Back to the Basics

Hey you. We’re officially 3 weeks into the new year and, I hope that you are hopeful for the year ahead. Hope… It may seem small but it is essential. Hope is the only thing that keeps you holding on. Hope is the supply for faith. Hope is fuel. Hope is an investment, and when invested in the right place, a return is guaranteed. A worthwhile return. Don’t give up on hope, friend. Stay hopeful.

That had absolutely nothing to do with today’s post, but hey, in typical Tee fashion, a couple meaningful detours are commonplace. Anyways, with us being at the start of a new year, I know that you’ve likely come across dozens of references to ‘new goals’, ‘new season’, ‘new assignments’, and in fact, ‘new wineskins’ ;). Now if you missed that, my very first post of the year was titled ‘New Wineskins‘, and I truly did not write that to jump on a bandwagon, or just because it seemed fitting for a “new” year, but because the Lord heavily impressed it on my heart, and it just flowed through me. I say that to say, I indeed can attest to the fact that many are stepping into a new season this year, and that comes with some demands. So, I implore you not to get cynical on me, but to really discern and pay attention to what the Lord may be saying to you in this season.

But here is the kicker, today I’m actually not here to talk to you about ‘new’ things. On the contrary, I’m here to talk about the old. There has been a lot of emphasis on the new, and rightly so. Like I explained in ‘New Wineskins‘, there are old things, strategies and ways of doing things that we must lay down in order to operate in the new, but today I’m here to remind you of the ‘old‘ you must hold on to. Today, I felt the nudge to remind God’s people to not neglect the old godly way in pursuit of the new. Do not tear up your strong foundation to build a new house on sand. Here’s the passage that came to me in light of this;

“But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!  Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first.” – Rev 2:4-5a

Quick little context to that portion of scripture; this was John writing to the church of Ephesus what Jesus spoke to Him concerning them. Like many of the other letters to churches that John wrote in obedience to the Son of God, his letter to the church in Ephesus highlighted both the positives and negatives. For this church, their deviation from the works they initially did – their ‘old’ works you could say, resulted in a weaker love for God. The Lord’s admonishment to them was to go back to those works they did in the beginning, the foundations of their faith.

You may be able to relate to finding yourself in a space where your zeal for the things of the Lord has dried up. You may no longer have a desire to study the Bible or to pray. And the real issue is not the lack of zeal, but rather your response to it. Did you stop praying as much? Did you stop digging deep into the Word? Maybe you do still read the Word, but you don’t meditate anymore. Maybe you do pray, but now mindlessly. Maybe you still go to church and serve, but it’s now routine and void of a relationship with the One whom you claim you’re serving.

Strategies, plans and assignments can change, but the principles of God do not.
They don’t change because God doesn’t change.

Perhaps it runs even deeper than the foundations of your faith. Maybe you used to have a burning desire to evangelize, now you just don’t care as much. Or you used to have a fervour to execute that God-given assignment, now it just feels burdensome. Or maybe you were passionate about sharing the truth(Jesus) by way of your testimony, now you’re content with hoarding your story. What changed? Did you stop building on the old sturdy foundation. Strategies, plans and assignments can change, but the principles of God do not. They don’t change because God doesn’t change. Same old God then, Same God now. Suddenly this scripture popped in my mind and… praise the Lord for google! A quick google search helped me nail its whereabouts down;

“This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around.
    Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it.
Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’” – Jer 6:16

Let me get a little personal for a minute and quickly tell you how the Lord stirred up this topic in my heart. As always, personal conviction first. I was watching a podcast where the host spoke so passionately about deception, and the need to familiarize and arm ourselves with the truth. She spoke like there was a fire in her belly and … she reminded me of myself not long ago. Just like me at the time, she was coming out of a season where she had a fresh revelation that the enemy had been deceiving her all her life, and believe me, I can tell you from experience that righteous anger is fuel. Having believed lies for so long, every time I saw someone believing the same lies I fell victim to, it was an opportunity to debunk and dethrone them, and I attacked with a zeal. Not only that, I was determined to use every means necessary to educate believers of the truth, and I did so with vigour.

I started projects to spread the truth. Some, I completed and got out, others remained in the works. There was a fire in my belly to expose this scheme of the enemy that he has managed to manipulate many with, and he still does. I still know this, I still have a passion for this, but I realized it had been a little while since I heard that grit in my voice and had that sparkle in my eyes that sent me going on a manhunt(or more appropriately, ‘demon hunt‘), to decimate lies. I realized that my vigour had dwindled. And as I sat there and watched the host speak powerfully, it was like a little spark lit in me. This podcast had just helped reignite something. Within myself, I admitted to the Lord that I missed that hunger, and I desired my fervour back. And, it was then that I sensed the Lord respond: “Do the things you did at first“.

Revisit the old revelations.
Do the things you did at first, and stir that gift up.

So you see, the truth is while that podcast episode helped reignite something, I still have the responsibility of fanning the flames and keeping the fire burning. Life happens y’all, and sometimes our passions take a hit but the responsibility to stir it up again remains with us. The way to do that is to revisit the old revelations. Do the things you did at first. Ask for the Old godly way, and walk in it. Remember the principles the Lord taught you to build on and make those a constant foundation. Don’t neglect your ABCs, everything else builds on them. Read the Word of God and Meditate. Go back to memorizing scripture. Go back to prayer walks and prayer dates. Maybe you need to go back to Bible Study meetings, or just enjoy fellowship with those that call on the Lord with a pure heart. Maybe you need to set and maintain boundaries again. Maybe you need to write again, or speak again, or sing again. Stir that gift up. Don’t wait for a feeling, but have faith that your feelings will catch up to your commitment. Appetites are cultivated, commit to cultivating a healthy and rewarding appetite by choosing what is good, over what feels good.

Don’t wait for a feeling, but have faith that your feelings will catch up to your commitment.

Let’s get back to the basics, friend.
What old practices do you need to reinstate to reignite your fervour for the Lord and the assignment He’s given you?
May the Lord give you the wisdom to discern your next steps, and the strength to walk it out. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

I love you. God loves you immeasurably more.
Catch you in the next blog post 💕

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