Return to the LORD!

Return to the Lord God with all your heart!

Slowly, just like a dripping faucet, the nation drifted farther and farther away from God. When they were moving forward there were cities to conquer, frontiers to explore and oppression to erase, the nation was generally in tuned to God’s leading.

BUT NOW, they were settled into the new country. They built cities, grew the economy and found that their interest turned slowly from God to other things, other frontiers and even great learning through education. Self pleasing and “I” istic goals took the place of God worship and striving to please Him.


Even their religions leaders allowed the devil to step in and direct their lives. They stole food which was supposed to be sacrificed to God. Sex was used in the name of religion. Even sacred articles were captured and the nation was left without any strong religious direction.


Many of these details sounds like the good old USA, America. However, it is not. The nation of which I speak was Israel of the Old testament. Things were bad and the presence of God was lacking. It was so bad that the daughter-in-law of the High Priest, Eli, named her new born son, Icabod meaning, “the glory of the Lord has departed.”


If ever a people needed a course correction it was Israel and we can also say the same for America. Maybe even WE, personally, need a course correction.


So, God sent a prophet to give instructions for the course correction. For the nation to come back to God. This instruction is also available to us. If we feel that we have drifted far from God and it seems that God is a million miles away we can say with confidence that God is not
the one who moved. Israel had moved AWAY from God. God did not move away from Israel.
God will not move away from you.

So God sent the prophet Samuel with the message and the formula by which Israel could return to their God, Jehovah, creator of the universe and the sustainer and provider for their people.


In First Samuel 7 and verse 3, Samuel states the steps of instruction for returning to the Lord. Let us consider step number one.


The prophet says, return to the Lord with your WHOLE HEART. What does that mean to return with our whole heart? Well, Samuel knew that the people had substituted other gods in their worship. They had made idols out of stone and wood and worshiped the creation rather than the Creator. They became lethargic in their love and loyalty to almighty God. An idol is anything that comes between us and our heavenly Father. They had put idolatry in between themselves and Jehovah God. So, Samuel was saying in order to get God’s attention and to receive his blessings, Israel had to come back to Him with their love and loyalty. They had to decide whose side they were on. Were they going to serve and obey God or where they going to continue on the selfish, idolatrous path?


Friends, some of us are just like these rebellious folks in the Old Testament. We have formed a partnership with Israel to put other things before God. We have drifted off course. We have set our compass heading on our own various selfish desires and charted our own course. Our love for our Lord Jesus Christ has suffered damage and in many cases that love has grown cold.


So, what do I do if I find myself drifting from the Lord Jesus?
Well, friends, Samuel gives us the best advice of getting back on course.

I want to remind you
of the teaching from I Samuel 7 and verse 3. “Return to the Lord with your WHOLE HEART”.

May God bless you as you journey Towards Him.





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I am praying for you and your family,

Leonard