REKINDLING THE FERVOUR | DAILY BIBLE DEVOTIONAL

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” — COLOSSIANS 2:6-7


There are many Christians who can go back to the very day, the hour and even the moment when they first invited Christ into their lives. They vividly recall that wonderful cleansing and freedom of surrendering all to Him as their Lord and Saviour. But many of them can sit back today and say, “What happened? Where did that feeling go?”    

Feelings are involved, but the Christian life is not based on feeling, nor is it a sentimental journey of faith. The Christian life is a relationship between ourselves and Christ; one of love, trust, obedience and dependence upon Him. When we first come to Christ, it is with empty hands, acknowledging our sin and the fact that we cannot save ourselves. “As you received Christ Jesus as Lord,” Paul says, “continue to live in Him.” If we are going to live the Christian life, it has to be the energy, activity, and working of Christ, Himself, in us that is the source. We have incredible resources in Him, but are we nurturing our relationship, and bringing Him into every aspect of our lives?

Being rooted and built up in Christ does not take place in a vacuum. To submit our lives to His Lordship is also to submit our minds to His Word. The Bible is the only revelation Jesus gives of Himself - His teachings, His purpose, His mind, and His heart. The Bible springs to life for those who love Him, and overflowing with thankfulness is a natural consequence. It is thanking Him for His continual presence and sufficiency in all things.  

When the governing influence of our lives ceases to be Christ, people end up living by rules and laws imposed by men, and in keeping them by their own will and discipline, they believe they are earning God’s favour. The reality of Christian living is found in Christ, alone, not in extraneous rules and regulations. Without absorbing the Scriptures, without heartfelt communion with Christ, we can so easily fall into a kind of pseudo-spiritual life that isn’t from God, but that we think will please Him. Inevitably, spiritual poverty sets in with the presence of Christ seemingly far removed from our first encounter with Him.  

To lose our connection with Christ is the most serious and probably most frightening thing for any true believer. But it isn’t Christ who has grown distant, and it is never too late to rekindle the fervour we had when we first received Him.


PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, Thank You for your presence in me and for being all that I need. I treasure our relationship, and pray that it continues to grow deeper and stronger.  

TO REFLECT UPON: Has my relationship with Jesus diminished in any way, and if so, how do I bring that initial fervency back?