2.6 – The Rest of the Remedy

Today’s Readings: Col 3.1-4; Rev 2.1-7, 4.1-11; I Jn 5.7; Ps 119.89; Isa 6; Eph 3.14-15

Today we will be looking at the conclusion of God’s REMEDY to LOSING our FIRST LOVE from Rev 2.5. Before we get there, let’s remember one thing. Sometimes, the REMEDY leaves an AWFUL TASTE in our mouth. Just because it is good for us does not mean it won’t taste like we are drinking motor oil in the process. Just as that is true of physical remedies like cough syrup, often the same is true of spiritual remedies. Isn’t that the way it usually is, the things that are the best for us are the things that are the hardest to go through?

We’ve seen before that the first step God gives us in returning to our FIRST LOVE is to (1) REMEMBER where we’ve fallen from, which has been the focus of our devotions for the last 2 days.

The next step in God’s remedy for our situation, is to (2) REPENT. Now if there was ever a term we American Christians do not like to hear, it is REPENT! We don’t like to be told we are wrong, and that we need to change something. Do you remember when John the Baptist appeared on the scene in John 1-3? His message was “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” What he was saying, is that the Kingdom God had been promising was just around the corner, and in order for people to prepare to enter that kingdom, they need to REPENT from their way, and TURN to God’s way. There is a connection between REPENTING and TURNING that we cannot overlook. To REPENT from something simply means that we TURN AWAY from that thing, and TURN TOWARD it’s opposite. For example, if I wanted to REPENT from going south on the highway, I would bust a U-turn and head NORTH. That is as simple as it gets. God is telling us that the next thing we need to do, once we REMEMBER where we came from and REALIZE the new (incorrect) direction in which we are headed, we simply TURN BACK to that original direction, that FIRST LOVE.

The last, and very simple step that God gives us is (3) REPEAT. I actually like the words He uses much better, but we use that for alliteration. God’s words to them are, “DO THE FIRST WORKS” which means to DO THE WORKS you did when you FIRST were in LOVE with God. That’s pretty short and sweet isn’t it? In our culture, this is a concept we seem to lose in the mix most times, the JUST DO IT factor that is. I can remember my father teaching me as a young man that, “…sometimes you just have grit your teeth and get through it…” That is so true. There are things in life that are hard, that are no fun, and that you wish were different, but that doesn’t change the facts. And truly, sometimes you just have to grit your teeth, roll up your sleeves, and get to work. The easy thing to do is for us to stop before STEP 3. We REMEMBER what it was like “back then” and we mentally REPENT of the ways we have chosen since then, only to fall short of actually REPEATING or DOING THOSE FIRST WORKS AGAIN. I pray this will not be the case with us today. I pray God will give us the discipline we need to JUST DO IT, and move on our way getting back to Him.

To conclude today, let’s take those steps to the REMEDY and apply them to what we learned are the “THINGS ABOVE” Wednesday night. Here are those four things again, and then there will be a fill-in-the-blank below to help guide us in our evaluation of our spiritual temperature this morning…

1. The Person of God (I Jn 5.7)
2. The Word of God (Ps 119.89)
3. The Throne of God (Isa 6, Rev 4)
4. The Family of God (Eph 3.14-15)

Now, let’s evaluate for the REMEDY just fill in the blanks with the four THINGS ABOVE listed here…

“How was my love for the _____ of God when I was first saved? (REMEMBER) What is in my life today that keeps me from having that same kind of first love for the _____ of God, and what do I need to turn away from in order to get back there? (REPENT) What can I do today to show that I am serious about loving and seeking the ____ of God? (REPEAT)”

Fri 2.5 – Getting Into You

Today’s Readings: Colossians 2.6,  3.1; Revelation 2.1-7; 2 Cor 4

We have been talking about getting that FIRST LOVE back in our lives for the last few days. Yesterday we saw the first step in God’s formula to return to that FIRST LOVE kind of LOVE FOR HIM, which was to (1) REMEMBER where we’d fallen from. Today, we’ll look a little further at this idea of REMEMBERING, and then tomorrow we’ll move into step two and three of God’s Formula. 

