FOOD FOR THOUGHT: First Love. Scripture Reading: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of My mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16). Message: One Sunday a preacher delivered a sermon at church. His Scripture filled message was fiery - full of compassion and concern for the lost. About halfway through, i looked around at the congregation and saw that some were responding to the preachers impassioned plea with a hearty yawn. Eyelids were drooping, and some had even drifted off to sleep. Dont get me wrong dear brothers and sisters. These were good people. Some had put in years of faithful service to the Lord. Many had shown a zeal for evangelism and a concern for the spiritual growth of the new Christians. But somehow they had become spiritually flat. They tolerated spiritual slumber, procrastination, etc, and ended up in that state. There were comforable, lethargic, engulfed in spiritual dullness. What happened? Jesus Christ said in Revelation 2:2-5, I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love ... Repent and do the things you did at first. My dear brother or sister, has your devotion to Christ cooled? Has your fervency in serving God being replaced by a sense of duty? If there was a time when your heart burned hotter and brighter than it does today, Jesus Christ says its time to repent and go the other way, ie, His way. We must follow in His footsteps. (1 Peter 2:21). Do it today my brother or sister. Days are going. Jesus is coming. The first time He came to deal with SIN so that you and i can enjoy the fellowship with God that we now enjoy. This time He is going to deal with the SINNER. Ask Jesus Christ to rekindle the flame and renew the joy and excitement of your first love for Him. When Jesus Christ returns, what is He going to look for? The answer to this widely misunderstood question is very simple and is found in Luke 18:8 b: However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? When Jesus Christ comes, He is going to look for faithful people; people who are full of faith. This is the reason why it is written that the just or righteous shall live by faith. That is the reason why Scripture plainly says that without faith, it is impossible to please God. Faith must be confessed. Your faith can only go as high as the level of your confession. Faith has nothing to do with feelings, sight, etc. The opposite of faith is fear. Fear is what the devil uses. He instils fear in you so that you lose your faith. * By faith in Jesus Christ I pray for you my dear brother or sister, that beginning from today, your faith in Jesus Christ will not weaken again. God has already provided the grace for that. You will finish well. Power belongs to our God. Receive His power in the name of Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:11-12). You are free, in Jesus name. * To Ponder: Do you still experience the same excitement, dedication, and hunger for the Word that you did as a new Christian. Prayer: Lord, renew the flame of my first love - for You and for Your kingdom, in Jesus name, Amen. Be delivered.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 06:46:39 +0000
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