want the church to celebrate it. Christ Jesus was not an ordinary mortal whose Birthday was to be celebrated once a year. He was the Son of God "Who had no beginning of days", unlike us (Heb.7:3). God wants us to recognize Christ Jesus' Birth, Death, Resurrection and Ascension every day, and not just once a year. An understanding of the difference between the Old and the New Covenants will also enable us to understand why God does not want His children to celebrate any special holy days now. Under the Old Covenant, Israel had been commanded to celebrate certain days as specially holy days. But that was only a shadow. Now that we have Christ Jesus ,the Will of God is that every day of our lives be equally holy. Even the weekly sabbath has been done away with under the new covenant. This is why no holy days are mentioned anywhere in the New Testament (Col.2:16,17). How then did Christmas and Easter make their entry into Christendom? The answer is: In the same way that infant baptism, compulsory tithing(some pastors teach non tithers are going to hell), priestcraft and many other human traditions and old covenant practices, have made their entry...by the subtle working of Satan. Thus says the Lord, "Do not learn the way of the heathen. The customs of the people are futile. One cuts a tree from the forest with the axe. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails so that it will not topple!" (Jer. 10:2-4). 👉 EASTER The word 'Easter' comes from one of the titles of the queen of heaven, 'Ishtar' or `Astarte' (see 1 Kin. 11:5) - one of the idols that Solomon worshipped. There were slightly different forms of that name in different countries. I ain't interested in delving into history...for like I observed above, there's nothing new to add that we don't already know. The DEATH and RESURRECTION of CHRIST JESUS are the central MESSAGE of the GOSPEL. The only way that Christ Jesus intended us to commemorate this was through the 'breaking of bread', which we are to take part in together as a church. When we break bread, we testify not only of Christ Jesus' Death, but also our death with Him. The emotionalism of Good Friday and sentimentality of Easter turns the attention of men away from the necessity of following Christ Jesus, to empty ritualism. 👉 GOD'S WORD OR MAN'S TRADITION? Behind the celebration of Christmas and Easter lies the far more deadly principle of following the traditions of men even when they have no foundation in God's Word. So strong is this power of tradition that many believers who follow the Scriptures in other areas still find it difficult to give up celebrating Christmas and Easter. It is amazing that many believers are not willing to accept Christmas and Easter are basically pagan festivals. Changing the names do not make these festivals Christian! As we said at the beginning, Christ Jesus was engaged in a constant battle with the Pharisees over this very issue - man's traditions versus God's Word. He faced more opposition for opposing the empty traditions of 'the fathers' than for preaching against sin. We shall find our experience to be the same, if we are just as faithful as He was. God's Word alone is our guide and not the example of even godly men in those areas where they do not follow the Word of God. "Let God be found true even though every man be found a liar" (Rom. 3:4). The Bereans searched the Scriptures to check up even on Paul's teaching, and the Holy Spirit commends them for it (Acts 17:11). That is a good example for all of us to follow. David was a man after God's own heart. Yet, for forty years, he permitted the Israelites to worship Moses' bronze serpent without realizing that it was an abomination to God. He did not have light even on such obvious idolatry. It was a much lesser king, Hezekiah, who was given light to expose and destroy this idolatrous practice (2 Kin. 18:1-4). We can follow godly men in the saintliness of their lives, but not in their lack of light on human traditions. Our safety lies in simply following the teaching of God's Word and not in adding to or subtracting from it. 👉 DO NOT JUDGE OTHERS! Finally : What should our attitude be towards sincere believers who celebrate Christmas and Easter? It is important to remember that we do not become spiritual merely by not celebrating Christmas and Easter. And those who celebrate these festivals are not therefore carnal believers. Spiritual people are those who follow Christ Jesus along the way of daily self-denial and the daily infilling of the Holy Spirit - whether they celebrate Christmas and Easter or not. So when we meet believers who celebrate these festivals, we must be gracious enough to consider that they may be ignorant of the pagan origin of these festivals. So they are not sinning in any way when they celebrate them. On the other hand, we will be sinning, if we judge them. Since December 25th is usually a holiday for everyone and the days around it are also holidays for schools, many use this period for end-of-the-year family reunions - which is a very good thing. And since some people attend church-services only twice a year (on December 25th and the Easter weekend) it is good for churches to have services on those dates, so that they can preach the gospel to such people and explain to them that Christ Jesus came to earth to save us from our sins and that He conquered death and Satan for us. True believers are thankful every day of their lives that Christ Jesus was born and that He died for their sins and rose again - and not just at two times of the year. In the early days of Christianity, some Christians celebrated the Sabbath - which was a non-Christian religious festival, just like Christmas and Easter. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul therefore to write Romans 14 to warn other Christians not to sin by judging them. The same warning holds good for those who judge others who celebrate Christmas and Easter. "Accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. Who are you to judge the servant of another? One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who does not, for the Lord he does not, and gives thanks to God. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God and each one of us will give an account of himself (alone) to God" (Rom.14:12)). And that is the best word with which to conclude this relatively short submission on Christmas and Easter. May God help us to realize that every day, Christ Jesus was born, crucified on the Cross,died, buried and resurrected for us that we may live... That for every sin we wilfully commit, we nail Him to the Cross afresh. Amen🙇🙏❤️!

HIS WORD IN THE WORLD! 🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥 BETWEEN CHRISTMAS AND EASTER(THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT CHRISTIAN EVENTS! 🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥 My intention is not to debase Christmas nor Easter. But a Bible studying, believing and practicing christian(not a theologian or religious christian) will easily see the manipulative craftiness of the ancient serpent at work...the devil has always strived to drive a hedge into God's Purpose,and in each of such cases, the OMNIPOTENT, OMNIPRESENT AND OMNISCIENT GOD has always turned every spanner thrown in His Works by the devil into His Own Advantage. We men are likened to sheep. And sheep have a tendency to follow the crowd without questioning. Christ Jesus however came and taught us to examine everything by God's Word. The Pharisees exalted HUMAN TRADITION, Christ Jesus EXALTED GOD'S WORD. Man was to live by every WORD that proceeded from GOD'S MOUTH (Matt. 4:4). The battle that Christ Jesus was constantly engaged in with the Pharisees was the age-long battle of God's Word versus the traditions of men. In the church, we are engaged in the same battle today. God's Word is the only light that we have on earth. And when God created light initially, He immediately separated it from the darkness. The darkness is both sin as well as human traditions. We also are called to separate both these from the pure Word of God so that there is no mixture in the church. 👉CHRISTMAS Consider Christmas, which is celebrated by many as the birthday of Christ Jesus. Shopkeepers of all religions look forward to Christmas, for it is a time when they can make much profit. It is a commercial festival, not a spiritual one. Millions of Naira and whatever currencies are spent on Christmas cards and gifts. Sales of alcoholic drinks also go up at this time...a time when the gravest evils are physically manifested... fornications,adulteries, fighting and drunk driving etc, are symbols of the celebration. In my adolescent and early teenage years in my community, on every 24th and 31st December night, the tarred road from beginning to the end must be littered all over by the broken pieces of beer bottles or other alcoholic beverages, otherwise,it means the festivals never held. Alcohol sellers do really suffer losses of bottles. Now, the question is...Is this really then the Birthday of the Son of God, or of another 'Jesus'? This controversial subject has so been thrashed out,that there's nothing left or new to add. Biblical records and the geographical history of the times and place absolutely confirmed that Christ Jesus was Birthed on that day. Therefore, December 25 then must be the birthday of another 'Jesus' that has been foisted on an unsuspecting Christendom by unconverted men! Okay, even if we did know the exact date of Christ Jesus' Birth, the question would still be whether God intended His church to celebrate it. Mary, the mother of Christ Jesus, would certainly have known the exact date of birth of her SON. And she was with the apostles for many years after the day of Pentecost. Yet there is no mention anywhere of Christ Jesus' date of Birth. What does this show? Just this... that God deliberately hid the date OF Christ Jesus' Birth, because He did not want the church to celebrate it. Christ Jesus was not an ordinary mortal whose Birthday was to be celebrated once a year. He was the Son of God "Who