Deprecated: Return type of WP_Theme::offsetExists($offset) should either be compatible with ArrayAccess::offsetExists(mixed $offset): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/class-wp-theme.php on line 554

Deprecated: Return type of WP_Theme::offsetGet($offset) should either be compatible with ArrayAccess::offsetGet(mixed $offset): mixed, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/class-wp-theme.php on line 595

Deprecated: Return type of WP_Theme::offsetSet($offset, $value) should either be compatible with ArrayAccess::offsetSet(mixed $offset, mixed $value): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/class-wp-theme.php on line 535

Deprecated: Return type of WP_Theme::offsetUnset($offset) should either be compatible with ArrayAccess::offsetUnset(mixed $offset): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/class-wp-theme.php on line 544

Deprecated: Return type of WP_REST_Request::offsetExists($offset) should either be compatible with ArrayAccess::offsetExists(mixed $offset): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-request.php on line 960

Deprecated: Return type of WP_REST_Request::offsetGet($offset) should either be compatible with ArrayAccess::offsetGet(mixed $offset): mixed, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-request.php on line 980

Deprecated: Return type of WP_REST_Request::offsetSet($offset, $value) should either be compatible with ArrayAccess::offsetSet(mixed $offset, mixed $value): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-request.php on line 992

Deprecated: Return type of WP_REST_Request::offsetUnset($offset) should either be compatible with ArrayAccess::offsetUnset(mixed $offset): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-request.php on line 1003

Deprecated: Return type of WP_Block_List::current() should either be compatible with Iterator::current(): mixed, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/class-wp-block-list.php on line 151

Deprecated: Return type of WP_Block_List::next() should either be compatible with Iterator::next(): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/class-wp-block-list.php on line 175

Deprecated: Return type of WP_Block_List::key() should either be compatible with Iterator::key(): mixed, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/class-wp-block-list.php on line 164

Deprecated: Return type of WP_Block_List::valid() should either be compatible with Iterator::valid(): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/class-wp-block-list.php on line 186

Deprecated: Return type of WP_Block_List::rewind() should either be compatible with Iterator::rewind(): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/class-wp-block-list.php on line 138

Deprecated: Return type of WP_Block_List::offsetExists($index) should either be compatible with ArrayAccess::offsetExists(mixed $offset): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/class-wp-block-list.php on line 75

Deprecated: Return type of WP_Block_List::offsetGet($index) should either be compatible with ArrayAccess::offsetGet(mixed $offset): mixed, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/class-wp-block-list.php on line 89

Deprecated: Return type of WP_Block_List::offsetSet($index, $value) should either be compatible with ArrayAccess::offsetSet(mixed $offset, mixed $value): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/class-wp-block-list.php on line 110

Deprecated: Return type of WP_Block_List::offsetUnset($index) should either be compatible with ArrayAccess::offsetUnset(mixed $offset): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/class-wp-block-list.php on line 127

Deprecated: Return type of WP_Block_List::count() should either be compatible with Countable::count(): int, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/class-wp-block-list.php on line 199

Deprecated: DateTime::__construct(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($datetime) of type string is deprecated in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/script-loader.php on line 348
Monday’s Blog: Restore To Me The Joy Of Your Salvation | Amanda Beth

Monday’s Blog: Restore To Me The Joy Of Your Salvation

But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.

—Jeremiah 20:9

We continue our series on igniting the fire in your spirit. Follow this link if you missed the first message in this series. I will be using the comments from this series in my book: “Escaping Boredom In Christianity.”

Last week I talked about the different classes of boredom we can fall into, which prevent us from living a fulfilled life in Christ. This week I want to talk about living each day with the same joy we had when we first received salvation.

I was raised Catholic. I was baptized as a baby. I went to church on Sundays. I attended catechism all the way through confirmation. I even attended Catholic school for one year. But oddly, I didn’t know anything about God, nor did I think about His existence.

