Good Morning Friday.......
Father thank You for this NEW day. You have blessed us with another WONDERFUL day to see your WISDOM and TRUTH. May we use this day to show this dark and war-filled world Your Light and Glory TODAY!!!
- The Great Revelation: Unfolding Eternity Today (6)
As we move along in The Book of Revelation we see something interesting in Our Savior's Message to The Church of Ephesus. We see first that He commends them, but then He also calls them to repent. The Church was told that they needed to repent and return to their First Love. It seems that The Church there loved there accurate Bible Interpretations more than they loved Our Savior Yeshua, Jesus Christ...Our First Love. They became overly focused on "their" good works and lost sight of what was most important. Just observing them it seemed they were doing what they were supposed to, laboring for Our Savior's Name, proving false apostles as liars, hating evil deeds, being patient, enduring, and not growing weary in doing all these things. All these things mean nothing though without Our First Love, The Love of Christ, being front and center. Learning to do the right thing is excellent, but if done just because we are trained to do them and not for the Love of Christ... they are all for not.
This is where Our Messiah's Message intersects with us today. The Message is as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago and we should take note. This is where the timeless message of repentance is spoken and we are shown what is good and what is not. Here The Message is one of conviction, correction, and praise, as well as an invitation to repent and to return to Our God, Father, King, and Savior. While the messages are to the seven churches of Asia Minor, they are indeed to us as well.
If we decide to start "doing the right things" just because we are told they are good and not out of Love for Yeshua, Jesus Christ, pretty soon we end up stale, without our "Fire," and cold. When we end up cold and not carrying The Love of Our Messiah with us, sooner or later we begin to focus on other things, things that may not be good for us. This is where compromise happens and we end up in a position completely disappointed in ourselves. It begins with us showing signs of growing colder, then we become apathetic, grow yet colder, start complaining, and before you know it we are just like our ancestors in the desert talking about how we miss the things this world has to offer. The Truth is this: The World Has Nothing To Offer Us If We Are Living In Christ, It's Not Even Comparable. We must be alert to the enemies tactics and not let these descriptions describe us, but if they do, don't be hopeless, for Our Hope is in "He Who Is In You" and He Is "Greater Than he who is in the world" (1John 4:4).
Yeshua, Jesus Christ, Our Savior, Our Commander, is Our First and Greatest Love. Just as He did to The Church of Ephesus, He Calls Us Today To Repent and Return To Him. Are you in a place where you have grown cold? Has something taken more of your attention and Love than Jesus? Has a ministry given to you by Our Father or the praise of men seduced your attentions away from The One and Only? Repent and return to Your Savior Yeshua, Jesus Christ, and Your Heavenly Father. If we do this, do you know what happens? Our King Will Allow Us To Eat From The Tree Of Life and Drink From The River Of Living Water! That's Right, He Will Reward Us... And He Will Reward Us For Our Faithful Love In Ways We Cannot Even Imagine! HalleluYah!
Prayer:
Dear God, Our Father In Heaven, please show us if we have grown cold, complacent, or apathetic toward You. Please show us if we have idols that we have turned toward. Help us turn from these idols and come back to You... Our First and Greatest Love. Forgive us Father, if we have, for ever growing cold or allowing our hearts to become stoney again. Finally, please Father if our hearts have become stoney, replace them with a heart of flesh as You Tell Us In Your Word. We ask these things of You Father, Who Is THE ONE Who Guides All Things, THE CREATOR of All Things, in The Name of Your Mighty and Powerful Son Yeshua, Jesus Christ Our King. Amen.
The Great Revelation, The Call To Return, The Word of God:
“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”
Revelation 2:1-7
“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
I John 4:4-6
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
Ezekiel 36:26
“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,”
II Corinthians 3:5
“But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
I Corinthians 2:9
“while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
II Corinthians 4:18
“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:14-15
A copy of this devotion, pictures with verses, and other encouragement for sharing, is available at:
https://servantofyeshua7.weebly.com
Thank You and Yahweh Yeshua Ha'Mashiach, God Our Father and His Son, Bless You!