had no beginning of days", unlike us (Heb.7:3). God wants us to recognize Christ Jesus' Birth, Death, Resurrection and Ascension every day, and not just once a year. An understanding of the difference between the Old and the New Covenants will also enable us to understand why God does not want His children to celebrate any special holy days now. Under the Old Covenant, Israel had been commanded to celebrate certain days as specially holy days. But that was only a shadow. Now that we have Christ Jesus ,the Will of God is that every day of our lives be equally holy. Even the weekly sabbath has been done away with under the new covenant. This is why no holy days are mentioned anywhere in the New Testament (Col.2:16,17). How then did Christmas and Easter make their entry into Christendom? The answer is: In the same way that infant baptism, compulsory tithing(some pastors teach non tithers are going to hell), priestcraft and many other human traditions and old covenant practices, have made their entry...by the subtle working of Satan. Thus says the Lord, "Do not learn the way of the heathen. The customs of the people are futile. One cuts a tree from the forest with the axe. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails so that it will not topple!" (Jer. 10:2-4). 👉 EASTER The word 'Easter' comes from one of the titles of the queen of heaven, 'Ishtar' or `Astarte' (see 1 Kin. 11:5) - one of the idols that Solomon worshipped. There were slightly different forms of that name in different countries. I ain't interested in delving into history...for like I observed above, there's nothing new to add that we don't already know. The DEATH and RESURRECTION of CHRIST JESUS are the central MESSAGE of the GOSPEL. The only way that Christ Jesus intended us to commemorate this was through the 'breaking of bread', which we are to take part in together as a church. When we break bread, we testify not only of Christ Jesus' Death, but also our death with Him. The emotionalism of Good Friday and sentimentality of Easter turns the attention of men away from the necessity of following Christ Jesus, to empty ritualism. 👉 GOD'S WORD OR MAN'S TRADITION? Behind the celebration of Christmas and Easter lies the far more deadly principle of following the traditions of men even when they have no foundation in God's Word. So strong is this power of tradition that many believers who follow the Scriptures in other areas still find it difficult to give up celebrating Christmas and Easter. It is amazing that many believers are not willing to accept Christmas and Easter are basically pagan festivals. Changing the names do not make these festivals Christian! As we said at the beginning, Christ Jesus was engaged in a constant battle with the Pharisees over this very issue - man's traditions versus God's Word. He faced more opposition for opposing the empty traditions of 'the fathers' than for preaching against sin. We shall find our experience to be the same, if we are just as faithful as He was. God's Word alone is our guide and not the example of even godly men in those areas where they do not follow the Word of God. "Let God be found true even though every man be found a liar" (Rom. 3:4). The Bereans searched the Scriptures to check up even on Paul's teaching, and the Holy Spirit commends them for it (Acts 17:11). That is a good example for all of us to follow. David was a man after God's own heart. Yet, for forty years, he permitted the Israelites to worship Moses' bronze serpent without realizing that it was an abomination to God. He did not have light even on such obvious idolatry. It was a much lesser king, Hezekiah, who was given light to expose and destroy this idolatrous practice (2 Kin. 18:1-4). We can follow godly men in the saintliness of their lives, but not in their lack of light on human traditions. Our safety lies in simply following the teaching of God's Word and not in adding to or subtracting from it. 👉 DO NOT JUDGE OTHERS! Finally : What should our attitude be towards sincere believers who celebrate Christmas and Easter? It is important to remember that we do not become spiritual merely by not celebrating Christmas and Easter. And those who celebrate these festivals are not therefore carnal believers. Spiritual people are those who follow Christ Jesus along the way of daily self-denial and the daily infilling of the Holy Spirit - whether they celebrate Christmas and Easter or not. So when we meet believers who celebrate these festivals, we must be gracious enough to consider that they may be ignorant of the pagan origin of these festivals. So they are not sinning in any way when they celebrate them. On the other hand, we will be sinning, if we judge them. Since December 25th is usually a holiday for everyone and the days around it are also holidays for schools, many use this period for end-of-the-year family reunions - which is a very good thing. And since some people attend church-services only twice a year (on December 25th and the Easter weekend) it is good for churches to have services on those dates, so that they can preach the gospel to such people and explain to them that Christ Jesus came to earth to save us from our sins and that He conquered death and Satan for us. True believers are thankful every day of their lives that Christ Jesus was born and that He died for their sins and rose again - and not just at two times of the year. In the early days of Christianity, some Christians celebrated the Sabbath - which was a non-Christian religious festival, just like Christmas and Easter. