Bible Verse of The Day Monday November 26th 2018

Matthew 22:36-38 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment.

In Revelation 2:2-5, we see Christ warning the Ephesian Church about the danger of a Lukewarm Christian Life. These believers had lost their zeal, their fire, and were a prime example of a lukewarm or a cooled down faith. They were still working for the Lord but as a matter of habit, not with a sincere heart. This admonition from Christ to the Ephesians was not only meant for that church but for every church thereafter. There as many today in countless churches whose faith has cooled down from where it was when they first got saved. Jesus is talking to the bewildered and unconcerned believers who are doing His work for all the wrong reasons. It is not our meaningless and hollow service He wants, it is us He wants, our heart, mind,body and soul.

When a person starts to give a higher priority to things of the world, the importance of your work for God will start to diminish and your heart will start to cool down. Jesus said in the text above that they had forsaken the “love they had at first”. This is your salvation, remember how you felt the moment you were saved. If the fire that raged in your heart then has gone down to smoldering ashes then you are guilty of forsaking your first love. When this happens to one member of the body of Christ it will spread more quickly than the fastest growing cancer. Before it is realized the heart and soul of the entire church is cooled down. He has given us the solution to this problem and it is simply repentance. 

When Jesus said: “If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” This is not someone losing their salvation, since that would be impossible. What He is telling us is that He will remove the effectiveness of the church in the world around it, an ineffective church is no more than the elements that make the building, bricks, mortar, boards, and nails.

To be able to return to a fervent and impassioned service for our Lord and Savior sometimes might be a long road but it always starts with the first step and that step is repentance. We must put Jesus back where he belongs in our lives and that is in the number one position in our heart, souls and our lives. Daily, regular Bible study and prayer along with a quiet time spent with Christ Jesus is the only path by which we can return to that intense burning fire we knew as our first love.

God wants to have a personal and intimate relationship with every one of His children. The questions we should be asking ourselves today is this: Are we as excited or more excited about Jesus today as we were at the moment of our salvation? Are we as close or closer to Jesus now than we were when we first got saved? If the answer to both of these questions is not a resounding yes, then we should be down on our knees at the altar at the next worship service asking God to forgive us and rekindle that flame that burnt so fervently at the beginning.