February 4, 2015

Backsliding: February 4, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 4, 2015.

BACKSLIDING

DEFINITION:

To relapse into bad habits; sinful behavior or undesirable activities; the abandoning of religious principles or practices.
SCRIPTURE:

Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me, declares the Lord, the Lord almighty. Jeremiah 2:19

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9.


KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

A backslider is a person who made a decision to follow Christ but then relapsed into bad habits that God considers sin. A backslider will soon fall victim to his or her sins and will soon start to fully abandon his or her spiritual beliefs.

Backsliding brought on the downfall of Israel. God sent the prophet Jeremiah to confront the people of Judah with their sins and to warn them of the coming destruction of their nation if they did not repent. In Jeremiah 7:23-24, Jeremiah reminds them of God’s command to them to “obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you that it may go well with you.” But they did not listen or pay attention. Instead they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward not forward.

When we do not listen to God and pay attention to what He tells us, we will become backsliders just like the Israelites. Instead of going forward with the Lord, we will go backward following our evil desires. Jeremiah warned the people to repent and return to God or they would be punished. The Israelites did not repent and Jerusalem was destroyed and taken captive to Babylon.

This is where America is today and we believe God is warning our country to repent or be punished. Think about it!

When we think of a Biblical example of a backslider we think of Jonah. God had told Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach repentance to the Assyrians. He fled because he did not want this assignment. Jonah was fleeing on a ship when in the midst of a storm he was thrown overboard by the crew and was swallowed up, as the scriptures tell us, by a big fish. We assume that this was a whale. Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights. To say the least he was soundly rebuked for his backsliding.

In Jonah 2:1-9 the MESSAGE translation reads that there is a very vivid and clear report of what Jonah did while inside the fish. He cried out to God asking for forgiveness and God heard him. In his prayer to God from the belly of the whale he said, “I will sacrifice to You with a voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.”

The Lord then spoke to the fish, the scripture says and the fish vomited up Jonah. Once again the Lord said to Jonah that he must go to Nineveh and preach the message God would give him. Jonah went to Nineveh and cried out to the people warning them that in 40 days Nineveh would be overthrown unless the people repented. The people of Nineveh heeded Jonah’s message and believed in God and God did not destroy them.

God gave Jonah a second chance. He backslid and paid a severe penalty. When he was at his lowest point he prayed to God and repented. God heard his prayer and responded by giving him a second chance. Jonah responded in obedience and went to Nineveh with the message that God wanted them to hear.

From the scripture text above, we are reminded that our own wickedness punishes us and our back-sliding rebukes us when we turn away from the Lord. When we as individuals backslide life becomes evil and even bitter for us and that is bad news. The good news is that if one confesses his sin, God is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse one from all unrighteousness. Even when we are backslidden God loves us and wants us to come to Him so He can forgive us and make us righteous. We really do serve a wonderful and patient God.
LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 3:14:

Press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER:

Help me today not to backslide away from my relationship with You. Keep me from relapsing into bad habits or sinful behavior that brings dishonor to You. May those that are not following You see the joy that I have in my life because of my faith in You.


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