Rekindling Your First Love: A Journey Back to Passionate Faith
Rekindling Your First Love: A Journey Back to Passionate Faith
In the city of Ephesus the church stood shinning the light of Jesus in a dark place. They received a letter from the Lord praising them for their hard work, perseverance, and for holding sound doctrine. Only, under the surface, was a battle for what really captured their heart. They had left their first love. Revelation 2:1-7 serves as a great reminder for us today as our relationship with Jesus Christ has to be grounded in uncontested love, not just religious service.
Imagine if you received a letter from Jesus, praising you for your serving Him at Calvary Chapel Clarksville. But you continued to read the letter states: "Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love." This would be so heart breaking, but in a way relieving because there is never true joy serving Jesus when He is not the center. Have you been in this place? Have you found yourself going to church, serving in ministry, being faithful in the little things and then one day realize your heart has grown cold, and you miss Jesus because you have slowly replaced your first love?
The Ephesian church's is an example for us to learn from. Examine your own spiritual condition. Are you, maintaining an outward appearance of godliness while your fire has dwindled? Listen, we can be doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons.
There was hope for the church of Ephesus and there is hope for us. If you have fallen from your first love you have a choice to apply to your life the literal Godly council that Jesus gave to the Ephesians.
Jesus gave them direction on how to rekindle the first love:
1. Remember: Remember the excitement and joy of your early days with Christ. Remember how awesome your salvation was. Remember the first time you heard the Lord speak to you through His word. Remember the first time you lead somebody to Christ and had a part in changing their eternity forever.
2. Repent: Acknowledge that you've fallen and turn back to God with a broken and contrite heart. Repentance isn't just feeling sorry; it's choosing to make a 180 degree change in direction.
3. Repeat: Return to the "first works" the things you used to do when Jesus was the only thing that mattered. Like white coals that appear to be going out, stir them up and rekindle your life through spending time in prayer, sit again at Jesus feet and read the scriptures, raise your hands in worship because He is worthy not because you feel like it, and stop forsaking the fellowship with other believers.
There is a cool story in 2 Kings chapter 6 that correlates well with our topic. One of prophet Elisha's students lost his axe head in the Jordan River, while chopping wood. The lost axe head represents our lost spiritual edge. You know what I am talking about. The cutting power of a sold out faith. The student could have kept hitting the wood with the end of the axe handle acting as if he was being effective, but that would have just worn him out and left him empty with no purpose. He needed to cry out to his master and confess that he had lost his cutting edge. When we cry out to Jesus and acknowledging our need just like Elisha miraculously restored the axe head, Jesus Christ can restore our hearts unto Him and we can once again serve Him with the cutting edge we once had.
Orthodoxy without love is not enough. The Ephesian church did awesome in using their discernment when it came to identifying false teachers like the Nicolaitans, They were right holding onto sound doctrine, but they lacked the discernment to recognize their fading love.
Jesus desires a church that holds to sound doctrine with unwavering devotion, while keeping an unwavering heart keeping Christ at the center of all things. We are called to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This is not called our first love only because it happened first in chronology, but it is our first love because nothing else compares to Jesus so we seek Him before all things. Our first love is Jesus Christ.
The "tree of life" mentioned in Revelation brings us back to the Garden of Eden, where access to this tree was lost because of sin. Now, Jesus promises that those who overcome will have the right to eat from this tree in God's paradise. This beautifully speaks of a restored relationship and eternal life. We also can't forget the tree that Jesus died on giving us life in exchange for His. The tree of calvary has made us overcomers. We are not perfect, but we persevere in our love for Christ, refusing to let the cares of this world or the deceitfulness of sin cool our affection for Him. We cry out each time we fall and we remember, return, and repeat with renewed commitment to our first love.
Here are a few things to reflect on:
- Has my relationship with Christ become more about duty than delight?
- Am I more concerned with appearing spiritual to others than cultivating genuine intimacy with God?
- What "first works" do I need to return to in order to rekindle my passion for Christ?
- How can I guard against the subtle driftng away from my first love?
The journey back to your first love isn't always easy, but it's always worth it. It will require effort as you make time for prayer and worship. It might mean fasting from distractions that have taking up space in your life, but remember, the goal isn't to restore feelings or emotions. True love for Christ is a choice, a commitment and feeling may or may not come. As we choose to remember, repent, and repeat the first works, we can trust that God will rekindle the flame of our devotion.
Be encouraged because Jesus cares about the condition of your heart. He doesn't just want your service; He wants your love. He stands ready to restore us, to fan into flame any spark that remains.
Picture that axe head rising to the surface of the Jordan. Picture the tree of life, its fruit hanging with promise of eternal intimacy with God.
Today, make a decision to turn back to Christ with all your heart. Allow His love to overwhelm you once again and He will transform your service from being a duty into a delight. It is not just about what we do for Christ, but about who we are becoming in this relationship with Him. Get ready to shine His light in a world desperate for authentic faith.
May God bless you and keep you close to His heart.
