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1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:
I remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the desert,
through a land not sown.
Jeremiah2:1-2
I don't think we think enough about how much God loves us, and how it hurts Him when we wander away from Him. Jeremiah ch.2 is eloquent in this regard. Here are a few selected verses:
5 This is what the LORD says:
"What fault did your fathers find in me,
that they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols
and became worthless themselves.
6 They did not ask, `Where is the LORD,
who brought us up out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness,
through a land of deserts and rifts,
a land of drought and darkness,
a land where no one travels and no one lives?'
7 I brought you into a fertile land
to eat its fruit and rich produce.
But you came and defiled my land
and made my inheritance detestable.
8 The priests did not ask,
`Where is the LORD?'
Those who deal with the law did not know me;
the leaders rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
following worthless idols.
11 Has a nation ever changed its gods?
(Yet they are not gods at all.)
But my people have exchanged their Glory
for worthless idols.
12 Be appalled at this, O heavens,
and shudder with great horror,"
declares the LORD.
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When we wander away from God it is an affront to His holiness, a denial of His Glory and a rejection of His incredible love.
Keith Green put it very well in his amazing song:
I don't want to fall away from You
After all the things that you have shown me
I'd be a fool to let them slip away
In doing things I know I shouldn't do
But I don't want to fall away from you
From you
After all
I've only grieved Your spirit
And then I don't know why You stay with me
But every time I fall Your love comes through
And I don't want to fall away from You
When the light is gone
And good times are getting old
There's no one left to count on
And all my friends are cold
When I thirst for love oh Lord
You're a fountain to my soul
My soul
My soul
In a way my life is full of burdens
But in a way You carry them for me
Jesus
Cause no one understands the way You do
And you know Lord
I don't want to fall away from You
Well every day I pray to start anew
Cause I don't want to fall away from You
No Lord
I don't wanna fall away from You
No Lord
I don't wanna fall away from You
From You...Lord
(You can listen to a cover version of this song by Petra, a gospel rock band from the 80s and 90s here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ-BnCIfWD0 )
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
