JESUS SPEAKING

“I have manifested your name to the men whom you have given me out of the world.  They were Yours, you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.  Now they have known that all things which you have given me are from you.  For I have given them the words which you have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from you; and they have believed that that You sent me” (John 17: 6-8.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

Jesus was speaking directly to God in the presence of his disciples.  He identified his task, and acknowledged that it had been completed.  His task was to make God known to all those willing to listen.  The true children of God listened to Jesus, accepted him as God’s messenger, and received his words as the very words of God.  God gave those children (the disciples), to Jesus, to teach, to love, to protect, and to nurture.  Today, God is still selecting people out of the world, to be his eternal possessions.  Anyone who accepts the message of Jesus Christ, has become a true child of God.  We believe his words are God’s words; we believe his ways are God’s ways; and we believe his followers are God’s followers.  Those who follow God are saved, but those who choose to ignore His message will perish.

In 1912 the Titanic slipped beneath the icy evening waves of the Atlantic Ocean; nearly 1000 people joined it on its journey to the bottom of the ocean depths.  There weren’t enough lifeboats to carry all of the passengers; but no one needed to die.  Most are unaware that there was a large ship named ‘The Californian,’ less than 20 miles away that evening (close enough to have saved most of Titanic’s passengers.)  ‘The Californian’ received distress calls from the Titanic (via radio and lamps;) they also saw 8 distress flares, and crew members later testified that the Titanic appeared to be listing in the water (leaning to one side.)  No one but God knows why, but the captain of ‘The Californian’ didn’t seem to take these messages seriously; he returned to bed after hearing the reports.  During an official inquiry in to the captain’s actions, he remained elusive, continually changing his story; he even made attempts to doctor the log book and change their reported position on the evening of the tragedy.  The real circumstances of his inaction were never clear.  Many however would speculate that the Captain simply didn’t take the messages seriously.  He heard the reports, but he didn’t believe them, and for that reason 1000 people lost their lives.

Jesus Christ, and the words that he spoke are God’s signal flares in a very dark, and very cold world.  Some see the signals, and they are drawn to him.  They see Jesus, and realize that he is God’s message, and because they believe that message, they are saved from death.  Sadly, no matter how many flares He sends up pointing to his Son, most will never take God’s message seriously; for that they will perish in darkness.  Jesus Christ is God’s message to you.  Will you respond to that message?  Those who respond follow Jesus and dedicate their lives to spreading his message to others.  The initial response is your belief?  Do you believe today that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and that by your faith in him you have eternal life?  (Take some time to answer that question; it is more serious than you could ever imagine.  Your very life depends on it!)

“Lord heavenly Father, we come before You, and we ask that You please accept our allegiance to You and to Your Son.  We desire to be Yours, and we believe Your message, and we accept Your word.  We await the life you have promised, and we ask that you strengthen us in this world to do Your work.  Give us a desire to spread Your message to others, that we would make more disciples, and bring others out of death and in to life.  We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things in Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.”  God bless all of you.

JESUS SPEAKING

“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says he who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:  I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil.  And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored and have not become weary.  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: 1-5.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

Before the last apostle John went to sleep (bodily death), he was given a revelation from God; the revelation was a communication between Jesus Christ and the seven churches in the first century.  In this passage, Jesus’ Christ was speaking to the church in Ephesus which is in Modern day turkey.  He addressed himself as the one who walks in the midst of the seven Golden Lampstands.  (The Jewish temple was a reflection of what was in heaven; within the earthly Jewish temple there were seven candles that gave light to the priests who were serving God in ‘The Holy Place.’  The temple in heaven also has a ‘Holy Place,’ with seven candles, but unlike its earthly reflection, there is only one priest in heaven; Jesus Christ is the great high priest.)  He told the Ephesian church the things they had done which were pleasing to him.  They had done works without growing weary and they had been patient.  They disliked evil and tested anyone who claimed to be from God!  Still, he found in them a great sin; they had left their first love.  When they first became believers, they had been living differently; they were probably more zealous, more faithful, and more eager to spread the message; he demanded that they return to that state or be removed from the church.

When a man courts a woman, he is filled with enthusiasm, wonderment, and excitement.  Most men pull out all the stops.  He spends quite a bit of money taking the woman out; maybe he buys her flowers or chocolates regularly.  He tells her how beautiful she is; he does everything he can to impress her, and eventually, he buys a ring and kneels down and asks her to spend the rest of her life with him.  After they marry, one of two things can happen.  The man and woman can continue in a deep enthusiastic love for one another, building upon the foundation that was laid down during the courting period; or they can begin to lose enthusiasm and excitement; the man may stop telling the woman how beautiful she is; he may stop doing kind things for her; he may begin to spend less time with her, and more time in front of the T.V.  The result is a marriage that has lost the love upon which it was founded; if that love does not return, then divorce is usually certain.

The Church in Ephesus had been founded upon a love for Jesus Christ, but that love had grown cold.  The early believers had been zealous, but began to cool off.  This same loss of enthusiasm can be seen in the church today.  Many are zealous when they begin following Jesus Christ, but over the years, they begin to get distracted.  Some marry, have kids, and begin to focus on saving for retirement rather than saving others.  Some start with God as the ‘main course,’ but slowly they make him in to a ‘side dish.’  As a person grows older, sometimes they grow colder.  Young believers are filled with an energy and idealism that supersedes many older people in the church.  Some of the older believers who have grown cold can see the young zealot as a threat; they see them as something that needs to be chained rather than unleashed.  The reason they seek to change the enthusiastic believer is because they are the ones who need to change; they need to repent; they need to return to Christ; they need to become more like the new believers.  Those who have lost their zeal must get it back.  Are you zealous for God today?  Is serving others a priority in your life, or do you prefer self-service?  Has your relationship with God grown cold, or are you still filled with love?  Do you seek to tell others about Jesus, or has your mouth become tired and quiet?  If you have lost the fire of God you can get it back.  Cry out to God, and ask him to renew his Spirit within you.  Give your heart back to Him, and be renewed, and you will remember the goodness and the strength of the eternal God living, breathing, and moving inside of your heart; and you will have returned to your first love.

“Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You and we ask and pray that You renew our Spirits.  Give us the heart that we had when we first became Your followers.  Make us Zealous to do good works for You and for others.  May we yearn to speak to others about Your Son, and to reach out to the lost in love.  If we have lost the fire that once burned within our hearts, we ask that You ignite it once again. May we be on fire for you.  We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, in Jesus Christ’s name, amen.”  God bless all of you.