I never questioned why I went to church or catechism. I just figured it was something people did. I said the same prayer every night before bed. But I didn’t think about who I was praying to, or why I was praying. I guess I thought of prayer as good luck or superstition, like wishing upon a star.

My mother told me I accepted Christ when I was young, at a friend’s vacation Bible school. But I don’t remember it. The first time I remember learning about God was during a road trip my husband and I went on when we were dating. I don’t remember exactly what my husband said, but I remember he talked about Jesus in a way I hadn’t heard before.

After that day, we didn’t talk much more about God, as worldly pleasures and pursuits consumed our lives. It wasn’t until six years later that I came to the end of myself. My life and marriage were heading downhill. The world wasn’t working for me. Everything I had tried to do in life failed, which I thank God for. If I had succeeded in life, I don’t know if I would have been hungry enough to open my heart to God.

In desperation for change, I began seeking God. My husband directed me to a Christian radio station he stumbled upon. I was excited, thinking it was a new station, since we had never heard it before. We later found out the station had been on air since the 50s. I was amazed we never noticed it before then. The devil kept us blind all those years we walked in the darkness.

…I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.

—Acts 26:17-18

As I started listening to preachings on the radio, reading the Bible, and attending a new church, God began to open my eyes. He shined His light on me, filled my heart with joy and gave me a hunger to learn more.

The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

—Psalm 19:8

I’ve been seeking Christ for 11 years now. Whenever I start to lose that hunger and fire I felt in my spirit at the beginning, I pray Psalm 51:12:

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”

At salvation, everything is new. We are excited to learn about God. We have a hungry, willing, teachable spirit. But as time goes on, trials come, worldly temptations get in the way, that fire can start to die down. That’s when we need to ask God to re-ignite that fire and keep it burning in us.

1 Peter 2:2-3  says, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

Like newborn Christians, we need to crave the things of God. We need to crave to know Him, because there is still so much to learn, no matter how long we have been walking with Him. We need to crave His goodness, because we’ve only just had a taste. There’s so much more God wants to do for us…in us…and through us. We need to crave to grow up in Him, because even if we are mature, we can easily fall right back to where we started. And we need to crave His love, because He wants to make it complete in us so that we love others.

“No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

—1 John 4:12

Heavenly Father,

We praise you for sending Jesus to fulfill us. We know that You are all we need in life. Nothing can fill us except You. Restore to us the joy we had when we first received Jesus as our Savior. Keep that fire burning in our spirits so that we will be filled to the measure of all the fullness of You (Ephesians 3:19).

In Jesus’ Precious Name, Amen!

 

Questions for my book:

Do you remember the joy you had when you first received Christ?

Is there a difference between then and now in your walk with Christ?

Have you ever lost your joy in following Christ? If so, how did God restore your joy?

 

*I would love to hear your comments. They will be very helpful in my book. Please understand I reserve the right to use any comments on this site in my book. I will not share any personal information in the book (i.e. names, email addresses, websites, etc.).

 


Posted in Ignite The Fire Series, Monday's Blogs and tagged , , by with
Deprecated: ltrim(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/wp-db.php on line 3030

Notice: Only variables should be passed by reference in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-content/themes/adventure/functions.php on line 73

Notice: Only variables should be assigned by reference in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-content/themes/adventure/functions.php on line 73

Notice: Only variables should be passed by reference in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-content/themes/adventure/functions.php on line 73

Notice: Only variables should be assigned by reference in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-content/themes/adventure/functions.php on line 73
12 comments
.

Deprecated: ltrim(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/wp-db.php on line 3030

Deprecated: ltrim(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-includes/wp-db.php on line 3030

Pingbacks & Trackbacks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


Warning: Undefined array key "sidebar-2" in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-content/themes/adventure/functions.php on line 168

Warning: Undefined array key "sidebar-3" in /home/daubscom/sharingtruths.com/wp-content/themes/adventure/functions.php on line 168