Every Day With Jesus Devotional, January 28, 2023
Every Day With Jesus
January 28: Your First Love
Revelation 2:1-7
Revelation 2:1-7
Message to the Church in Ephesus
1Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
2I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 4Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 6But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Vese 5: Amplified Version
5So remember the heights from which you have fallen, and repent [change your inner self--your old way of thinking, your sinful behavior--seek God’s will] and do the works you did at first [when you first knew Me]; otherwise, I will visit you and remove your lampstand (the church, its impact) from its place--unless you repent.
Revelation 2:4
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Pastor Andrew Wommack teaches on "Message to the Church in Ephesus
Do you cringe at this passage of Scripture? Most Christians do because they know they don’t love Jesus as they should, and this just reminds them of that. But Jesus wasn’t speaking of returning to how we first loved Him; He was talking about returning to our revelation of how He first loved us. As the apostle John put it, “We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
Often, preaching is centered on how we should love others. Although this is certainly appropriate, the greatest and most distinguishing characteristic of a true Christian is their love for the brethren. (John 13:35 "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another"). But we can’t give away what we haven’t received. Until we have a true revelation of how much God loves us, we can’t genuinely love others. Trying to do so without a vibrant, experiential love within us is like trying to give someone a drink from a well that’s run dry. It can’t be done!
The Christian life is not just hard to live; it’s impossible to live in our own strength. True Christianity is not you and I living for Jesus, but Jesus living through us. (Gal. 2:20.) Nowhere is this more apparent than in loving other people. The kind of love Jesus commands includes turning the other cheek (Matt. 5:39) and forgiving those who crucify us. (Luke 23:34 "Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do"). And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. This kind of love is humanly impossible. We can only live this way by walking in the supernatural love that only comes from God.
Therefore, loving others is the fruit—not the root—of God’s love for you. As you return to the joy of understanding how much God loves you the way you did when you first received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you’ll love others more accidentally than you ever have on purpose.
Devotional by Pastor Andrew Wommack.
Blog, Notes, and Prayers by Kingdom Business Us dot Blogspot dot Com pflb (c) 1/28/23
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