DAILY HOPE DEVOTIONAL: OCTOBER 14 AGE OF SPIRITUAL DECLINATION (1) SCRIPTURE: HOSEA 7: 1-4; 1 JOHN 2: 15-17
Many people these days are disenchanted disillusioned and completely won out of hope that good things will ever come their ways again. Many youngsters, especially in the developing worlds, feel too bad about the ugly situations they find themselves. Generally, it looks like more youths are giving up hope and faith in governmental leaderships and in God. Discovering from counselling rooms reveal that, majority of our children have lost hope and faith in even us, their Christian parents as well. There are patches of inconsistencies in the ways we go about Christianity these days. Many of us are declining rather than sustaining our growth in faith. We can term this as spiritual declination. This devotional will give ways we enter into spiritual declination, using Hosea’s prophetic words such as “falsehood, adultery and gray hair” etc., and end up in how to overcome it.
The evidences of spiritual declination in churches and homes of religious people top disheartening discussions everywhere today. This devotional will draw out the major points of how we enter spiritual declination from Hosea 7: 1 – 13. One of the first things that make Christians enter into spiritual declination is embracing falsehood. Prophet Hosea said that the iniquity of Ephraim and wickedness of Samaria was falsehood (Hos. 7: 1). Once we allow falsehood takes the place of the true word of God in our hearts, spiritual declination comes up. The Prophet said as the people of Ephraim and Samaria allowed falsehood entered into them, thief comes in and troop of robbers begin to spoil them unhindered. Another thing Prophet Hosea pointed in prophetic language is, all in Ephraim and Samaria became adulterers (Hos. 7: 4). This is spiritual adultery. They turned their love for God to loving other gods. Many of us shifted our love for God and Christ to loving the world and our friends (1 John 2: 15 – 17).
Spiritual declination always starts from our inward heart (Prov. 14: 14 KJV). All Christian backsliders start by allowing their hearts to be filled with their personal thinking and choices; instead of allowing the Spirit of God to lead them. We decline spiritually when we have allowed someone’s head knowledge taken over the knowledge of God formerly acquired. Are we putting on false appearances that are not in consonance with the Biblically accepted appearances? Have we started giving heed to the voices of demons inside our minds, and implement the suggestions given us; concerning how to gain the world against protecting the Salvation first handed to us? Spiritual declination cannot just start. Yielding to group pressures, hardships of the world, looking at how fast to grab money and materials and what have you; are reasons for spiritual declinations seeing around us these days. We will see more in our next series.
PRAYER:
BLESSED JESUS, remove me from falsehoods of this age, the love of material things in this world, and desires to remain tightly to worldly friends affecting my Spiritual maturity negatively today. Amen.
CONTACT US? You can contact us for prayer requests or discussion through ubasimon341@gmail.com
bishopubaudenyi@hopealivechurch