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul therefore to write Romans 14 to warn other Christians not to sin by judging them. The same warning holds good for those who judge others who celebrate Christmas and Easter. "Accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. Who are you to judge the servant of another? One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who does not, for the Lord he does not, and gives thanks to God. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God and each one of us will give an account of himself (alone) to God" (Rom.14:12)). And that is the best word with which to conclude this relatively short submission on Christmas and Easter. May God help us to realize that every day, Christ Jesus was born, crucified on the Cross,died, buried and resurrected for us that we may live... That for every sin we wilfully commit, we nail Him to the Cross afresh. Amen🙇🙏❤️!

THAT I MAY KNOW HIM!(PHP.3:10) 🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥 THE CONSEQUENCES OF SHUTTING GOD OUT OF OUR LIVES! [PS. 51:11] 💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫 So many of us are do so much take God's Love for us for granted. And one of the fact responsible is wrong following and mentoring by self centered custodians of God's Word. Most of them teach that God Loves us so much that He can't leave us no matter how we wilfully offend Him. But, I tell you now that God does abandon us to our fate,if we consistently disobey and disregard Him. And it's horribly dangerous. In Psalm 51:11, David pleads with God, saying, “Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” This one-sentence prayer, part of David’s prayer of repentance to God, reveals a sobering spiritual reality we need to understand, namely, it is possible for God to remove His blessed presence from our lives. Let that sink in for a moment. It is possible to no longer experience the intimate relationship, deep friendship, and even family closeness with God that we once knew. And to lose the close fellowship of God’s Spirit is to lose His guidance, empowerment, and the joy of His salvation working mightily within us. No one who once knew God wants to reach a point where they can no longer feel His presence or hear His voice... and, I mean, no one. 👉 WHAT DOES LOSING GOD'S PRESENCE MEAN? To be out of God’s presence means to no longer have His spiritual fellowship and blessing over our lives. It means we have forfeited any intimate communion with Him and can no longer experience the comfort, direction, purpose, and power that comes from His Spirit dwelling richly within us. And it’s a lonely, dark, miserable, and depressing place to be. Certainly so pathetic a situation! Tragically, in the book of Judges, we see this described in Samson’s life. Though freakishly strong, Samson lost the blessing of God’s PRESENCE and POWER to work through him as a leader over Israel because of his lust and sin. And his lack of obedience to God’s standards of holiness, along with his blatant disregard for God’s purpose in his life, resulted in his tragic public downfall. Samson’s sad EXAMPLE WARNS US NOT TO PRESUME UPON GOD'S ABIDING PRESENCE toY ALWAYS BE WITH US, IRRESPECTIVE OF HOW WE CHOOSE TO WALK BEFORE HIM.(Judges 13-16) Remember, sin and disobedience have consequences, both in this life and in the life to come. And our unrepented and persistent sin and rebellion can, and will, easily quench and grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30), putting a great gulf between us and joyful fellowship with God (1 Thess. 5:19). I mean, why should we expect to relish in the joy of His approval and presence when our actions show our complete rejection of His standards and ways? It just doesn’t work that way. 👉 BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF LOSING GOD'S PRESENCE. Scripture contains several sobering examples of God’s people forfeiting His blessed presence for a season because of their sin and rebellion against Him. 💁Israel’s refusal to enter the Promised Land because of fear and unbelief resulted in 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. 💁King Solomon’s turning to idol worship because of his many foreign wives led to God’s promise to tear the kingdom away from his descendants. And God truly did! 💁Saul’s pride, envy, and independence from God’s word resulted in his losing the kingdom and his reign as king over Israel to David. 