Title: Love, Love Me Do / Topic: Priorities

Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 1; Ezekiel 2; Ezekiel 3; Revelation 2

Scripture: Revelation 2:2-5
2 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. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 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.

Observation: These words of Jesus are a wake-up call to every believer. He's speaking to a church; a whole group of believers that He commends for several good things. They are righteous and can discern truth from error very well. They are hard-working and unafraid of facing persecution for the Lord's sake. And they are tireless; they just keep going! But these qualities, though commended by Jesus, aren't enough to keep them from a stern rebuke. He tells them they have lost their first love. Amidst their steadfastness in standing up for truth and righteousness and being immovable in hardships they have lost their passion for God. They do the right things (their duty) but not in the right way (their motivation). In His words, Jesus makes it clear that our first priority needs to be our "romance" with Him.

Application: People who have been married a long time can stay in a relationship and stay loyal to each other without necessarily staying passionate in their love for one another. They don't play and laugh together, they just fulfill their responsibilities to one another. It can get to be that way in a mature relationship with Jesus too. The joy of the relationship can be lost even when there's a deep knowledge of and commitment to living by the truth. I have had times in my walk with Jesus that were like that. The good news is we all can repent and restore our passion for God. I have found that when I've lost the priority of passion, it's been when I have gone through a lot of hardship and pain with people coupled with not spending enough time with God in worship, prayer and the Word. Hard work for the Lord can wear us down if we don't spend time with the Lord, especially in worship (that is the time when we whisper the "sweet nothings" to Him; our "bedroom talk" with God). When I am in the midst of trials and stress I need even more time in worship than usual. God expects me to keep up my end of the romance.

Prayer: Father, I love you for creating this beautiful world for me and for giving me your Son. Jesus, I love you for giving me everything I need for life and godliness. I thank you Holy Spirit for leading me into all truth and guiding me into the Presence of God. It's amazing that your love for me makes you jealous for my affection. May I be responsive to you always! I want to be ready to fall into your arms of love at every opportunity instead of being so worried about making sure "my house is clean".
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.