Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | March 26, 2013

“But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

Today’s devotion comes from Revelation 2:1-7.
 
“1 To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
 
The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:
                                                
2 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false;  and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.  But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.  5 Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first;  or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.  6 Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.  7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’”  Revelation 2:1-7.
                                 
———————-
                          
We can be morally strict.  We do not tolerate evil men.  Verse 2.
                                           
We can root out false prophets.  We put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and we found them to be false.  Verse 2.
                         
We can stay in the same church until we die.  We persevere.  Verse 2.
                             
We can hate heretics.  Verse 6.
                                  

But, if we do not love God as we should, then we fall short of the mark.  Verses 4 and 5.

“and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’”  Mark 12:30

We see this lack of love in marriages.  The husband may be a good provider.  He may be faithful.  He may not smoke nor drink.  He may be good with the kids.  But, he may also take his wife for granted and not love his wife as he should. 

We read about Israel leaving their first love in the following Jeremiah 2:1-5. 

“1 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord,

“I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth,
The love of your betrothals,
Your following after Me in the wilderness,
Through a land not sown.
3 “Israel was holy to the Lord,
The first of His harvest.
All who ate of it became guilty;
Evil came upon them,” declares the Lord.’”

4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.  5 Thus says the Lord,

“What injustice did your fathers find in Me,
That they went far from Me
And walked after emptiness and became empty?”  Jeremiah 2:1-5.

Oh Lord, bring us back to You!  Cause us to fall in love with You again!!  Cause us to cling to You!!!

“But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.”  Joshua 23:8 
                                

“6 “Put me like a seal over your heart,
Like a seal on your arm.
For love is as strong as death,
Jealousy is as severe as Sheol;
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
The very flame of the Lord.
7 “Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor will rivers overflow it;
If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love,
It would be utterly despised.”  Song of Solomon 8:6-7. 

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