I’d like everyone to take a second and look at this picture to the right with the same jealousy I am looking at it with. This picture is Awesome! (wink) I would totally frame it and put it on my desk to stare at everyday if I was a picture printing kind of guy. But let me explain why this is so awesome. I will bet that Geraldine & Jethro over there wish this picture was burned up, and probably wish even more that it wasn’t on the Internet for some smart alec youth pastor to use as an illustration. You know, even though I’m sure this picture is embarrassing to them, it shouldn’t be. It should serve all of us a great REMINDER of what that FIRST LOVE  is like.

I can just imagine the hours Geraldine spent getting that poof on her head just right. Two cans of hair spray, and three hours were worth every bit when Jethro walked into her living room that night. I can imagine how she and her mother Bedazzled each one of those beads on her dress to make sure she was the Bell of the Ball that night, giving Jethro the beautiful date a guy like him deserved. I bet some things she was wearing were uncomfortable for her (pantie hose for example) but she wore them with pride because it was all for HER MAN!

Now let’s not forget all that Jethro would have put into this night. I mean, the guy is going out with Geraldine…and she deserves the only the best. He probably went through a whole tube of hair grease to get that middle part thing happening just right. Not to mention that he broke out his dad’s tux that night…a little cologne would cover the musty closet smell just fine – good as new he thought. I can see Jethro shining those shoes until he could see his reflection in them, to the point that his elbows were sore from sliding that brush back and forth, over and over.

You see, what’s so AWESOME about this picture, is that it is clear that this night, on their big date, they wanted to make sure and be their best for each other. Their LOVE caused them to ACT DIFFERENT than they normally would because they knew that they were going to be spending the night with the OBJECT OF THEIR AFFECTION.

That FIRST LOVE will make you do crazy things, won’t it? It will make you wear puffy 80’s dresses, it will make you stay on the phone for 3 hours later than you normally want to, it will make you drive all over the country just to spend a few minutes together, it will even cause other relationships in your life to lessen to make room for that FIRST LOVE relationship. In the same way that we’ve been talking about FIRST LOVE in the case of Geraldine and Jethro above, we could talk about ours with God. He wants us to GET ALL DECKED OUT because we know we are going to be spending time with Him. God wants us to put on our BIG PUFFY DRESS for Him…spiritually speaking of course (gentlemen, He doesn’t actually want you in a puffy dress!) Even if the things that we need to do to “look our best” spiritually are things that make us uncomfortable (like wearing a tie, or hose, or heals, or those stiff tux shoes) we do it without hesitation because when we look good, He looks good!

Check out Paul’s words in 2 Cor 4. He goes through this list of things that he has faced in vv.8-15, there’s some pretty rough stuff he is referring to there. Then in vv.16-17 he says all of that stuff doesn’t matter. EVEN THOUGH HIS OUTWARD MAN IS BEING KILLED MORE AND MORE EACH DAY, HIS INNER MAN IS BEING RENEWED AND STRENGTHENED. WOW! And how is that possible??? Because in v.18 he says his focus is on ETERNAL things, not TEMPORARY things. He is SEEKING the THINGS ABOVE, and SETTING HIS AFFECTION on the THINGS ABOVE, not on the THINGS OF THE EARTH! Again, WOW! Check out how he says it. Paul says the things that happen against him on this earth are “BUT FOR A MOMENT” and there are things that are “FAR MORE EXCEEDING AND ETERNAL WEIGHT OF GLORY.” He is saying there are things that will matter A LOT more and they will be ETERNAL in nature, ultimately being GLORIOUS for out God! Again, all I can say is WOW! And what are those things that are an ETERNAL WEIGHT? The things that “ARE NOT SEEN” (v.18). 

