Don't lose that 'First Love'

Recently, it dawned on me that my faith flame had been dimming for quite a while. Having had one of the hardest years spiritually, it was no surprise to me that my relationship with God felt far from passionate - it was empty religiosity and dutiful worship that consumed my time rather than the awe-struck wonder with which I used to gaze at the Cross. I realised that I lost my 'First Love' - I was letting myself grow out of love for the Savior. Some thing had to be done, fast!

When married couples complain about growing out of love, what do they mean?

The fire or passion with which they loved each other initially, dimmed - it did not die, but the 'dimming' felt like 'death'.

While our relationship with the Savior is similar, it differs in one way - God never stops loving us with the passion with which He loved us first; the love that brought Him to earth and took Him to the Cross is an unfathomable, unchanging, ever-exuberant love. If friction develops in our relationship with Him, we alone are to blame!

In moments such as this, one can choose to give up assuming the love is dead or, one can choose to make an effort to reignite the passion that once robbed their heart. I am glad that I chose the latter!

God understands that often we can be a Martha - busily trying to serve the Lord 'correctly' and forget to remain at His feet. Thankfully, He gives us the remedy in Revelation 2:1-7.

The Ephesian Church the apostle John was writing to, faced pretty much the same problem. They worked hard for the progression of the Gospel and to eliminate false teachers, they ensured their lives were embellished with good deeds, they persevered through trials and were even intolerant to sin. While this sounds like the resume of the 'perfect Christian' (if there ever could be one!), God said, 'Yet I hold this against you, you have forsaken your first love.' This implies that it doesn't matter what we do but why we do it; it doesn't matter how we start but how we finish.

God's two-step solution soon follows, 'Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.'

1. Reflection
Take some time to pause, think and make a note of what you did and how you did it at the start of your journey with the Saviour.
For me this meant things like longer quiet times, reading more Christian literature, praying often, enthusiastically evangelising (not with fear or out of compulsion).etc.
It's not that I had stopped doing the things above, but somehow now it felt like A LOT of effort. I started off doing them because I wanted to but ended up doing them because I had to!

2. Repent and do the things you did at first
What does He mean? It took me a while to realise that this command consists of two parts...
'Repent' - this is at the heart level. We need to place God at the centre of our lives again, this can only be achieved through confession and prayer.
'...and do the things you did at first' - If we truly repent, this will automatically follow! You'll effortlessly want to delve deeper in love with the Saviour, hence serve Him wholeheartedly!

Losing our 'first love' is equivalent to letting ourselves be overcome by apathy. If you find yourself in such a position, I plead you to give it your all to get that love back. Reading the passage in Revelation shows us that this loss comes with a repercussion - God warns the Ephesian Church that their lampstand will be taken away, meaning they will eventually burn out of faith and no longer be lit for the Saviour. What a shame that would be after a wonderful start, knowing what the Saviour did and yet be doomed for all eternity! However, take heart, for if we overcome this apathy, He promises that we shall partake in what is rightfully ours through His blood.

Don't lose that first love!

Exercising Trust

Whether it be uncertainty about what will happen in a few years' time or in a few minutes' time, uncertainty is one of those things in life that I just cannot bear. I mull over it, get moody, upset, aggressive...it just drives me mad!

I know that God is in control of the uncontrollable; He is faithful and gracious, hence I can trust Him completely. However, this knowledge isn't always easy to exercise and honestly, I have been struggling to exercise this trust over the past few months.

Problem

In Psalm 55:22 David beautifully encourages us to 'cast [our] burden upon the LORD as He will sustain [us] and never let the righteous be shaken'
If you are anything like me, casting your burdens onto Jesus is the easy bit...but you struggle with something else...to LEAVE your burdens WITH Him! It shocked me to realise how rude this actually was...
Imagine entrusting something to someone but constantly going back to check on it...what does that show?
We don't actually trust them, our trust is superficial as we imply that we doubt their expertise. Hence if I was God, I would be offended!

Solution

Although I have been struggling in silence for a few months, it wasn't until a few days ago that I finally listened to what God was trying to tell me all along, thanks to 'Lift My Life Up' by Unspoken playing on the K-Love radio station

The secret to getting rid of an earworm is to replace it with another, likewise I realise that the only way we can rid ourselves of distrust and anxiety is by focusing on the goodness and faithfulness of God to us in the past. Yes, the devil will try to remind you of unanswered prayers or of times when God said 'No' but surely God knows best, and why be disheartened, NOTHING comes to pass without His approval!

Uncertainty is inescapable but holding on to His promises and reminding yourself of His faithfulness will get you through each day in relative peace. Trust me, exercising trust in the Savior isn't easy, but neither is it impossible!
Finally, never forget that 'all things work together for good to them that love God, for them who are called according to His purpose.' Romans (8:28)

Promiscuity - is it worming its way into the norm?

Over the past few weeks I made some disturbing observations. They made me think about where our society and country as a whole are headed - if these observations persist, I can assure you that the future looks VERY bleak!

