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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LENTEN MEDITATION 18~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The Second Death

LENTEN MEDITATION 18
for the Year of Our LORD, 2.23.2008

The SECOND Death

And I saw the dead, small an great, stand before GOD:

and the books were opened: and another book was opened,

which is the book of life:

and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books,

according to their works.

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it;

and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them;

and they were judged every man according to their works.

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.

This is the second death. Rev. 20: 12,14

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the SPIRIT saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. Rev. 2:11

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone;

which is the second death. Rev. 21:8

The second death is a topic avoided by most preachers and brethren alike.

The second death brings to us the true, horrible, and frightening aspect of spending eternity in the Lake of Fire where the adversary satan will be placed. This likely will be, at the very least, that one will experience the amount of pain and suffering one has done to others during his life on earth... but possibly more, since The LORD takes those offenses as done unto HIMSELF.

Then, there is the accountability of who did one serve: The LORD .... satan.... oneself ?

JESUS HIMSELF spoke of this SECOND death in Mark 9: 42-48. Listen to His Words:

And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.

And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off; it is better for thee to enter into Life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell,

into the fire that never shall be quenched:

where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.

And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into Life, than having two feet to be cast into hell,

into the fire that never shall be quenched:

where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.

And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of GOD with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:

where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.

Life, in the above passage, refers to entering into Eternity with JESUS. Our LORD is telling us that rather than sin and miss Eternal Life with HIM+, it would be better for us to sever our needed body part through which sin has come. Why? It is because when we get to Heaven, we'll be made whole, once again, plus have eternal life in a NEW KIND of BODY, LIKE HIS+ GLORIOUS RESURRECTED BODY!

In other words, no matter the personal cost,

DON'T MISS ETERNITY WITH JESUS.

The opposite is a nightmare which never, ever ceases.

That second death is where all who are waiting in hell for the final judgment are thrown into the Lake of Burning Fire with hell itself and death ! We see that when the unredeemed die, they go to a place of waiting called hell or hades (Gk) or sheol (Heb). They are in torments there, as JESUS told us in Luke 16.

BUT THAT IS NOT THE SECOND DEATH

....WHICH AWAITS THEM LATER.

That awful, eternal, SECOND DEATH,

where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched.

This brings us back to our priorites, Christians...

and our accountability before the great Judgment Seat of CHRIST.

In the light of the SECOND death, how then should we live... before GOD, daily... before our fellow man... in our pursuits of this life... in the priorities of our day?

Are we truly concerned about the peoples and tribes who have never heard about The LORD, that they might be saved from the Lake of Burning Fire, the SECOND death?

Are we truly concerned about our lost neighbors that they might be saved from the SECOND death? Or rather, do we keep things on an easy, comfortable level? Do we even think to pray for them... other than when they get sick? The SECOND death is going to be harder on them than any sickness they have ever seen on this earth... and more long-lasting, too. Do we care enough even to set some regular time aside to pray?

Do we pray for opportunities to share the seriousness of eternal consequences with those who are hostile to us?

Let us pray:

Dear Holy, Heavenly FATHER,

I come to you ashamed of my light-hearted walk before THEE. I have not laid to heart the seriousness of Thy words nor of Thy commission. O LORD JESUS CHRIST, it is my heart's desire that all would know THEE+ ... Thy great love, Thy great cleansing power, and Thy great Life both here and beyond the grave.

Turn me away from self-centeredness, O LORD, and let Thy Anointing rest upon me. Let others sense the seriousness of eternal consequences when they see me or converse with me. And help me, O help me, to dislodge myself from comfort and rise up and do those things which will help to rescue friends and enemies alike from the SECOND death... which was not intended for men but for the fallen angels. I am ashamed of my lack of concern. Where would I be if others had not been concerned about my falling into that very Lake ?

I Thank THEE+, O Holy ONE+, for the salvation THOU+ has given to mankind... for whosoever will come to THEE+ . Help me to rescue the perishing and do my part, to show my love and thankfulness unto THEE+.

IN the name of the FATHER, His+ SON, JESUS CHRIST our LORD, and the HOLY SPIRIT. Amen.

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