Revelation 2 (The Message)
1 Write this to Ephesus, to the Angel of the church. The One with Seven Stars in his right-fist grip, striding through the golden seven-lights' circle, speaks: 2-3"I see what you've done, your hard, hard work, your refusal to quit. I know you can't stomach evil, that you weed out apostolic pretenders. I know your persistence, your courage in my cause, that you never wear out.4-5"But you walked away from your first love—why? What's going on with you, anyway? Do you have any idea how far you've fallen? A Lucifer fall! "Turn back! Recover your dear early love. No time to waste, for I'm well on my way to removing your light from the golden circle.
Do you remember your first love? I don't mean your first girlfriend/boyfriend. I mean your first real love. For me that is my lovely wife Stephanie. I had the great pleasure of meeting Stephanie when I was in high school. Stephanie was selling milk at lunch (how romantic!) I was close friends with one of her girlfriends, Kim Osnamer (I apologize Kim, for the spelling). She suggested we should get together. So, we had our first date at lunch at school. Being the great suave and debonaire person I am, I don't remember putting together any complete sentences. I do remember getting this strange feeling that she was amazing. I couldn't get her off my mind. She was a real distraction! It really was love at first sight. We hit it off immediately. We went on our first REAL date to see a movie, a very romantic, tear jerker of a movie, "Star Wars". Ok, I know it's not a great movie for a first date. What can I say, I was young! Our relationship continued to grow. I don't remember when I knew she was the one. But, it wasn't long after we met. I was still in high school and Stephanie had graduated. We got married after I graduated in 1978 and the rest is history!
I've never thought about walking away from my first love. Of course we've had our disagreements and we've had our share of FIGHTS. But, I love Steph more today than I did when we were first married. We have had some wonderful times and some difficult times, but we've done it together. I still think she is amazing and I feel like the luckiest man alive.
Do you remember when you gave your life to Christ? Do you remember how fired up you were. If you were like me, your enthusiasm was contagious. Remember when you couldn't get enough worship, or study of his word, or prayer. Have you lost your enthusiasm? Maybe you have walked away from your faith. Maybe you have grown cynical. Maybe you have let the world take over your heart. That's what happened to the church at Ephesus. They were true leaders of the faith and then something happened that they walked away from their true love. Maybe you haven't realized that you have drifted away. Maybe you aren't aware of how far you have fallen.
My advice: Stop what your doing. Pray to your Father in Heaven. Speak to him from your heart. Ask his forgiveness for "walking away" Ask forgiveness and then change your actions. Spend more time in the word, spend more time in prayer, pray for enthusiasm to share with others. Then get involved in ministry, even if that's at work, home, or in your community. Ask for God's hand in changing. Reconnect with your love. Give him a chance to rekindle that love. He is always there waiting for you to turn back to him.
Dear Lord, You are my first love. Please forgive me for not acting like it. Forgive me for not putting you first in my life. Forgive me for just walking through the paces and not getting excited about the grace, mercy, and blessings you have granted. Give me a heart for you. A heart that I can share with others I see everyday. A Heart that knows your love. Thank you for your patience with me. You are an awesome and wonderful God! Amen!
I'm way ahead of schedule to finish my whole Bible Study by the end of the year so I think I'm going to slow down a little bit. I love this part of the book of Revelation. These verses are specific messages to 7 churches. Yet, the messages are just as valuable to our modern day churches and even to individuals.
Do you remember your first love? I don't mean your first girlfriend/boyfriend. I mean your first real love. For me that is my lovely wife Stephanie. I had the great pleasure of meeting Stephanie when I was in high school. Stephanie was selling milk at lunch (how romantic!) I was close friends with one of her girlfriends, Kim Osnamer (I apologize Kim, for the spelling). She suggested we should get together. So, we had our first date at lunch at school. Being the great suave and debonaire person I am, I don't remember putting together any complete sentences. I do remember getting this strange feeling that she was amazing. I couldn't get her off my mind. She was a real distraction! It really was love at first sight. We hit it off immediately. We went on our first REAL date to see a movie, a very romantic, tear jerker of a movie, "Star Wars". Ok, I know it's not a great movie for a first date. What can I say, I was young! Our relationship continued to grow. I don't remember when I knew she was the one. But, it wasn't long after we met. I was still in high school and Stephanie had graduated. We got married after I graduated in 1978 and the rest is history!
I've never thought about walking away from my first love. Of course we've had our disagreements and we've had our share of FIGHTS. But, I love Steph more today than I did when we were first married. We have had some wonderful times and some difficult times, but we've done it together. I still think she is amazing and I feel like the luckiest man alive.
Do you remember when you gave your life to Christ? Do you remember how fired up you were. If you were like me, your enthusiasm was contagious. Remember when you couldn't get enough worship, or study of his word, or prayer. Have you lost your enthusiasm? Maybe you have walked away from your faith. Maybe you have grown cynical. Maybe you have let the world take over your heart. That's what happened to the church at Ephesus. They were true leaders of the faith and then something happened that they walked away from their true love. Maybe you haven't realized that you have drifted away. Maybe you aren't aware of how far you have fallen.
My advice: Stop what your doing. Pray to your Father in Heaven. Speak to him from your heart. Ask his forgiveness for "walking away" Ask forgiveness and then change your actions. Spend more time in the word, spend more time in prayer, pray for enthusiasm to share with others. Then get involved in ministry, even if that's at work, home, or in your community. Ask for God's hand in changing. Reconnect with your love. Give him a chance to rekindle that love. He is always there waiting for you to turn back to him.
Dear Lord, You are my first love. Please forgive me for not acting like it. Forgive me for not putting you first in my life. Forgive me for just walking through the paces and not getting excited about the grace, mercy, and blessings you have granted. Give me a heart for you. A heart that I can share with others I see everyday. A Heart that knows your love. Thank you for your patience with me. You are an awesome and wonderful God! Amen!
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