Remember how you felt when you first got saved? That feeling
when you really connected with God and His presence became real for you? Or
maybe when you first felt the power of the Holy Spirit? Do you remember the
fire, the love, the commitment, the excitement? So often it seems that we move
farther and farther away from those first feelings as we get further away from
the beginning. This morning, I heard God say we need to get back to our first
love and back to the basics.
You know there’s nothing like that honeymoon love. It’s pure
and uncomplicated. The pressures and struggles of life haven’t invaded yet and
all you feel is the bliss of being with your spouse. It’s similar with us and
God. When we first get saved or rededicated, we are on fire - reading the Word
all the time without prompting, spontaneous praise and worship, freedom! And
then the first test comes and you get a little shaky or time starts passing and
other things start to filter into your life. Your priorities start to shift and
all of a sudden you look up and wonder how you got where you are. You wonder
why you are so tired, why going to church irritates you instead of excites you,
and why you have to force yourself to pray or read the Word. We have an
opportunity at the start of this new year to go back to the beginning and
refresh and recharge.
This morning in prayer, God sent me straight to Revelation.
I said “God, do I really have to hit Revelation in the FIRST message of the
year?!” But, of course, it was right in
line with what He said about back to the basics. “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. You have patiently suffered for me
without quitting. But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love
me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn
back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come
and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.” (Rev.
2: 2-5 NLT) Oh my! That jumped right to
the heart of things didn’t it? This is Jesus speaking and He’s telling us that
He sees all the good stuff that we have done and the right living, etc. but where
is our love and our fire that we had at the beginning? It clearly is disturbing
to Him because he calls for repentance and gives a strong ultimatum! We have to
go back, repent and recharge our love so that we can have a full experience in
God.
You see the Word calls for us to love the Lord with all our heart, soul,
mind and strength (Mark 12:30). Let’s be honest. If you look closely at
your life now and how you conduct yourself, are you loving God with your whole
being? If so, that’s awesome! But most of us can point to things that need a
recharge. I’ll tell you that as I start my 2013, I have asked God to renew my
fire and zeal for Him! I don’t want to be so focused on the work that I miss
Him. I want to experience God like never before in 2013. In order to do that, I
have to go back to my first love. What do you need to recharge? God is tired of
halfway! We were created to worship Him. Do you think He envisioned the kind of
halfway worship that we’ve been giving as a church? I don’t think so! Words
like splendor of holiness, tremble, joyful noise, spirit and truth, don’t sound
like halfway to me! He wants your best! Let’s go back!
I encourage you to refresh your relationship
with God today! Go back to the basics of spending time with Him, reading His
Word, and talking to Him. You will surely find that there’s no love like your
first love! May God grant you peace, love, and immeasurable favor in this new
year.
God bless! AMEN…
No comments:
Post a Comment