Recapture

As time goes on in our relationship with Jesus, some find their once passionate connection to God can become a mundane association. We see this pattern repeat itself often in the Bible where God would call people to himself, show them his favor and faithfulness, and then before you know it, the story unravels and now his people are far from him.Where does this begin? Is it with some big sin? A wrong choice? No, this slow fade often begins subtly in the heart. In the book of Ezekiel, God is speaking to the prophet; saying that his people have "set up idols in their hearts." What we need to consider is the question, "Who is set up in my heart?" Who is set up on the throne and leadership of our hearts?

Whoever is set up in our hearts is in the driver seat of our lives.

When we talk about idols in the bible we often have a hard time translating that to our lives today, but an idol in our hearts is usually not that we decide to start worshiping other false gods, but that we begin to allow other things like approval, fame, money, success, or relationships to occupy that primary seat of our hearts.When any of the above listed is set up in our hearts rather than Jesus, we begin to find our lives becoming more and more distance from that once passionate relationship with Jesus. The great news is that in Ezekiel 14, God reveals his constant heart towards us when he says:

I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols. —‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭14:4-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

You might think that God would want to fully and forever reject those who deserted and put other pursuits before him, but instead he does everything to RECAPTURE our hearts!If you find yourself captured by one or more of life's temptations, do what Ezekiel 14 says, repent, turn to God and allow him to recapture your heart again!