First Love Forsaken

We begin by reviewing the question that was posed yesterday. What does Jesus want of His Church, she to whom He has given His life? What is the Spirit revealing to us today, about His Church, you and me? 

For the rest of the week, we shall listen carefully, look critically and learn consciously, all that the Holy Spirit, our Counsellor, speaks to us.

May it all be made flesh in us. Amen!

We learn, as we are taught from the Church at Ephesus. I have recorded the Scripture for us. Remember, this is all addressed to the Ephesian Church.  

I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.  Revelation 2: 2 – 6.

Already, we have prayed and asked our Father in heaven, for truth to be revealed in us. We were specific to ask for His truth and not what we hold as truth. We were genuine and consciously not wanting any advice or wisdom from our own carnal minds, or any other human-engendered wisdom. Extremely conscious of who our God, the All-Mighty, the All-knowing, the All-seeing Lord, who is never deceived by our piousness, we gave thanks to Him for always exposing any darkness in us and  others. It is in this mind that we now come, fully surrendered and ever mindful of the Spirit’s truth and not what we hold as truth. Nothing of human exposition, explanation or revelation is pleasing to God’s Holy Spirit, or is in agreement with Him.

What have we, in this time, been shown of ourselves, as the Church at Ephesus was shown of herself? Like that Church, our Lord is mindful and very cognizant of who we are and the good work we do for Him. He knows our deeds, our hard work and our perseverance. He is fully aware that we cannot tolerate wicked people. He has seen how, in obedience to Him, we have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and we have found them to be false. He is mindful and totally conscious of the fact that we have persevered and have endured hardships for Him. He is ever quick and pleased to compliment us on not growing weary, in so doing.

I was stopped here, for I immediately saw my problem and the problem of the wider Church. Are you being made to hear and see clearly also? This is vision from the humbled heart, the accepting eye and the surrendered self-will. This is what beats many of us, sheep of Shepherd Jesus, members of the Body of Christ and soldiers of the Lord. We thrive on our good works. We know that we are working for Jesus and no other. We know that our good deeds are being registered by Him and that He is blessing us. We know that we hate the same things our Master hates and that we are followers who persevere. We are also confident that we look like our Master in many ways so that others will know that we have been with Jesus.  

However, we have gone on unmindful and totally ignorant of how our Lord is hurt and totally unhappy with this one thing. It is our sweet, exciting, bubbling over, fresh and new love for Him. Indeed, this is a stop point for many will be stumped by it. To think that our Jesus misses close fellowship with us; to bring our minds to the fact that He so desires our love for Him to be fresh, sweet, young, vibrant and exciting, causes us to be sincerely grieved. Does this not draw our Love closer and closer to us? Will you again listen to Jesus speak? This time, however, will you really hear Him speaking to you personally?  You have forsaken the love you had at first.

What is our Lord saying to you? How is your love to Him?  

We anxiously wait to receive more.