God's Power and Seeing

God’s Power – Seeing

And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” (Exodus 3:3 ESV)

I was once driving in Minnesota, and saw a Moose by the side of the road, and was amazed.

I once saw a total eclipse of the sun and was amazed.

I once saw the Northern Lights and was amazed.

I twice saw the faces of my newborn children and was amazed.

The shepherds saw the baby born in Bethlehem and were amazed.

A Roman centurion saw the death of the Messiah and was amazed.

And Moses saw a flaming bush, that despite the fire, was not consumed.  And Moses was amazed.

All of these seen things displayed the power of God.

Open your eyes, and see His power!

God's Immutability and Smell

God Is Unchanging----- Smell

His shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. (Hosea 14:6 ESV)

Ancient Lebanon was known for two distinct smells.  Most famously, the forests of Lebanon were sweet smelling cedars, the source of many perfumes and scents (for instance, Frankincense). And Lebanon was also renown for the grapes and wine that the vineyards produced.

Those distinct smells did not change from year to year, until the trees of Lebanon no longer were prominent, and weather patterns ruined the grape industry.

When the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, they looked forward to the smells of Lebanon (Deuteronomy 3:25), particularly while wandering in the mundane wilderness. Because the source of the fragrance was permanent, the smells were the same… from Israel’s settling of the Promised Land until it’s eventual destruction.

The fragrance was reliable in its lack of change.

In the same way, the fragrance that Christians present to the world (a metaphor, obviously!) is as unchanging as the Christ who is its source. The more ingrafted into God we are… the more we read His Word, pray to Him, and live for Him… the more the world can be astonished by Him. 

And even when we falter, or age, or develop, or change, the unchanging Jesus will be evident.  The source is the same.  But when the source is ourselves, the fragrance will alter.  Our witness will falter.  Our Godly beauty will falter.  Our saltiness will falter.  Our light will falter.  Our faith will falter. 

Hold on to the Source… and because GOD is unchanging, our fragrance will not change.

God's Immutability and Taste

God Is Unchanging---- Taste

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. (Isaiah 25:6 ESV)

When Isaiah describes the holy pleasures of God’s presence, he unsurprisingly uses a picture of a feast.  Unsurprising, because God often uses festive language to describe how good He is!

That heavenly feast is rich… to everyone’s taste, a constant reminder there of the goodness of God.

And since God does not change, we can have some hints of that taste here and now.

Because of sin’s ongoing presence in this life, that wonderful taste of God is muted, disguised, and hidden.  But it IS there.

The sweetness of Jesus is discernable past the sourness of our doubts.

The heartiness of the Holy Spirit is discernable underneath the frailty of our self-focus.

The full flavor of the power of the Father is discernable, mixed with the blandness of our weaknesses.

That future feast is with us now!  Open your tastebuds and know it.

God's Immutability and Touch

God Is Unchanging--- Touching

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8 ESV)

The idea of feelings often refers to our emotional reaction to circumstances.  We might feel happy, or content, or angry, or confused, or lonely, or proud…

But feelings also refers to our sense of touch.  A dog’s fur can feel soft.  An old glove can feel comfortable.  A rocky path can feel rough.

Both types of feelings, for us, are mutable… which means they can change. 

Our emotions change because both our circumstances and our internal reaction to them are quite fluid.

But even our sense of touch is mutable. Touch is relative (40 degrees in the summer is COLD. In the winter it is WARM).  Touch is temporary (that comfy pair of slippers becomes loose and flat). Touch is reactive (thousands of visitors can smooth a carved wooden handrail). Touch is forgettable (I cannot recall the texture of my first car’s seat cover). And touch is emotional (holding my wife’s hand is sometimes comforting, sometimes poignant, sometimes routine).

But touch is unchanging, when it comes to our interaction with God.  

No matter our emotional state, the Bread in the Lord’s Supper is always the Body of Christ.

When we arrive in heaven, we will still be able to put our hand in Jesus’ side… and feel the holes in His pierced hands.

And every physical atom in the universe continues, and WILL continue to shout, “HE is Lord!”

God's Immutability and Hearing

God Is Unchanging—Hearing

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1 ESV)

Who does not enjoy an echo?  Echoes seem almost magical.  A phrase shouted into a cave, or at the edge of a canyon, or into an empty room comes back.  It lasts longer than voice box alone creates.  “Hello!” comes back, returns, is duplicated, and is heard again… but still, eventually fades.  Silence returns.