It may be a good idea to conclude your time with God today by simply taking some notes on what things were like when you were first saved. What was that FIRST LOVE like? What were the FIRST WORKS that you did when you had that FIRST LOVE? How was your desire for HOLINESS? How did you determine what truly mattered and what was not important? How was your FOCUS on ETERNAL things and not on EARTHLY things? How has that changed over time? Let’s ask God for the strength we need to HUNGER TO BE HUNGRY for Him!

For further reflection, click hereto see the lyrics of the song Zach sang during invitation Wednesday night, and think about what the song writer is saying. The message is so powerful!

Thur 2.4 – Coming Back is sometimes the hardest part

Today’s Readings: Col 3.1; Revelation 2.1-7; 2 Kings 6.1-7

Yesterday, we looked into the familiar passage in Revelation 2 about leaving our FIRST LOVE. Last night at the Fridge we just briefly looked at how there is a difference in LEAVING and LOSING something, and yet at the same time how it is possible for something that has been LEFT  to seem/feel like it has been LOST. Today, let’s look at that passage in light of an unfamiliar OT passage that comes from 2 kings 6.

Now, remember that we have established through the IF-THEN clause (or conditional clause for those English experts out there.) that Colossians 3.1 teaches us that our RISEN LIFE (salvation) in Jesus should mean there are something things that are different now (refer to study 2.2 for more on that). So, we began at our Mid-Week service at the Fridge to simply talk about some of those things that God says should be different. The very first thing He brings out is that we should “SEEK THE THINGS WHICH ARE ABOVE” and so, we spent last night looking at a few of those things that are above.

We know some of those things that are above from the service last night, but here in the devotions I want to focus a little more on the SEEKING part of that verse. Yesterday’s devotion looked at how some people can LEAVE that FIRST LOVE kind of love and not even realize it because they are doing all the right things. Let’s focus on the first part of the REMEDY that God gives us in Revelation 2 to get that first love back. He says in verse 5 “REMEMBER THEREFORE FROM WHENCE THOU ART FALLEN…” We could say it like this, remember what you have left and realize the condition you are in. This idea kind of reminds me of that “AA” meeting thing…”the first step to getting help is admitting you have a problem.” How true that is. 

Let’s use our passage in 2 Kings 6 to illustrate this principal. In 2 Kings, the building the prophets were staying in wasn’t large enough for hold all the people they were adding to their group, so they needed to build a bigger place. In the process, a guy’s axe falls apart in the middle of chopping down a tree. The AXE HEAD falls into the water, and of course being metal, it sinks down. Now, when this guy realizes what happened, he freaks out! He cries “Alas master! for it was borrowed.” (now let me just stop right there and compare the truth to our lives. We are like the axe handle, just a dead piece of wood, you could bang it against a tree all day and never cut anything down. But there is a power and ability that comes on us through God’s Holy Spirit at salvation that does all the WORK for us as the axe handle is swung, the axe head does all the hard work. That particular axe was borrowed…it didn’t belong to him. Neither does the HOLY SPIRIT belong to us, it is on loan to us until the day we are redeemed as the bride of Christ – 2 Cor 1.22). Ok, so when this guy REALIZES that he had lost the thing that was allowing him to do the work, and just swinging a big stick, what does the MAN OF GOD ask him to help him find his axe head (power) again? “WHERE FELL IT?” He says, where did you leave it? Have you ever lost something, and gone to your parents panicking and they ask you, “Now, where was the last place you saw it?” …that’s exactly the point.

In our effort to FIND OUR FIRST LOVE AGAIN, we are going to have to spend some time figuring out where we lost it. Now, I will go a head and warn you, that is no fun. It is a time when we reflect on our failures and see the things we’ve done to lose our love…and it can hurt. It is, however, so very worth the pain! Because that is a pain that will bring healing. I remember when I had surgery a few years ago…the next few days hurt so much more than it did before the surgery, but in a few more days, the pain was basically gone and I felt a great deal better than I did before the surgery.

For further study & thought: take some time to reflect on Jesus’ words in Matt 22.34-40. Why did He say that was the GREATEST commandment? How is verse 40 true? How should that effect our understanding of Colossians 3.1-2?