In His love,
Pastor Kolby Kreidel
In the city of Ephesus the church stood shinning the light of Jesus in a dark place. They received a letter from the Lord praising them for their hard work, perseverance, and for holding sound doctrine. Only, under the surface, was a battle for what really captured their heart. They had left their first love. Revelation 2:1-7 serves as a great reminder for us today as our relationship with Jesus Christ has to be grounded in uncontested love, not just religious service.
Imagine if you received a letter from Jesus, praising you for your serving Him at Calvary Chapel Clarksville. But you continued to read the letter states: "Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love." This would be so heart breaking, but in a way relieving because there is never true joy serving Jesus when He is not the center. Have you been in this place? Have you found yourself going to church, serving in ministry, being faithful in the little things and then one day realize your heart has grown cold, and you miss Jesus because you have slowly replaced your first love?
The Ephesian church's is an example for us to learn from. Examine your own spiritual condition. Are you, maintaining an outward appearance of godliness while your fire has dwindled? Listen, we can be doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons.
There was hope for the church of Ephesus and there is hope for us. If you have fallen from your first love you have a choice to apply to your life the literal Godly council that Jesus gave to the Ephesians.
Jesus gave them direction on how to rekindle the first love:
1. Remember: Remember the excitement and joy of your early days with Christ. Remember how awesome your salvation was. Remember the first time you heard the Lord speak to you through His word. Remember the first time you lead somebody to Christ and had a part in changing their eternity forever.
2. Repent: Acknowledge that you've fallen and turn back to God with a broken and contrite heart. Repentance isn't just feeling sorry; it's choosing to make a 180 degree change in direction.
3. Repeat: Return to the "first works" the things you used to do when Jesus was the only thing that mattered. Like white coals that appear to be going out, stir them up and rekindle your life through spending time in prayer, sit again at Jesus feet and read the scriptures, raise your hands in worship because He is worthy not because you feel like it, and stop forsaking the fellowship with other believers.
There is a cool story in 2 Kings chapter 6 that correlates well with our topic. One of prophet Elisha's students lost his axe head in the Jordan River, while chopping wood. The lost axe head represents our lost spiritual edge. You know what I am talking about. The cutting power of a sold out faith. The student could have kept hitting the wood with the end of the axe handle acting as if he was being effective, but that would have just worn him out and left him empty with no purpose. He needed to cry out to his master and confess that he had lost his cutting edge. When we cry out to Jesus and acknowledging our need just like Elisha miraculously restored the axe head, Jesus Christ can restore our hearts unto Him and we can once again serve Him with the cutting edge we once had.
Orthodoxy without love is not enough. The Ephesian church did awesome in using their discernment when it came to identifying false teachers like the Nicolaitans, They were right holding onto sound doctrine, but they lacked the discernment to recognize their fading love.
Jesus desires a church that holds to sound doctrine with unwavering devotion, while keeping an unwavering heart keeping Christ at the center of all things. We are called to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This is not called our first love only because it happened first in chronology, but it is our first love because nothing else compares to Jesus so we seek Him before all things. Our first love is Jesus Christ.
The "tree of life" mentioned in Revelation brings us back to the Garden of Eden, where access to this tree was lost because of sin. Now, Jesus promises that those who overcome will have the right to eat from this tree in God's paradise. This beautifully speaks of a restored relationship and eternal life. We also can't forget the tree that Jesus died on giving us life in exchange for His. The tree of calvary has made us overcomers. We are not perfect, but we persevere in our love for Christ, refusing to let the cares of this world or the deceitfulness of sin cool our affection for Him. We cry out each time we fall and we remember, return, and repeat with renewed commitment to our first love.
Here are a few things to reflect on:
- Has my relationship with Christ become more about duty than delight?
- Am I more concerned with appearing spiritual to others than cultivating genuine intimacy with God?
- What "first works" do I need to return to in order to rekindle my passion for Christ?
- How can I guard against the subtle driftng away from my first love?
The journey back to your first love isn't always easy, but it's always worth it. It will require effort as you make time for prayer and worship. It might mean fasting from distractions that have taking up space in your life, but remember, the goal isn't to restore feelings or emotions. True love for Christ is a choice, a commitment and feeling may or may not come. As we choose to remember, repent, and repeat the first works, we can trust that God will rekindle the flame of our devotion.
Be encouraged because Jesus cares about the condition of your heart. He doesn't just want your service; He wants your love. He stands ready to restore us, to fan into flame any spark that remains.
Picture that axe head rising to the surface of the Jordan. Picture the tree of life, its fruit hanging with promise of eternal intimacy with God.
Today, make a decision to turn back to Christ with all your heart. Allow His love to overwhelm you once again and He will transform your service from being a duty into a delight. It is not just about what we do for Christ, but about who we are becoming in this relationship with Him. Get ready to shine His light in a world desperate for authentic faith.
May God bless you and keep you close to His heart.
In His love,
Pastor Kolby Kreidel
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