Maybe you should renew your vows

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Sanctification”

Our Bible verse for today: “But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.” Revelation 2:4-5 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Maybe you should renew your vows”

Over our forty-seven years together, Linda and I had the good fortune to have a relationship that grew deeper and better with the passing years. That was especially true in the last seventeen years of her life after she had a stroke and brain surgery and she began a long, slow decline in both mental and physical health. The challenges those health issues presented for us were sometimes immense, but in some respects those seventeen years were the best years of our marriage. We were closer and leaned on each other more than ever before.

Not all marriage relationships get better with time. Sadly, in many cases, the relationship is neglected and allowed to grow stale, or worse, it becomes hostile and combative. To prevent or correct that, many couples at some point renew their marriage vows and then put extra focus and effort into nurturing the relationship. The idea is to restore and renew the relationship, even bringing it to greater depths of love and devotion.

What’s true of a marriage relationship is also true of our relationship with God. If we don’t guard it and nurture it, it will wither and maybe even die. But if we do value that relationship, and if we treat it as the precious thing that it is, it will flourish and grow, developing into something deep and rich. So, just as couples often renew their marriage vows, Christians need to renew their vow to follow Jesus as a serious disciple. That’s what the Lord is calling for in Revelation 2:4-5.

At Oak Hill Baptist Church we keep a large cross mounted on a wooden platform on our stage. On that platform there is a pile of medium-sized stones. Each of those stones was placed there by someone as a symbol of a burden they were releasing to the Lord and leaving at the foot of the cross, or as a commitment they were making to Him. The stone is a visible tangible reminder of a significant encounter with God regarding something that was deeply important to the person who placed the stone, and some of those stones represent renewed vows.

Since we have just begun a new year, many of us have been thinking about New Years resolution for 2024. May I suggest you consider renewing your vows with Jesus and then spend 2024 making an extra effort to nurture that relationship? As we learned in a previous devotional in this series, there is nothing you can do that will have a more positive and lasting impact in your life than to grow in your relationship with Jesus.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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