First Love – December 27, 2008

First Love

Revelation 2:4-5

Jim Stephens

12-27-08

 

Scripture:

 

4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! 5 Look how far you have fallen from your first love! Turn back to me again and do the works you did at first. If you don’t, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.  (Revelation 2:4-5 NLT)

 

Observation and Application:

 

There is no one like a brand-new believer in Christ and there is nothing like a new believer’s first love.  First Love is such a pure and simple love for Jesus who gave his all for us, and pure and simple love for every other Christ-follower.

 

It’s sad and frustrating and seems kind of tragic that First Love gets lost in the realities of life and learning and experience and delay and disappointment.  First Love is so pure and simple and life is so cloudy and complex.

 

The good news is that there is purity and simplicity on the other side of complexity and confusion.

 

If you’re a brand-new Christ-follower, keep your First Love alive and if it ever fades, search for it as you would for treasure.  If you’re a little jaded by the realities of life, remember your First Love and go find it.  Never settle for anything but the purity and simplicity of your First Love for Jesus and for your brothers and sisters in Christ.

 

Prayer:

 

Father, what a wonderful thing it would be if every believer lived with the purity and simplicity of First Love.  Please remind us, confront us, and draw us to First Love for you and for each other.  Amen.

 

As You Did At First – August 28, 2008

As You Did At First

Revelation 2:2-4

Jim Stephens

08-28-08

 

Scripture:

 

2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. 3 You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. 4 But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!”  (Revelation 2:2-4 NLT)

 

Observation:

 

Whatever one’s opinion about whether these seven churches represent the “Church Ages” or what the symbolism of candlesticks and white stones means, the message is as relevant as today’s news.

 

The church at Ephesus was a good, hard-working church.  They held steady under pressure and persecution and kept their doctrine and practices pure.  But they had lost the simple and pure motivation of love for God and love for each other.

 

Jesus called the Ephesus church to wake up and realize they had actually “fallen” from love-motivation to something less – something not God-pleasing.  “Look how far you have fallen from your first love! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first.”  (Revelation 2:5 NLT)

 

Application:

 

Loving God and Loving People.  It sounds so simple and pure.  I really want to live a love-motivated life.  It doesn’t matter if a person is part of a church staff, serves in a para-church ministry, runs a business, works a job, goes to school – whatever we do with the majority of our time and energy – there is a gravitational pull away from the simplicity of living a love-motivated life.

 

Prayer:

 

Father, I know that I am susceptible to the relentless pull of gravity – the gravity of daily living, working, and serving that pulls me away from the simplicity of living a love-motivated life.  Please refresh my love-motivation today.  I turn toward you in love and worship and I turn toward my brothers and sisters in compassion and care.  Amen.

 

Loving God, Loving Others – August 23, 2008

Loving God, Loving Others

1 John 4:20-21

Jim Stephens

08-23-08

 

Scripture:

 

20 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 21 And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters.  (1 John 4:20-21 NLT)

 

Observation:

 

In 1 John 4:7-21, the word “love” is used 26 times.  God loves us, we love God, we love other people.  God shows his love by sending his Son to die for our sin.  We lose our fear because we know God loves us.  God enables us to love others by filling us with his Holy Spirit.  God commands us to love – from the heart – because he loves us and fills us with love so we can love.  We love God because of gratitude and we love others because of the love capacity God’s Spirit has given us. 

 

Application:

 

When I read this, I go through a heart and soul-searching time.  I think through my attitudes, my words, my actions, and my motivations.  I think about whether I’m acting out of love or out of obligation, responsibility, peer-pressure, guilt, or fear.  If it’s not about love, it’s not going to cut it.

 

Prayer:

 

Father, Your Word has the ability to make me think seriously and deeply about the attitudes and motivations of my heart.  Help me to receive your love completely and give your love unconditionally.  Amen.

 

The Same Message – August 21-2008

The Same Message

1 John 2:7

Jim Stephens

08-21-08

 

Scripture:

 

Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before.  (1 John 2:7 NLT)

 

Observation:

 

John is called the Apostle of Love.  On the surface, it seems like he’s a sweet guy who just talks about love – God loves us, we love each other, it’s all just nice.  In reality, John sets the bar so high that unless we honestly confess our sins and failures and completely depend on the Holy Spirit, we’re stumbling along in the dark!

 

John writes that unless we keep God’s commandments, we’re outsiders.  But this is not about obeying a list of rules, this is about the answer Jesus gave when he was asked “Which is the greatest commandment?”  Jesus said, “Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

 

Application:

 

If I don’t love, I’m not living as Christ lived.  If I’m to live as Christ lived, I must be filled with and empowered by and submitted to the same Holy Spirit that lived in and filled and empowered him.

 

I don’t have the capacity to love like Christ loved unless I’m living by the same Spirit.  Rules, expectations, peer pressure, fear of judgment, ambition, drive to succeed, threats – none of these things can make me live and love like Jesus.  Only his Spirit.

 

Prayer:

 

Father, please fill me with your Holy Spirit and forgive me for my efforts at rule-keeping and people-pleasing.  Fill me with your Spirit and let your love live in me.  Amen.