“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lamp stands: 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. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place. Revelations 2:1-5 NIV

In the book of Revelation, the Lord speaks through John to seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. He commends them, encourages them and rebukes them. The Lord commended the Ephesians church for working hard, being committed to the truth and persevering through hardships without giving up. But He had to rebuke them because they had forgotten to enjoy their relationship with Jesus and to keep Him first in their priorities. You cannot work for or earn anything that

God has given you or anything He has done for you. It is all a free gift given by grace and received in humility. Humility is the ability to receive that which you do not deserve. If the devil can’t stop you from serving God then he tries to get you so busy laboring and working hard FOR the Lord that you forget to have a relationship WITH the Lord. Jesus was your first love and He must remain your first love. The Greek word for “first” means foremost – in time, place, order or importance. It is translated variously as “before, beginning, best, chief, first of all, and former.” Jesus is the most important person in your life – your first love and your only love. When you marry your earthly true love, you commit to love them only and forever. You love them so completely that you are not ever tempted to even look around at another.

We are to commit to the Lord for eternity like we would to a marriage that will last a lifetime. God hates divorce and separation because when He commits to us, it is forever for Him. When we are flaky and uncommitted in our earthly relationships, then we will most likely be inconsistent and unfaithful in our heavenly relationships. The Lord loves us with all His heart. He longs to have a close relationship with us. He longs to fellowship and commune with us. The closer we get to Him, the closer we get to His protection and His blessing. He will never leave us alone – we are the ones who stupidly make the mistake of moving away from Him and the blessing of His presence.

If Jesus is your first love then you should treat Him like your first love. You should respect Him, reverence Him, notice Him, regard Him, honor Him, prefer Him, venerate Him, esteem him, defer to Him, praise Him, and love Him exceedingly! What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all– how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died– more than that, who was raised to life– is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31-39 NIV 

God is FOR us – He is on our side! He did not spare His OWN SON to redeem us from the pit. WHO is there that can accuse us when GOD has justified and acquitted us? Jesus, Himself, is actually PLEADING as He intercedes on our behalf at the right hand of God. NOTHING in heaven, on the earth or under the earth will stop the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit from loving us! When you know how much God has given and how much He has done to show His love for you – how can you be fickle and wishy-washy about loving Him? Give Him your ALL – He is worthy of it! He is worthy of the best that you have. He is worthy of ALL your love, ALL your devotion and ALL your praise. Stop wasting your time on things that do not matter in eternity and show Him how much you love Him today. Give Him your heart and your life and He will never let you go!

Matthew 5:10-16 (NKJ) 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

12 “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

15 “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Rodney Howard Browne teaches us that when you are born again, filled with the Spirit of God and doing the works of Jesus – don’t think that it is going to be an easy ride. The devil stirred up the religious folks against Jesus and he will stir them up against you. You cannot afford to get angry and to fight with people, because they are not your problem. Neither can you back away from the truth and the power of God or compromise.

You have to realize that you cannot take persecution personally. Be bold to let your light shine brightly. God will specially bless you for your patience and your faithfulness and people will acknowledge your good works and glorify God. Matthew 5:21-24(NKJ)

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder,’ and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.

22 “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.

23 “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,

24 “leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Rodney Howard Browne shows us it is important that you walk in love and forgiveness toward your brother (or sister) in the Lord. If you have hate, anger and bitterness in your heart, your fellowship and relationship with the Lord will be negatively affected. We cannot have boldness in the presence of God with un-forgiveness in our lives. Sin cannot stand in the presence of God. Matthew 5:43-48(NKJ)

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

44 “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

45 “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

46 “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

47 “And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?

48 “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

God’s word shows us that most people are kind and pleasant to those they love and who love them, but God says that we should love, forgive, bless and pray for those who are mean to us and who persecute us. When you bless your enemies, you demonstrate that there is something different about you – different than the rest of the world – you are a child of God. When you are angry and bitter, you are all bound up and in debt to the one you hate. When you bless your enemies you are released and free. They have no power over you. When you walk in forgiveness and bless your enemies – they have no power to affect you negatively. You are lifted above the fray.