First Love!

Revelation 2:1-7

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand

And walks among the seven golden lampstands:

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.

Remember the height from which you have fallen!

Repent and do the things you did at first.

If you do not repent,

I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

But you have this in your favor:

You hate the practices 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 the right to eat from the tree of life,

Which is in the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:1-7)

Christ Jesus tells John to write to the leader of the Church in Ephesus;

That it is He who holds the Church leaders in His hand,

And walks among the Churches.

He tells the Ephesus Church leader the things that the Church is doing right:

They have worked hard and have persevered;

They cannot tolerate wicked men;

They have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not,

And have found them liars.

They have persevered and have endured hardships for Christ Jesus,

And have not grown weary;

They hate the practices of the Nicolaitans,

However, Christ Jesus holds this against them:

'You have forsaken your first love!'

He tells them to remember the height from which they have fallen!

To repent and do the things they did from the first,

When they first came to know Him.

The relationship between Christ Jesus and His Church and each one of us,

Is an intimate personal relationship;

It is a love affair, and not a relationship of simply works!

It is like the relationship between a man and a woman

When it is as God intended.

It is like the exhilaration that young lovers have when they first fall in love;

Mind, soul and spirit, they are consumed with love for each other;

It is all they can think and talk about.

They long to be with the other person, to be apart is a hardship.

They have intimate and wonderful conversations 
About everything under the sun.

They trust and rely upon each other;

They are honest and transparent with each other.

Christ Jesus is saying to the church in Ephesus,

This is what you have lost and must regain, if you are to belong to Me.

Then He issues a sever warning:

If they do not repent,
He will come and remove their Lampstand from its place;

They will be removed from the Kingdom of God, and from before His Throne,

Which is where the Lampstands of all God's Churches reside.

We understand from this that “first love” is of ultimate importance.

Christ Jesus then tells them that they have in their favor

That they hate the practices of the Nicolaitans,

Who think they can live in their worldliness and idolatry 
And still belong to Him.

He tells the Church at Ephesus, if you have an ear, hear what I am telling you.

To those who hear, respond and overcome this world and its ways;

Which are dominated by the deception of Satan,

He will give the right to eat from the Tree of LIFE

Which is nourished by the River of LIFE, that contains the Water of LIFE,

That can only be found in the Paradise of God.

Today, we must have ears that hear what the Spirit is saying to us.

Only by our diligence will we maintain the fervency of our first love for Christ;

Only by allowing Christ to live in and through us.

We must love righteousness and hate evil as does Christ.

Then we will maintain our Lampstand before the Throne of God.

Then we will have the right to eat from the Tree of LIFE.

Today, the world is raging against God, rushing toward oblivion. (Psalm 2)

Save yourself from this corrupt generation! (Acts 2:40)

As God has written, so shall it be! Hallelujah! Maranatha!

Father, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as in Heaven!