YOU WALKED AWAY FROM YOUR FIRST LOVE--WHY?

The moment of the first encounter with God is the sweetest taste of intimacy with our Creator, our Savior, our Lord, our Master and our very best friend forever. Think back on those precious moments when you knew nothing, at all but that the Lord of the universe, knew who you were and that He loved you. You knew it, you absolutely had no doubts that He loved you.    

One thing I know about puppy love is that it was all-encompassing, there were strong feelings that moved you. You wanted to lavish that person with expressions of your love, to spend hours lingering in their presence, You gazed into their eyes, solely for the pleasure of seeing into their soul and finding their affection reflected back to you. 

There is tangible energy that flows back and forth across space between two 'puppy lovers', and we call that 'chemistry'. Jesus wants there to be 'chemistry' between you and Him. He is ravished by our worship, by our love, by one look from our eyes. 

Jenni was praying out of Ephesians 3:14-19  this morning for the Church to move more into expressing Love, to come to know the fullness of the height, breadth, depth of God's Love. To love others because we have experienced the love of God ourselves. 

14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,[c]15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

At the time I was reading along in my One Year Bible and I came to the New Testament reading, for today, Dec 12.  The Old Testament reading was in Amos and the New Testament reading was out of Revelation chapter 2 and it was written to this same church, the church of Ephesus...

2 Write this to Ephesus, to the Angel of the church. The One with Seven Stars in his right-fist grip, striding through the golden seven-lights’ circle, speaks:“I see what you’ve done, your hard, hard work, your refusal to quit. 

I know you can’t stomach evil, that you weed out apostolic pretenders. 

I know your persistence, your courage in my cause, that you never wear out.

“But you walked away from your first love—why? What’s going on with you, anyway?  

Do you have any idea how far you’ve fallen? A Lucifer (sized) fall!“Turn back! Recover your dear early love. (your adorable puppy love for me)  parenthesis mine

No time to waste, for I’m well on my way to removing your light from the golden circle... 

... “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. I’m about to call each conqueror to dinner. I’m spreading a banquet of Tree-of-Life fruit, a supper plucked from God’s orchard.” 

-- Revelation 2:1-7

Can you hear the affection dripping from this passage? He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies, He anoints my head with oil, my cup runs over. This banquet is a Love feast, the picture of a wedding feast, or perhaps an engagement dinner, or maybe the first romantic meal of your honeymoon. 

Scripture says,  "His banner over me is Love"

Thoughts out of the Song of Solomon came back to me as I was conversing with the Lover of my soul... "let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth."

Today as you read this, return in your mind and heart to the days when you felt obsessed with being in His presence. Break open again the alabaster box of your affections and pour out your love as oil upon His head, as perfume upon his feet.  Lavish your love upon Him. 

Become an innocent again and enjoy Him.