💁And even David lost the joy of his salvation after his sin against Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah. Yet He found forgiveness and restoration only after fully repenting, without excuses (Psalm 51). Through these accounts and others, we learn how unchecked, besetting sins can earn God’s discipline and the chastisement of withdrawing His presence from those He loves in order to bring them back into a relationship with Him. 👉 THE CONSEQUENCES OF LOSING GOD'S PRESENCE. To grasp the gravity of this loss of His presence, consider the very first Biblical example: Adam and Eve being banished from Eden and God’s Presence after their sin and rebellion. We see their heartbreaking exile from God’s Presence in Genesis 3:23-24: “Therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.” Now, no longer able to walk with God “in the garden in the cool of the day” (Gen. 3:8), Adam and Eve, and all humanity after them, faced toil, pain, hardship, and death outside of God’s protective presence. Similarly, Cain faced wandering and fear as a “fugitive and vagabond on the earth” after murdering his brother Abel (Gen. 4:12). The loss of the safety and security of God’s intimate presence left him isolated and alone, which was not God’s original plan for them.Not at all. Losing the fellowship of God’s Spirit dramatically affects every area of life. We may struggle with feelings of isolation, anxiety, aimlessness, despair, and debilitating guilt. Without access to God’s wisdom and perspective, we fall victim to poor decision-making, with moral confusion not far behind. Our spiritual vitality evaporates, leaving behind deadness, dryness, and powerlessness in its wake. We become just a living shell of what we once were when we could experience the presence of God in our lives. 💁Indeed, shutting ourselves off from the Source of life has tragic consequences that touch every aspect of our lives. So, we must carefully guard against anything that could earn the removal of such an infinitely precious gift. 👉 RESTORING GOD'S ABIDING PRESENCE. The good news is that Scripture offers hope for restoration through genuine repentance. Just as “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5), so God promises that if we draw near to Him, He will forgive, forget, and graciously reciprocate and draw near to us once again (James 4:8). No matter how far we have strayed through our disobedience, it is not too far nor too late to reclaim the blessings of His abiding presence. 👉 BUT HOW IS THIS DONE? HOW CAN WE EXPERIENCE GOD'S PRESENCE ONCE AGAIN? By examining the accounts of divine forgiveness and restoration in Scripture, we can uncover some spiritual principles to apply in reclaiming God’s manifest presence: 💁Examine Your Heart Before God: Invite His searching gaze to reveal any areas of offense that may be hindering close fellowship, such as unforgiveness, pride, or secret sins (Psalm 139:23-24). 💁Confess Everything Completely: Hold nothing back from God (like He doesn’t know already?). Agree with Him about the true ugliness of your sins, calling them what Scripture calls them, “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight” (Psalm 51:4, 1 John 1:9, 1 Samuel 15:23). 💁Repent Thoroughly and Honestly: Turn away from all that offends God and turn wholeheartedly towards Him in submission and obedience to His complete Lordship over every area in your life. Again, hold nothing back from God, give Him everything (John 14:15, Romans 8:13). 💁Walk Accountably: Surround yourself with wise, merciful companions who will help you persevere in living uprightly and fruitfully before God (Hebrews 10:24-25). Don’t try to go it alone. After all, it didn’t work the first time, did it? By applying these Biblical strategies, you can find healing, hope, and restoration in your walk with Christ. And by His astonishing grace (which I still can’t comprehend), He invites us to come freely and find the refreshing rivers of His presence flowing freely once again in the wastelands of our lives. 💁Standing Ready to Welcome Us Home Never forget that we serve an incredibly merciful and compassionate God who stands ready to lavish His presence abundantly upon all who seek Him. He yearns for reconciliation even more than we do. Christ Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son reminds us that the Father is constantly looking expectantly down that road for signs of His wayward child returning home. And when He catches sight of us finally turning back, He runs to embrace us, fully restoring all that was lost in that painful absence (Luke 15:11-32). What wondrous love is this...that our God never gives up on us, regardless of how far we stray? He graciously disciplines those He loves to spur our return to Him freely and wholeheartedly (Revelation 3:19). And understanding both the blessings of walking in God’s presence and the agony of losing that gift, He offers us a powerful motivation to pursue intimate fellowship with God above all else. By His grace, may we fervently guard our hearts against anything that could earn separation from the One who is Life itself...the Loving Lord Christ Jesus. Amen🙇🙏!

