Glory's Gone
God graces us with His presence when He is pleased with the condition of our heart relationship with Him. However, the opposite is also true. He withdraws His presence or His glory from us when we continue in sin and refuse to return to Him in confession and repentance. That is exactly what happened in Israel in the days of Eli and Samuel. Eli and his sons served as priests at the sanctuary in Shiloh. Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were very corrupt and sinned grievously by disregarding the laws of God. In a battle with the Philistines they took the Chest of God into battle with the army in hopes of a victory, but God's glory had left Israel. They were soundly defeated, the Chest of God was taken, and both of them died. This terrible news was delivered to Eli and Phinehas' wife as she was delivering a baby boy. Eli fell over and died of a broken neck, while she said to name the boy, Ichabod, which means "Glory's Gone." (I Samuel 4:21,22) What a sad day in the history of Israel! This should serve as a strong warning to God's people today.
Without the presence of God in our lives, we are like a ship without a rudder and no power to propel us. A church without the presence of God is just a social gathering with no blessing of God. Jesus said it well in John 15:5, "...without me, you can do nothing." I pray we hear that. When the Glory's Gone, we are unable to function so that God's will can be done. We must be on guard to never allow sin to get a foothold or stronghold in our life. We must keep the full armor of God on at all times. (Ephesians 6:10-18) We must fight the spiritual warfare with the spiritual weapons of God's Word, prayer, and the power of the Spirit. (II Corinthians 10:3-5) We must never allow our hearts to be swayed away from the Lord so that He withdraws His presence. In fact, we need to make sure that we are walking in His Spirit and His glory is with us at all times.
#NHBaptistdotorg
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Samuel 5-8.
Without the presence of God in our lives, we are like a ship without a rudder and no power to propel us. A church without the presence of God is just a social gathering with no blessing of God. Jesus said it well in John 15:5, "...without me, you can do nothing." I pray we hear that. When the Glory's Gone, we are unable to function so that God's will can be done. We must be on guard to never allow sin to get a foothold or stronghold in our life. We must keep the full armor of God on at all times. (Ephesians 6:10-18) We must fight the spiritual warfare with the spiritual weapons of God's Word, prayer, and the power of the Spirit. (II Corinthians 10:3-5) We must never allow our hearts to be swayed away from the Lord so that He withdraws His presence. In fact, we need to make sure that we are walking in His Spirit and His glory is with us at all times.
#NHBaptistdotorg
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Samuel 5-8.