08 15 08 Back to….Where We First Believed

“Jesus answered them, ‘Do you now believe?’”
(John 16:31 NKJV)

As the summer winds down we are all faced with a reality: BACK TO something. BACK TO school…BACK TO work…BACK TO the regular grind…back to life…back to reality. But I remember an old favorite of the great song writer Andrae Crouch; Take Me Back.

FEEL THAT I'M SO FAR FROM YOU LORD,
BUT STILL I HEAR YOU CALLING ME;
THOSE SIMPLE THINGS THAT I ONCE KNEW,
THE MEMORIES ARE DRAWING ME.
I MUST CONFESS, LORD I'VE BEEN BLESSED
BUT YET MY SOUL'S NOT SATISFIED.
RENEW MY FAITH, RESTORE MY JOY
AND DRY MY WEEPING EYES.

TAKE ME BACK, TAKE ME BACK DEAR LORD
TO THE PLACE WHERE I FIRST BELIEVED YOU.
TAKE ME BACK, TAKE ME BACK DEAR LORD
WHERE I FIRST BELIEVED.

We all want to go back in a way. BACK TO when there were no problems. BACK TO when things seemed so innocent and free. Now things seem so complicated and at times out of control. How will we ever get BACK TO that day WHERE WE FIRST BELIEVED; when we felt at peace, free, and clean? It’s a simple as that first day; with a humble and repentant heart and a genuine thirst for the simplicity of the Savior. Vacation takes us away, but from what? The summer months bring relief from the cold dreary winter, but for how long? A few weeks away from school seems to be just a countdown for the year to come.

What we need is to go BACK TO WHERE WE FIRST BELIEVED and stay there! Then and only then will life in today’s reality make sense! We need to be in constant tune to His voice. Memories of how He got us through then need to push us as we go through today. We are so blessed and yet we want more….we are not satisfied.

So let’s get more…more faith…more trust…more sacrifice…more prayer…more obedience…more Jesus!

Oh dear Lord, take us back and keep us there; BACK TO THE PLACE WHERE WE FIRST BELIEVED…at the cross!