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Listen while you read: "O Could I Speak The Matchless Worth"1 (Lyrics) |
Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (NKJV)
John 15:11-14 – These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. (NKJV)
I am perturbed. No, I am not perturbed; I am very frustrated. My Internet connection keeps breaking, and each time this happens, I lose communication with my Facebook, Outlook, Twitter, Linkedin, and blog friends.
Not only is it annoying, it is costly, because it means that I am paying for a service that I am not receiving. That, in and of itself, is irritating.
This physical disconnection causes me to have to apologize to friends and family, who think that I have "unfriended" or deleted them. When I do not respond to their messages, what else are they to think?
So, I find myself frequently rebooting in the hope that the unseen link is re-established and I am no longer unplugged.
We can become disconnected in a spiritual sense too — disconnected from God. He calls us His friends or His beloved ones. He created us for a relationship with Him, and yet, we continually "do our own thing". We often choose to ignore Him, often inadvertently. We may decide that we are too busy for a relationship with Him, and our choices betray us — showing that we think He is not worthy of our time. We allow distractions to rule our time, but we still expect a closer relationship to develop. Spending fewer precious moments reading the Bible and praying, we become, literally, disconnected from the one link that can strengthen us in a way that no earthly service or provider can. The cost, in this instance, can be even higher, as it can result in our receiving very little solace from God's presence during the frequent disruptions of life around us.
God, in our lives, is like having a friend who sticks closer to us than glue. It can be more costly than gold or silver to thrust such a connection aside as unimportant.
Let's not "unfriend" the good relationships in our lives. The people we love are irreplaceable, and God must view us in the same way. If only we could allow Him to be the central part of our hearts!
Prayer: Abba, we can easily become separated from Your power and Spirit. When this happens, there is often a high price to pay. Help us to stay close to You, immersed in Your Word and dependent upon a close association and relationship with You. Amen.
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Amen!
Amen Patricia.
What powerful truth, Patricia. Thanks.
Thanks, Patricia for a wonderful reminder and challenge.
Dear Pat: Thank you! The Holy Spirt sticks closer than a friend!
Patricia, thank you for sharing with us. This is a very good reminder and I look forward to the next time you share with us. May God continue to be with you.
Pat, Now I know why our communication got interrupted! I agree, may we never “unfriend” one another or our loving God through our actions or words. Blessings.
Dear Patricia,
Two of my favorite verses!! And a wonderful devotion for our ‘too busy’ lives. Thanks for the reminder.
Dear Patricia,
A very essential and timely message. Thank you.
Keep writing.
Patricia,
I am not a computer geek, but when something like that happens to me, I go to my Internet connection on my computer, disable it and then enable it. This seems to clear out the “cobwebs”. May the “tech” angels guide you!
(Texas)
Hi Patricia,
If EVER any one of your readers can identify with this devotional, I am He. Having switched from desk top to lap to has aged me 20 years. I have had to receive grace upon grace to survive…and received it I did! But I have to count the blessings my computer brings to me…and a prima facia example is this devotional of yours.
Blessings.
Dear Patricia: I empathize with your frustration from disconnections and interruptions that make your life continuously busy. I also struggle to focus on what matters, not in my human eyes, but for God’s leading. What He gives us to do, and how, is better than our own conscience tells us. Our habits and traditions need to be brought under His control every day.
I too participate in LinkedIn and have written comments that were appreciated much by some people and argued with by others. I keep thinking “Enough, I won’t read this stuff again, and then something is said that the Spirit tells me to respond to.” These online “friends” need to be ministered to, but most of all it is our immediate and extended family we need to keep in touch with. I used to send about 200 Christmas letters annually by post but for a few years I have sent it by e-mail. Because many dear ones do not have e-mail we are out of touch, and I feel guilty about that. Facebook has helped me get to know some. Thank God my old computer has been free of shutdowns. Even so, I have been very busy from church and other activities, and immediate family needs.
May the Lord grant us His kinds of rest daily.
Dear Pat,
Your analogy of the disconnect with the computer and with God spoke volumes to me.
Yes, our connections with each other, especially our Christian friends are so important.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. God bless you.
Thank you, Pat, for your wonderful reminder to keep closely connected with our Heavenly Father. I have placed this in my heart and in my memory for future days.
Blessings.
Good Morning Patricia:
Thank you for reminding not to “un-friend” the good relationships in our lives for often these people are indeed irreplaceable to us in many, many ways and when we consider the value of their role in our lives we realize often their love and tolerance is not replaceable.
You also did not neglect to also remind us to keep our relationship with our Lord the most central part of our lives, because “He indeed is the friend who sticks closer to us than glue and it can be more costly than gold or silver to thrust such a connection aside as unimportant.
This devotional makes one realize how important it is to stay connected to all who have shown us love and tender mercy in the past and who will, I am sure, be there for us in the future.