First Love

Nevertheless I have this against you that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent (Revelation 2:4-5)

It’s a wise thing to give yourself a spiritual checkup every now and then. I want to post today an excerpt from a newsletter I received from David Wilkerson in 2005. Allow his works to speak to your life. Take some time to wait on the Lord today:

May I give you a short word, which I believe is from the mind of Christ through the Holy Spirit? It has to do with what I believe is one of the greatest needs in the church today. It is a word every believer ought to hear. This is the word: Growing numbers of Christians are no longer fully satisfied with Christ. He is being dethroned by what the Lord Himself called thorns. He defined thorns as the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in. Christ said these are the thorns that choke the Word and cause it to become unfruitful. I ask you, is the Lord more on your mind than a year ago? Do you spend more time in His presence than a year ago? Is your passion for Him growing or withering? Many of those who were once passionately in love with Christ now run about pursuing their own interests. They’re burdened down with stress and problems, chasing after riches and the things of this world. They have grown cold or lukewarm, and have less and less time for Jesus. The Lord and His church now only get an hour of their time, on Sunday mornings. Jesus said, If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered (John 15:6). In other words, that person is drying up, no longer drawing from the true vine. Yet he is deceived by thinking all is well, because he still speaks the language of intimacy he once enjoyed with Christ. Riches and the things that are necessary in life are not evil in themselves. All of us face cares and troubles in this life. The sin comes in the time and energy we spend in pursuing these things, at the expense of neglecting Christ. Dear saint of God, one day soon we will stand before our blessed Christ to face His judgment seat. We will see Him face to face. I want to stand in His presence as a fruitful son, not ushered into His presence as a lukewarm, withered, estranged, thorn-choked servant. I hear the Holy Spirit calling the Lord’s people back to their first love. Back to hungering and thirsting for more of Christ. Back to spending quality time in His presence. Back to loving His Word. Back to casting all cares upon Him. Back to depending on Him for guidance.

In all of our activity today, let’s stay in close fellowship with the one person that means more to us than anything. He’s always available to us. Are we always available to Him?