Revelation 2:3 (NIRV), "You have been faithful and have put up with a lot because of me. You have not given up"
Wednesday... Yes, we can be connected with someone who knows.
And that can be good and that can be bad especially if it is someone who really matters to us.
My wife and I know each other. We have been married for 51 years. We have been through a lot but I have also been connected with someone a lot longer who really does knows it all.
I am reading now the book of Revelation. It is the last book in the Bible and it was written by John while he was a prisoner on the island of Patmos. While he was on this island he received a vision from Jesus and he was told to write what he saw and experienced in that vision. Now it was sent to the seven cities in the Roman province of Asia Minor. And it begins with words of warning and encouragement for each of those seven churches.
Chapter 2:1b starts by saying, "Here are the words of Jesus." Yes, he was the one who knows and we can also connect with him.
One of the cities was Ephesus and in verse 2 (NIRV) John writes to the church there, "I know what you are doing." And that could be said about us if Jesus was talking to us personally. Now he goes on and says, "You work long and hard." And then in verse 3 he says, "You have been faithful and have put up with a lot of trouble because of me. You have not given up." And that is great to know that that matters to Jesus. And that could be said of a lot of us. No matter what we have gone through or are going through the fact that we haven't given up matters to God, to Jesus. So let's keep at it.
But he then says something that tells us that we may need to work on this and that is such a good thing because we still can make such a difference. It tells us that this really, really, really matters to him.
In verse 4 John writes, "But here is something I hold against you. You have turned away from the love you had at first." Verse 5, "Think about how far you have fallen." Yes, we may do what is right but we have lost our love and love is what it is all about.
Verses 4-5 in The Amplified Bible says it this way, "But I have this [charge] against you, that you have left your first love [you have lost the depth of love that you first had for Me. So remember the heights from which you have fallen, and repent [change your inner self - your old way of thinking, your sinful behavior - seek God's will] and do the works you did at first [when you first knew Me]; otherwise, I will visit you and remove your lampstand (the church, its impact) from its place - unless you repent."
We may have lost our love in our relationships, in our marriage, in our family, in our church and in our relationship with God. Again, we may do what is right but if we have lost our love that is a problem, because love is what it is all about.
The Bible is so great because it is God's way of letting us know what is important to him. Love is why he created this world and you and me. And we need to be reminded how important love is to God, to Jesus! Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning
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