My aim through this article is to alert you with some 'food for thought', about matters that are often swept under the carpet or ignored altogether. While worthless celebrity gossip robs headlines, these issues are forgotten and not made a bigger fuss out of, a fuss that they deserve and require!

Come Dine With Me

'Come Dine With Me' is one of my favourite shows on Channel 4. Watching it for over 3 years, I have seen it evolve. I noticed that in recent episodes, the contestants saw it essential to entertain their guests...well nothing wrong with that! After all, it is a show about hosting! What troubled me however is what they considered entertainment and how it was received.
The contestants began hiring strippers for the night, as disturbing as that itself sounds, I was even more shocked to see the way the contestants reacted...while most women awkwardly acquiesced, most men would shamelessly flirt...my concise description is purposefully implicit, but I'm sure you will get the gist as I had to switch channels!

Did I over react? Now what is wrong with a little bit of fun?

Fun! Seriously! Since when did promiscuity become permissible? Since when did being entertained mean arousing lustful desires? These folks could have easily well entertained their guests with a good old singer, karaoke or even a game of some sort...was a stripper their ONLY available option? No! They chose the 'popular' option! Well, most things that harm society ARE 'popular'...drugs, drunkenness, the list goes on...

Now what's wrong with lusting? No one is hurting anybody?

Jesus said, "...anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart"

Do you still not see it? God considers lust sinful as His Law applies at the heart level. While all of us are guilty of this crime, it does not encourage us to continue sinning; walking into the pit ourselves or leading another into it! We must seek to repent and abstain.
If you're willing to play the secular card on this issue...my argument still stands. Lust is not love. It is selfish, it craves something superficial and temporary. It has been the root cause of adultery, divorces and break ups in innumerable cases, and openly encouraging this 'natural propensity' isn't going to help fortify the family unit, relationships or the community as a whole. It is a destructive, detrimental deception that seeks to disintegrate society.

Think about it! Act on it!

No More Page 3

It's not all bad news! Our apathetic society is beginning to awaken! Hence I'd like to close this post on a positive note, with an opportunity for you to actually 'Act on it!'

The 'No More page 3' campaign started by Lucy Holmes, has been gaining momentum over recent days in Britain, with many uniting their voices against a tabloid newspaper, The Sun, to remove the infamous 'Page 3' - a page dedicated for topless images of women!

'The Page 3 image is there for no other reason than the sexual gratification of men. She's a sex object. But when figures range from 300000 women being sexually assaulted and 60000 raped each year, to 1 in 4 who have been sexually assaulted, is it wise to be repeatedly perpetuating a notion that women are sexual objects?'

~ The Independent

There is a lot that this pressure group-campaign has already achieved, but your support will help make a greater difference. For more information and to sign the petition please follow the link: http://nomorepage3.org/ - It is that simple!

'There never was a man or woman truly converted, from one end of the world to the other, who did not love the revealed will of God. Just as a child born into the world desires naturally the milk provided for its nourishment, so does a soul "born again" desire the sincere milk of the Word. This is a common mark of all the children of God - they "delight in the law of the Lord".

Show me a person who despises Bible reading, or thinks little of Bible preaching, and I hold it to be certain fact that he is not yet "born again". He may be zealous about forms and ceremonies. He may be diligent in attending sacraments and daily services. But, if these things are more precious to him than the Bible, I cannot think he is a converted man. Tell me what the Bible is to a man, and I will generally tell you what he is. This is the pulse to try - this is the barometer to look at - if we would know the state of the heart. I have no notion of the Spirit dwelling in a man and not giving clear evidence of His presence. And I believe it to be a signal evidence of the Spirit's presence when the Word is really precious to a man's soul.'

~ Bishop J. C. Ryle in his book 'Practical Religion'

Marriage without fidelity?

I was shocked to learn recently that Lady Stowell had made a statement that, "In terms of the law, marriage does not require the fidelity of couples."

Marriage is a union between one man and a woman; it's a covenant of  commitment. The very nature of such a promise requires one to be faithful, taking that element out of it results in a shallow, meaningless formality that is merely comprised of words - in my opinion, such a promise cannot be considered 'marriage' and as a result, is utterly worthless!

Lady Stowell believes that couples should 'decide for themselves the importance of fidelity'.
The law exists to discipline and direct society by establishing morality...unfortunately our law makers themselves need a lesson on morality! With people who possess a defective moral compass in power, no wonder society is spiralling down a detrimental bottomless pit!

As Christians, it is imperative now more than ever, to stand firm in what the Word of God has to say about issues such as this. It is our duty to direct people to Christ and hence to what is right, because those in power have themselves forgotten what 'is' and 'is not'. Even from a secular point of view, infidelity does no good! It may satisfy our fleeting lustful nature, but it hurts hearts and breaks families - the very institution we must be seeking to fortify.

Think about it! Act on it! The fate of the next generation depends on it!

For more on this: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/faithfulness-not-necessary-in-a-marriage-says-govt/