Restoring the captives!
Verse for Today: Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Genesis 14:14 – When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
When spiritual adversity strikes in the lives of our dear ones, the love of God in us ought to wake up to the reality of their plight and compel us to go into spiritual warfare to get them delivered. Abraham had every reason to ignore the news about Lot and his family. After all, he chose his way and life in Sodom and it was only reasonable to think that Lot pays for it with his life. But Abram’s attitude to Lot was one of love, forgiveness and restoration. Abram was prepared to fight enemies and he had trained men to fight battles for him. The ever alert Abram responded without wasting time. He fearlessly followed the enemy even in the night. His army was considerably small when compared to the army of the five kings. But that didn’t deter Abram from pursuing the enemy. His sole determination was to get his nephew released from the clutches of the enemies. He was willing to risk his life and sleep to pursue the enemy during the night. His love for his nephew overtook his fears and apprehensions. Today Abram is a role model for all children of God in our attitude towards backsliding people and to do everything possible to deliver and restore them. We must fight battles in prayer for them. We must fight our own fear and apprehension in wanting to go out for them. We must fight until our dear ones are brought back to the fold of God again. We do not have much time to wait and must act before the enemy devours them completely. We must interfere when it is still feasible to do something for them. We must be willing to go to any extent for those who are under the clutches of sin, worldliness, materialism and Satan. We must look for early signals of things going wrong. We must create ways for them to come back with repentance rather than ostracize them.
Dear friend, how concerned are you about your dear ones who have been captured by enemies like world, flesh, Satan, cults, materialism, desire for fame and prestige? Are you burdened that they are lost? Do you love them so much as to somehow bring them back to the fold of God again? It is most valuable if we are alert to the developments around our dear ones and to watch for signals so that we can intervene at the earliest. Our concern has to be translated into prayer, counseling and giving them company to help them get out of their captivity. It is best to get involved with their predicament at the earliest possible time before their bondage becomes concretized. Once they are deep into the bondage of false doctrines, cults, addiction, entertainment, materialism, craving for worldly politics and fame, it will be tougher to deliver them. We should be willing to spend our time, talents, training and treasures to somehow get our dear ones released. In fact, they should be our priority just as Abram demonstrated it over and above sleep and comfort and the risks involved. We must not relent until we get the lost souls back to the Lord. It involves the renewal of our love, priorities, efforts and commitment. We must have passion for the backsliders and the lost souls as demonstrated by Jesus and Paul. When we set out to go in search of our lost dear ones, the Lord will give us hope and victory and lead us to praise Him for the results.
Galatians 6:1 – Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.
Thought for Today
The Spirit of the searching Shepherd constrains us to go after the lost and bring them back.
Prayer for Today
Lord! Make me willing to risk all that I am and have in order to bring back those who are captured by the enemy. Amen!
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