Modern Gods - Part 1

Love is very essential in our relationship with our Lord, it is our identity, our Father loves us but it should not stop there. We aught to love God also, but we cannot out-love Him, that’s a reality. Like in the time of Apostle John the love that is intended to God has a lot of rivals even today. Though we are Christians a lot of time of worship is so tainted but unknown or known to us, we find our identity on idols and not on the living God.

The Journey Back To Your First Love - Part 2

Even if they are still there, the material is intact, the seminaries, strategies are there, but, if love to Christ is gone, everything is gone. Take it so seriously, God was asking the Ephesian church to repent not just to be busy. Not just work their lives until death for the work sake, but to remember that the Lord is so interested with His workers rather than just his work.

The Journey Back To Your First Love - Part 1

Jesus gave a letter to Ephesus that contained a credit to what they did right. God is faithful and fair. He will not forget your labor of love. Men will, churches might not remember, but God won’t. So He wrote, giving sincere commendation to what the Ephesians did right, side by side with the complaint. In a nutshell the complaint goes like this, you have left your first love and went on by saying if you will not hear and repent I will remove your lamp stand. The removal of the lamp stand is simply saying your church is still going on with activities but you are no longer a blessing to the nation.

Rekindling My First Love - Part 2

When relationship is routine, it is tiring and most often there is a love quarrel. But there is a period of cool off. I think like in our relationship with Jesus, the fire of our faith in between went down. You know that, even when a guy doesn’t talk, and he is still a gentleman, he is on time on a date and still brings gifts, yet the girl can sense his true presence, the girl can sense the guy’s heart. The same with our relationship with our Lord as He said in the church of Ephesus, you’re here but when you look at Me, I cannot feel your warmness, you’re not the same one as you were before.

Rekindling My First Love - Part 1

Who is your first love? How can you worship a God as you read the scripture in Revelation 1:12-16 “that out of His mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword.” John trembled, he is already familiar with Jesus’ walk as the Incarnate One and now the Glorified One. Yet John was assured with this, “I Am the First and the Last, I am the Living One, I died but look I am alive forever and I hold the keys of death and grave.” And so he recovered because Jesus appeared to him not to spare him but to assign him a task.

Remember Your First Love

By: Rev. Arnel C. Tan

“But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!”
Rev. 2:4 NLT

When John, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote the letter from Jesus to the church of Ephesus, it was not addressed to a single individual… it was addressed to the whole church. It was a congregational indictment from God, letting them know that they had fallen so far from their first love. No one from the church was spared, everybody fell from loving God like they used to. This sends jitters up my spine when we assume intimacy with God… and yet God does not concur.

What is in the phrase “first love” that made Jesus long for it? During the early days of conversion, our focus was so clear. It was not about projects, it was about the person of Christ. Motives and ministries were outcomes of those lives totally surrendered to God and therefore, everything was done for Him. Rules were so insignificant as compared to a love relationship. In fact, prayer was central and worship was essentially done as response to God’s invitation to come into His Presence and feast on His words. “First love” was all about Christ!

Then things got too technical and rules quickly took over relationships. Efficiency was now the goal over spiritual depth. What made the situation critical was that the whole church thought they were all fine spiritually. The services and doctrinal prowess continued, sadly, so with the deception that all was well. Then the letter came… stating otherwise. I think it is critical that we see this situation as a corporate falling away rather than some individuals getting cold towards God.

If the whole church of the efficient Ephesians were guilty of not only forgetting but leaving their first love, it also required whole repentance from the whole church. We are not told how the church of Ephesus responded but we know what will happen to them if they don’t repent. Christ will remove their lampstand… meaning their light to the nations will no longer shine. Their services and militant watch for doctrine and missions may go on, yet they cease to be a church that is in love with the Lord. Just another busy efficient church minus the love, life and laughter. That will be the picture of this church. How tragic… how sad!

If you were the Pastor of the church at Ephesus, or a member of this same church, what would you do? Could it be that we are that church or on our way to being that church? The only way back is to repent and return… not to work, but to worship; not to projects, but to prayer; not to more presents, but more of His Presence. Before the lampstand is taken, someone must come and bridge the gap that we may all fall in love with Christ again.

Jesus Is Our First Love - Part 2

When God says you lost your first love, He’s saying that it’s not only church activities, He’s telling us something’s wrong with intimacy. Communion is more important than communication.