MGD: Ground Zero - 2

Shalom, beloved. You are warmly welcome to today's Morning Glory Devotion.

I am glad to be bringing you a message written

by Pastor Indikines Kilson from the Harvest Chapel International, Diname Kumasi.

Let us kindly share a word of prayer. Our Heavenly Father,

Thank you for the opportunity to spend time with you

in your word. Please examine our hearts and give us

the grace to stand rightly with you. In Jesus' mighty name. Amen.

Let us kindly take our confession for today from Joshua

Joshua 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1 the verse 8. Joshua chapter 1 the verse 8.

Joshua 1 · chapter mention

This book of the law shall not depart from my mouth.

But I shall meditate in it day and night, that

I may observe to do according to all that is

written in it. For then I will make my way prosperous,

and then I will have good success. Amen. Today's message,

written by Pastor Dickiness Kilson, is titled Ground Zero, Part 2.

Go Back to Bethel. Ground Zero, Part 2. Go back

to Bethel. Our scripture reading shall be taken from Genesis

Genesis 35 · chapter mention

chapter 35, the verse 1 to 7. Genesis chapter 35,

Genesis 35 · chapter mention

the verse 1 to 7. I will be reading from

the New International Version. Then God said to Jacob, Go

up to Bethel and settle there and build an altar

there to God. who appeared to you when you were

fleeing from your brother Esau. So Jacob said to his

household and to all who were with him, Get rid

of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify

yourself and change your clothes. Then come, let us go

up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God,

who answered me in the day of my distress, and

who has been with me wherever I have gone. So

they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had, and

the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under

the oak at Shechem. Then they set out, and the

terror of God fell on the towns all around them,

so that no one pursued them. Jacob and all the

people with him came to Luz, that is Bethel, in

the land of Canaan. There he built an altar, and

he called the the place El Bethel, because it was

there that God revealed himself to him when he was

fleeing from his brother. The Lord add his blessing to

the reading and hearing of his word. Thanks be to God. Amen. Yesterday,

we left Jacob at Bethel. where the God he had

heard about became his God. But Jacob could not stay

at Bethel. He had life to live, and so do we.

By Genesis 35, more than 20 years have passed. The

frightened young man with a stone for a pillow is

now the head of a large household. He has worked

for Laban, been deceived and disappointed, married, raised children, and

grown wealthy. And through it all, God has been faithful.

Perhaps that is where many of us are. You still

love God. You still believe. You still attend church. You

still pray, serve, and give. But life has happened. Marriage, children, career, success, disappointment.

Some prayers were answered. Others were not. And somewhere along

the way, something shifted. Prayer that once flowed freely has

become hurried. Scripture that once fascinated you now feels a

bit too familiar. Things that once troubled your conscience no

longer trouble it quite as much. Not because you woke

up one morning and decided to walk away from God.

You simply became busy living. Jacob had settled near Shechem,

and there his family passed through one of its darkest chapters.

His daughter Dinah was violated. His sons answered with deceit

and terrible bloodshed. Jacob looked at his household and was afraid.

As he reflected on all this atrocity, God said to him, Arise,

go up to Bethel. Go back, Jacob. Go back to

the place where I met you, back to ground zero.

Notice what Jacob does before he takes a single step.

He asks his household to put away the foreign gods

that are among them. Somewhere on the journey, things had

entered into his household that could not travel with them

back to Bethel. Beloved, what have you picked up along

the way? For us, it is rarely a carved image.

Our foreign gods are subtler. Success, money, recognition, a relationship, comfort, etc.

Even ministry can become more important to some of us

than the God we are serving. Often it is not

something sinful in itself. It is simply something good that

has slowly taken the place of God in our hearts.

Jacob and his household did not carry their idols to

Bethel and ask God to bless them. No, they got

rid of them by burying them at Shechem. In the

same way, renewal often begins not by adding something new,

but by laying something down. Perhaps God is not asking

you for another activity today. Maybe he is asking, what

needs to be buried? A compromise? An offense carried too long?

A secret habit? Something needs to be buried under the

tree at Shechem if you are to return wholeheartedly to

your Bethel. So if you look at your work today

and realize you are not where you once were, do

not let that drive you from God. Rather, let that

realization draw you back to Him. Jesus said to the

church at Ephesus, Remember therefore from where you are falling.

Repent and do the first works. Revelation chapter 2 verse

Revelation 2:5

5 So we are to remember, repent and return to

our first love. Precious one, where is your Bethel? Can

you remember a point in time when prayer to you

was more than a routine? When scripture was sweet and precious?

When simply knowing Christ was more than enough? Beloved, don't

condemn yourself or remain in your current state. Rather, remember,

repent and return to your first love. The God who

met you at ground zero is still with you. And

all he is asking you to do is to arise

and go up to Bethel to return to your first love.

and to return to your ground zero. God richly bless you.

Let us kindly take our memory verse for today. Our

memory verse for today is taken from Genesis 35, verse 3.

Genesis 35:3

Genesis 35, verse 3. I will be reading from the

Genesis 35:3

New King James Version. Then let us arise and go

up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there

to God who answered me in the day of my

distress and has been with me in the way which

I have gone. Then let us arise and go up

to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God,

who answered me in the day of my distress and

has been with me in the way which I have gone. Amen.

Let us kindly share a word of prayer. Our Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your faithfulness through every mile of our journey.

Even when life grew busy and our hearts were very distracted,

you never left us. Show us what we have picked

up along the way that has taken your place and

give us the grace to lay it down. Restore our

first love and renew our wonder. May we grow in

maturity without ever outgrowing our dependence on you. In Jesus'

mighty name. Amen. Beloved, spiritual renewal often begins not by

adding something new to our lives, but by laying down

whatever has sadly taken God's place in our hearts. Amen.

God richly bless you for staying all through today's morning

glory devotion. Kindly join us again for another episode tomorrow

by God's grace at the same time. Stay tuned to

Radio HCI today for more Spirit-filled content. Until we meet again,

stay blessed. Shalom.