Our First Love
"I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love." - Rev. 2:2-4
As I stated in a previous post, I see many people chasing after relationships and seeking relationships. Let it be a warning that obviously these things must be led by God. I don't think anyone has gotten to the point of forgetting their first love, I truly hope not. However, do not get to that point. No relationship is going to satisfy more than the relationship that you have with the Father. Many of you know that, but this is a reminder, and an attempt to keep you focused. I do not want satan to steal from you what God has planned for you. God has the perfect person for you, but it has to be in His time. If it's not in His time it won't happen. If you are not genuinely or clearly hearing God telling you to pursue someone, don't. And as hard as it is, you may have to wait. I'm with you on this, patience is hard for me, but God tells us to wait for His timing because His timing is perfect, we must be careful not to go ahead of or behind it. We must keep our human emotions in perspective, as hard as that may be and always seek counsel from friends before jumping into anything.
If you are discouraged because you have sought the Lord and don't seem to be getting an answer this verse is for you:
"My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." - Prov. 2:1-6
This may not seem true right now, but God has promised it and we know that His promises are true. Rely on the words of the Father.
posted by Chris at 11:04 PM
2 Comments:
Along with waiting for God's specific direction when it comes to relationships and the one you are to marry, it is important to note that waiting for His specific direction and instruction is vital if we want to see His work done. I mean, it's HIS work. Apart from Him we can do nothing. This is partially why our scheduled evangelism sessions do not really make as much of an impact. If we are not led by the Spirit, our attempts are rather in vain. This is why we must make it a priority to first KNOW God by SPENDING TIME WITH HIM and SIMPLY TALKING to Him and secondly to WAIT FOR HIS INSTRUCTIONS. If we can do this, we will be a far more effective Church, no longer suffering the numerous disappointments of fruitless ministry to only become discouraged and more reluctant to minister, but to meet ministry with the joy of working WITH the Father and going as He directs us.
8/11/2005 4:07 PM
mike, while I do agree with what you're saying, seed planting in evangelism isn't always a matter of seeing the results. It might not be your calling to do first contact evangelism, and God might not lead you to do it but that might be a different story for others. we're a body and while an eye and a liver have radically different functions they're both necessary. one plants, one waters and one harvests and the one who plants is the one who usually approaches people being led by the Spirit but might not get to see the impact of their encounter with that person years later. however, I do agree that the only thing that we can offer as Christians to each other and others is the fruit that we bear from our relationship with God.
8/22/2005 1:40 PM
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