"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever."
I pray that your heart finds encouragement to keep pressing forward.
Ok...I hope you all took the time to play the video, if you didn't go back after you've read this and play it, if you have played it and it touched your heart like it did mine I will give you a minute to wipe your eyes.
Now let's chat...the question I have for you is, "Who are you dancing with?" Have you ever found yourself in a place where it seems like you are so far away from God that He would never take you back? Have you ever found yourself chasing after the things of the "world"? I know I have...and it's easy to do. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the things of the world--love, money, alcohol, fashion, sex, drugs--the list goes on and on. And you get so wrapped up in the things of this world that you find yourself slowly dancing out of the Father's arms and into the arms of other things. The last devotion I did was about the marriage and vows you have made with God, when you accept Him as your Lord and Savior. And when you make those vows and take Christ as your groom, where do you leave Him? Is He left standing in the corner and never to be at your side? Or do you move on to the reception and dance? This week I want to look at the "first dance". (The first dance being the intimate time that you spend in the arms of God. The feeling you get from being on a spiritual high and knowing that no matter what you are safe in the arms of your Groom, to dance a dance with Him forever.)
Ok so the wedding ceremony is over, you have made your vows to Christ and it's time to celebrate. So you have the reception and you take your first dance with your Groom. And sometimes your first dance lasts a while, sometimes it fades quickly. Whatever the case may be, the "first dance" is exciting and you could spend forever in His arms. But now you have to move throughout the days and trials of life and in the beginning you are still dancing with your "Groom". But as each day passes and your heart begins to slip so do your feet. You find yourself gliding across the "dance floor" of life. Each worldly lust that you seek after is something that "cuts in" on your dance with Him. And the next thing you know you are being passed around the dance floor, from place to place. Passed so far away that you feel as though you will never return to His arms. And then He comes gliding across the dance floor in search of you. Pulling His way through the crowd and mass of things that have kept you so far from Him. Until finally...He cuts in on life and pulls you back into His arms, where you dance again forever.
This is not a fairy tale! It's real! God is real! If you have slipped away or glided across the dance floor into the arms of the world it's not too late. He is waiting to dance with you. He is waiting for you to ask Him to dance. We have all been there, chasing after the lusts of the world. But God is faithful and His mercy and grace are sufficient, and He's waiting for you. My challenge to you this week and in the weeks to come is...DANCE! Dance with the one who would love to hold you in His arms forever.