THAT I MAY KNOW HIM!(PHP.3:10) 🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥🚥 THE CONSEQUENCES OF SHUTTING GOD OUT OF OUR LIVES! [PS. 51:11] 💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫 So many of us are do so much take God's Love for us for granted. And one of the fact responsible is wrong following and mentoring by self centered custodians of God's Word. Most of them teach that God Loves us so much that He can't leave us no matter how we wilfully offend Him. But, I tell you now that God does abandon us to our fate,if we consistently disobey and disregard Him. And it's horribly dangerous. In Psalm 51:11, David pleads with God, saying, “Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” This one-sentence prayer, part of David’s prayer of repentance to God, reveals a sobering spiritual reality we need to understand, namely, it is possible for God to remove His blessed presence from our lives. Let that sink in for a moment. It is possible to no longer experience the intimate relationship, deep friendship, and even family closeness with God that we once knew. And to lose the close fellowship of God’s Spirit is to lose His guidance, empowerment, and the joy of His salvation working mightily within us. No one who once knew God wants to reach a point where they can no longer feel His presence or hear His voice... and, I mean, no one. 👉 WHAT DOES LOSING GOD'S PRESENCE MEAN? To be out of God’s presence means to no longer have His spiritual fellowship and blessing over our lives. It means we have forfeited any intimate communion with Him and can no longer experience the comfort, direction, purpose, and power that comes from His Spirit dwelling richly within us. And it’s a lonely, dark, miserable, and depressing place to be. Certainly so pathetic a situation! Tragically, in the book of Judges, we see this described in Samson’s life. Though freakishly strong, Samson lost the blessing of God’s PRESENCE and POWER to work through him as a leader over Israel because of his lust and sin. And his lack of obedience to God’s standards of holiness, along with his blatant disregard for God’s purpose in his life, resulted in his tragic public downfall. Samson’s sad EXAMPLE WARNS US NOT TO PRESUME UPON GOD'S ABIDING PRESENCE toY ALWAYS BE WITH US, IRRESPECTIVE OF HOW WE CHOOSE TO WALK BEFORE HIM.(Judges 13-16) Remember, sin and disobedience have consequences, both in this life and in the life to come. And our unrepented and persistent sin and rebellion can, and will, easily quench and grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30), putting a great gulf between us and joyful fellowship with God (1 Thess. 5:19). I mean, why should we expect to relish in the joy of His approval and presence when our actions show our complete rejection of His standards and ways? It just doesn’t work that way. 👉 BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF LOSING GOD'S PRESENCE. Scripture contains several sobering examples of God’s people forfeiting His blessed presence for a season because of their sin and rebellion against Him. 💁Israel’s refusal to enter the Promised Land because of fear and unbelief resulted in 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. 💁King Solomon’s turning to idol worship because of his many foreign wives led to God’s promise to tear the kingdom away from his descendants. And God truly did! 💁Saul’s pride, envy, and independence from God’s word resulted in his losing the kingdom and his reign as king over Israel to David. 💁And even David lost the joy of his salvation after his sin against Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah. Yet He found forgiveness and restoration only after fully repenting, without excuses (Psalm 51). Through these accounts and others, we learn how unchecked, besetting sins can earn God’s discipline and the chastisement of withdrawing His presence from those He loves in order to bring them back into a relationship with Him. 