Revelations 2:1, “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;”

Hello OTP family!! I have been doing steady on the seven churches spoken of in the second and third chapters revelations. I just wanted to share some things that got a place on my heart during my studies.

Introduction:

God provides warnings and encouragement to the churches

Although these churches were in such different states as to purity of doctrine and the power of godliness that the words of Christ to them will always suit the cases of churches today. The God we serve knows and observes their states; though he is in heaven, yet he walks in the mist of his churches on earth. He observes what is wrong in them and what they want.

It is awesome to know that God is with us still.

The Church at Ephesus:

Because God knows us so well, he sees what other people do not. This church God commended them for diligence in duty. Just as he promised, Christ keeps an account of every hour’s work his servants do for him. He promised our labor will not be in vain in the Lord.

But he also warned – diligence is not enough. There must also be patience:

– we must bear in patience,

– and we must wait in patience,

– we must show zeal against sin. By definition, zeal is great energy or enthusiasm  in pursuit of a cause or an objective. This zeal is rooted and grounded in the love of Christ. We must always operate in love.

The Church of Ephesus could not bear evil doers. They tried those which call themselves to be one thing and found them as liars because they were not who they profess to be.

What God held against them was they lost their first love. God encouraged them to repent, and to do their first works over. This loss of love impacted how they treated evil doers.

What this means – the Church did not lose their love. What they lost was their fervent (passion, compassion) degree of that love they had when they first came to Christ. They allowed their love to grow remiss or cold towards him. When our love grows cold, we lose the compassion to deal with and treat the people of God in a manner that brings glory to his name. Cold love makes it difficult for people to receive our ministry. It causes us to speak with carelessness and indifference. This, God sees as sinful.

By definition, fervent is having or displaying a passionate intensity.

Remember hate is not the opposite of love, indifference is. Be definition, indifference is lack of interest, concern, or sympathy. Where there is indifference, there is no love.

To get back our first love is to pray earnestly for that first zeal, tenderness, and seriousness we had at the beginning of our walk with Christ. and then once we have retrieve this first love, we must watch over it diligently, so we don’t lose it again.

We have to remember this Christian life is a warfare against sin, against Satan, against the world, and against the flesh. We must be careful to never yield to our spiritual enemies. We serve a God that always causes us a triumph, and anyone who is triumphant does not give up in battle. The strength to stay faithful in battle is rooted and grounded in the love of Christ and his holy word.

God is so faithful that he encourages us in this journey. To the church at Ephesus – he promised to all who persevere they shall eat of the tree of life. This means we shall receive from Christ – as he is a tree of life – perfect perfection, confirmation in holiness, and happiness; communion with Christ and consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Impact:

Sometimes we find ourselves in a place where it seems our love has also grown cold. We still care, we still work, and we still pray. However, we have lost the ferventness of our work. This includes prayer, Bible study, and our testimony – sharing Christ with everyone we meet. That degree of passion and compassion is not the same as when we first started walking with Christ.

We must remember that our focus should be all about winning lost souls to Christ. But this is impossible to do when we are indifferent. Cold love does not draw, it pushes people away. We must drive to get that fervent love back.

Conclusion:

God is still with us.

As he promised, to never leave or forsake us. It is we who sometimes turn our back on him. He told us “those whom he loves he chastises”. He is our father. Just as a father has to correct his children, God must also correct us. This is love! It’s a blessing to know that God considers us so much that he takes the time to provide correction to us.

What a mighty God we serve! What a loving God we serve!

Have a blessed night.

Discovering our call for 2025!

2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.“

Happy New Year – Welcome 2025. Today is Sunday, January 12, 2025. Statistics say that New Year Resolutions end by the 2nd Friday of the Year. This day is known as “Quitter’s Day”.

Thankfully, we are now past this time frame and can focus on discovering God’s plan for us in 2025. We are at the point where we are no longer focusing on New Year Resolutions. Hopefully, we have come to the realization that God wants better for us than we have had in previous years. But we also know that we cannot achieve the better with the same mindset we have had. As the saying goes “if you do what you always have, you will get what you always got”. If you want better, we need to do better. This requires a new mindset.

We need to clear away the old to make room for the new.

To do this we need to hear from the Lord. We need direction, a plan of attack, for 2025.

Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thought that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not if evil, to give you an expected end.”

In this verse God acknowledges that he has a plan for each and every one of us. However, for most of us, we have no idea what the fullness of this plan is. I believe it is human nature to want all the details. It gives us a sense of comfort, makes us feel as though our feet are on solid ground. However, if we knew all the details, what would be the point of having faith?

We do not need all the details. What we do need is a plan. We need to settle ourselves to hear from God. Then walk in obedience to the direction he gives. Rest assured, God will speak to us. It is our duty to make sure we are positioned to hear. Revelations 2:7a, “He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;”

It’s Fasting Time:

The Bible is our instruction manual. It provides concrete, specific instructions on how we can effectively walk by faith in our journey to be obedient to God’s will for our life. The instruction manual tells us how to fast – to break up the fallow ground that has developed in our hearts.

In farming vernacular – Fallow ground is land that has been plowed and prepared for planting but is left idle for a period to time, allowing the soil to regain its fertility and rest before being used to grow crops again; essentially, its a farming technique where land is left unplanted to recover and replenish nutrients.

Fasting is a spiritual discipline used for increasing faith sanctification repentance, power, strength, and hearing from God.

God is saying, now is the time to get to work. But we must first receive direction. It is time to move away from being idol, to planting seeds, and establishing a plan to bring in the harvest! We know that God has a plan for us (Jeremiah 29:11), we now must settle ourselves to hear from God to receive the direction. This is where fasting comes into play.

Types of Fasts:

• The Absolute Fast (Matthew 4:2) – a total fast which includes complete refraining from food or drink for the duration of the fast.
• The Partial Fast (Daniel 10:3) – this fast is from particular food or things that hinder our spiritual growth.
• The Daniel Fast – this is a biblically based partial fast. There are 2 options: Option 1 – only fruits and vegetables, drinking only water for a beverage. Option 2 – Is still only fruits and vegetables, but includes dairy, breads, and pasta.

Daniel fasted for 21 days. However, I am recommending fasting starting tomorrow, January 13, 2025, through the end of the month. Please decide the type of fast you will offer as a sacrifice to God. Remember to give up something during this time that means something to you.

While you are fasting, remember to have quiet time set aside. This is time spent with the Lord in study, prayer, and daily devotion. Cultivating this habit will support your faith and draw (keep) you closer to God.

I also recommend having a journal during your quiet time. You will want to write down what God shares with you.

I wish you all a blessed time during your fasting journey.

Remember, it’s time to clear away the old, to make room for the new.