Our FIRST LOVE of JESUS CHRIST !

REVELATION 2 

Courtesy of BIBLE GATEWAY

Unto 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;

 

 I+ 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:

 

And hast borne, and hast patience, and for My+ Name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

Nevertheless I+ have somewhat

against thee,

because thou

hast left thy first love.

Remember 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.

But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I+ also hate.

He 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. 

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Our FIRST love of JESUS CHRIST overwhelms our hearts !  

When we realize all HE+  has  done for us,  all  HE+  has cleansed us  from,  all the pain and sorrow HE+ has borne for us… we melt with LOVE towards Our SAVIOR+.

We  CRY  for JOY ! 

All  stony coldness vanishes.  All  lies and other defenses are washed away.  Our insurmountable burdens  actually roll away.

 

We are so LIGHT that we feel we could FLY !  Our hearts pour out gratitude and love for HIM+.  We cannot keep silent. We cannot keep from telling JESUS how MUCH we love HIM+ … over and over again. 

This first LOVE OF JESUS 

is important . 

Without it,

Our LORD says

HE+ will remove our candlestick ! 

But, how do we KEEP this FIRST LOVE of JESUS active and living in our hearts ?

We  must JOIN HIM+.

When we are close to JESUS, His+ Presence overwhelms our hearts, just like at the time of our FIRST LOVE of CHRIST. 

We join HIM+ when we submit to His+ Word.  Submission to His+ Word, you see,  goes against every particle of our flesh.  

 

We join HIM+ when  we  LITERALLY  apply the very words of Scripture in our value system and live them:  owe no man NOTHING! … turn the other cheek … forgive 70 times over …. sell what you have and give to the poor and come, follow ME+.  

 

There are many, many other words in Scripture which we have ignored or excused ourselves from applying.

We say, for instance,  the head-covering ( veiling ) is for “another culture, another time.”  

Yet, many serious Christian sisters have discovered the Anointing Presence when they go against their flesh and this modern culture and don a serious head-covering.   

 

Persecution, albeit minor,  will start immediately … because the satan does NOT LIKE it.  The satan does not like ANYONE who dares to APPLY the words of Scripture literally.  

 

However, along with the minor persecution will come an ANOINTED POWER to witness to CHRIST JESUS.  Strangers will be drawn to you and ask you serious SPIRITUAL questions or ask you for prayer. 

Then, His+ joy will rest upon you and your joy will be full. You will return to your FIRST LOVE of JESUS.

 

Every … yes, EVERY … act  of  obedience will bring a different set of persecution from family, friends, and yes even within the church circles.  Mocking, snide remarks, cold-shoulders and  sometimes removal from positions of  authority accompany certain acts of obedience. This is called “the cross.”

 But, His+ Joy will rest upon you !   You will bask in His+ Presence.   You will return unto your FIRST LOVE of CHRIST JESUS.  HE+  will  not remove your candlestick.

 

If, dear friends, your love for JESUS is dull and dreary, done by rote and is a burden ( ho-hummm ) , THEN BE ON GUARD.  Flee to JESUS and seriously ask HIM+ to show you WHERE your obedience is LACKING. 

 

 HE+ is faithful ... and will show you. 

 

Ask HIM+ to show you in His+ Word  where  your  “next obedience”  should be.  We do NOT STAY at the same levels of obedience day in and day out.  NO… yesterday’s gains will NOT SUFFICE for today’s growth. 

 

Dullness of spirit is a sign that  we are missing the mark; we are NOT WALKING in ALL the obediences HE+ has marked out for us. 

 

Let  us  therefore determine to RETURN unto our FIRST LOVE OF JESUS. 

 

Let us YOKE UP with His+ Will, as revealed in His+ Words.  Disregard NONE of them.  

 

 Do those things,  embrace those obediences, that HE+ shows you in His+ Word,  and YOUR FIRST LOVE of JESUS  will  return to you,  over-whelmingly !

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