👉 THE CONSEQUENCES OF LOSING GOD'S PRESENCE. To grasp the gravity of this loss of His presence, consider the very first Biblical example: Adam and Eve being banished from Eden and God’s Presence after their sin and rebellion. We see their heartbreaking exile from God’s Presence in Genesis 3:23-24: “Therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.” Now, no longer able to walk with God “in the garden in the cool of the day” (Gen. 3:8), Adam and Eve, and all humanity after them, faced toil, pain, hardship, and death outside of God’s protective presence. Similarly, Cain faced wandering and fear as a “fugitive and vagabond on the earth” after murdering his brother Abel (Gen. 4:12). The loss of the safety and security of God’s intimate presence left him isolated and alone, which was not God’s original plan for them.Not at all. Losing the fellowship of God’s Spirit dramatically affects every area of life. We may struggle with feelings of isolation, anxiety, aimlessness, despair, and debilitating guilt. Without access to God’s wisdom and perspective, we fall victim to poor decision-making, with moral confusion not far behind. Our spiritual vitality evaporates, leaving behind deadness, dryness, and powerlessness in its wake. We become just a living shell of what we once were when we could experience the presence of God in our lives. 💁Indeed, shutting ourselves off from the Source of life has tragic consequences that touch every aspect of our lives. So, we must carefully guard against anything that could earn the removal of such an infinitely precious gift. 👉 RESTORING GOD'S ABIDING PRESENCE. The good news is that Scripture offers hope for restoration through genuine repentance. Just as “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5), so God promises that if we draw near to Him, He will forgive, forget, and graciously reciprocate and draw near to us once again (James 4:8). No matter how far we have strayed through our disobedience, it is not too far nor too late to reclaim the blessings of His abiding presence. 👉 BUT HOW IS THIS DONE? HOW CAN WE EXPERIENCE GOD'S PRESENCE ONCE AGAIN? By examining the accounts of divine forgiveness and restoration in Scripture, we can uncover some spiritual principles to apply in reclaiming God’s manifest presence: 💁Examine Your Heart Before God: Invite His searching gaze to reveal any areas of offense that may be hindering close fellowship, such as unforgiveness, pride, or secret sins (Psalm 139:23-24). 💁Confess Everything Completely: Hold nothing back from God (like He doesn’t know already?). Agree with Him about the true ugliness of your sins, calling them what Scripture calls them, “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight” (Psalm 51:4, 1 John 1:9, 1 Samuel 15:23). 💁Repent Thoroughly and Honestly: Turn away from all that offends God and turn wholeheartedly towards Him in submission and obedience to His complete Lordship over every area in your life. Again, hold nothing back from God, give Him everything (John 14:15, Romans 8:13). 💁Walk Accountably: Surround yourself with wise, merciful companions who will help you persevere in living uprightly and fruitfully before God (Hebrews 10:24-25). Don’t try to go it alone. After all, it didn’t work the first time, did it? By applying these Biblical strategies, you can find healing, hope, and restoration in your walk with Christ. And by His astonishing grace (which I still can’t comprehend), He invites us to come freely and find the refreshing rivers of His presence flowing freely once again in the wastelands of our lives. 💁Standing Ready to Welcome Us Home Never forget that we serve an incredibly merciful and compassionate God who stands ready to lavish His presence abundantly upon all who seek Him. He yearns for reconciliation even more than we do. Christ Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son reminds us that the Father is constantly looking expectantly down that road for signs of His wayward child returning home. And when He catches sight of us finally turning back, He runs to embrace us, fully restoring all that was lost in that painful absence (Luke 15:11-32). What wondrous love is this...that our God never gives up on us, regardless of how far we stray? He graciously disciplines those He loves to spur our return to Him freely and wholeheartedly (Revelation 3:19). And understanding both the blessings of walking in God’s presence and the agony of losing that gift, He offers us a powerful motivation to pursue intimate fellowship with God above all else. By His grace, may we fervently guard our hearts against anything that could earn separation from the One who is Life itself...the Loving Lord Christ Jesus. Amen🙇🙏!

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