Daily Devotion: Our First Love

Scripture:
Revelation 2: 1-7

Main Verse:
Revelation 2: 4
But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love.

Observation:
The church at Ephesus was praiseworthy for their service, their hard work, their perseverance, and their discernment (vv. 2-3). The Lord Jesus acknowledged their hard work. They did not stop serving the Lord despite the difficulties. They did not grow weary or give up in their commitment to the Lord. They had the maturity and perception to identify wicked people and false prophets. They were almost perfect except for one thing: they have forgotten their first love. So the Lord warned them. They need to repent so that He will not take away their lampstand. It would be such a horrible thing to imagine if the Lord comes back and sees us in an idle state! Can you imagine being left behind while He takes our family, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ with Him to His glorious place?

Application:
The Lord is pleased when we serve Him and do works of ministry, but we must never forget that our love for Jesus is our priority. The Lord commands that we should love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Luke 10:27). He alone deserves our greatest love. When we first tasted the Lord's goodness in our lives, when we got saved first, we were filled with so much passion and excitement. We saw every chance to pray to God, to read His word, to go to church, and to witness to others as a great opportunity to show our love for the Lord. We need to examine our hearts. Do we still love the Lord like we used to? Are we still eager to go to church, and do we go to church early and with a ready heart and mind? Do we stay focused during the sermon or during our quiet times with the Lord? Do we even have time to commune with Him? The Lord wants to feel from us that we truly love Him. He wants us to be close to Him. We must never give the enemy a chance to snatch away that flame, our devotion to the Lord. Let us not forget our First Love.

Prayer:
Lord, forgive me when I fail to show you how much I love you. I can never equal the love you have for me, and your grace and your mercy on my soul, but I pray that I may be able to walk with you at all times and show you how much your sacrifice means to me. May the Holy Spirit guide me so I may not fall into the enemy's traps and forget how I loved you at first. Keep me binded to your side so that I can always hear your voice and feel your love. My spirit longs for you, Lord! AMEN.