A party game, usually called, “Telephone”, reminds us that our words decline in meaning, as well as in volume.  Participants sit in a circle, and one players whispers a message in the ear of the next person.  Who whispers it to the next person.  Who repeats it to the next person.  Who tries to interpret (because almost guaranteed the message has already degraded), and then passes it on.  By the time the message gets back to the originator, it usually has changed beyond recognition.  “I like eating ice cream by the moonlight.” might have become “Starlight is cleaner, moo! Right?” Or something worse!

But God’s Word does not change.  Because God does not change.

The Word was in the beginning… and still is.  Because the Word of God is God.

Nothing else in the universe is like Him.  Our words become softer, and eventually our voice is forgotten.  The message of our words decays and changes, because WE change.

But God, and His Word, does not change. 

And that Word is how we know God.  That Word is how we understand Him.   That Word is how we learn to trust Him.  That Word is how we find faith.  That Word is how the world can be saved.

God's Infinity and Smell

God is Infinite-----Smelling

The Lord said to Moses, “Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (of each shall there be an equal part), and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. You shall beat some of it very small, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I shall meet with you. It shall be most holy for you. And the incense that you shall make according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves. It shall be for you holy to the Lord. Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people.” (Exodus 30:34-38 ESV)

It is said that we remember smells more than we remember any other sense.

Perhaps that is why God instructed Moses, as an important part of formal worship, include an aspect of fragrance.

The fragrance (a pleasant adjective) of sweet spices, unfamiliar herbs, unusual minerals, was a way that the people of God could remember the worship, here on earth, of our infinite God.

Perhaps the long-lasting memory of those smells helped the worshippers remember God more than the other senses tended to help. Remembering the infinite is hard for us, so maybe God gave them special pleasant odors to strengthen their memory of Him. 

My tradition does not include such activities, usually.  But I do remember the smell of peppermints, given to children at the beginning of the sermon.  I do remember the clean smell of freshly treated pews.  I do remember perfumes regularly worn by some members, sitting by my family every Lord’s Day.

No, those things are not exactly what God commanded Moses.

But they are in the same room.

Our long lasting fragrances, however they might be attached to worship, seem to enable us to experience the infinity of God.

God's Infinity and Taste

God is Infinite---- Tasting

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103 ESV)

Have you read of the ancient honey found beneath the pyramids? Supposedly it has remained pure, and undecayed.  But yet, those who found it have not been willing to taste it.

Because physical taste decays.  Even if chemical analysis implies it would not be harmful, we all expect it to taste like… well, like dust.

But our heavenly Father, the infinite God, is sweeter than honey.

Not physically, of course.

But somehow, spiritually, foundationally, and profoundly… His words are sweet.  He is sweet.  He is a pleasure to His people.

His infinity drips into our finite awareness, and is so sweet.

Sweeter than honey to our mouths.

God's Infinity and Touch

God is Infinite--- Touch

And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:17 ESV)

I recently spent a week examining archaeological ruins in the American Southwest.  Those ruins, homes and ceremonial buildings and storage facilities, were seriously decayed.  Even in the arid climate, they did not last. Even through the absence of much vandalism, they did not last.  Even though modern folk have not valued the locations for modern developments, they did not last.

All of the old things are falling apart.  Stonehenge, the Colosseum, Machu Pichu, and even the Great Wall of China will decay and disappear.

God is not physical.  He will never decay, never fall apart, and never change.

We cannot touch His infinity.

But that does not make it unreal.

In fact, the second person of the Trinity took on human flesh to connect the Infinite with the Finite.  Jesus alone has been both infinite and touchable.

And what a resulting shocking blessing is the Lord’s Supper… the closest we can get to touching the infinite today.  That touch becomes infinite through His presence.  That touch becomes infinite through faith.  That touch becomes infinite through reality.

God's Infinity and Hearing

God is Infinite-- Hearing

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17 ESV)

It took far too long, but I have finally heard what the medical people in my life have been saying for years.  I’m old, and if I want to be older, I must take care of my physical body.

My wife, my friends, my doctors, my nurses have all attempted to teach me this.  But I did not choose to hear them.

They spoke to me with audible words, with written words, and with expressive facial expressions… but I did not hear.

But now I am trying to make some changes.

Faith begins, not with a gut feeling, but with hearing.

Understanding God begins, not with internal analysis, but with hearing.

My connection with God’s infinity begins, not with contemplation, but with hearing.

Not just any hearing… hearing God’s Word.  Hearing Jesus Christ.  Hearing the Holy Spirit.  Hearing of the Father’s love.

Hearing matters.

Our Five Senses and Knowing God

Our Five Senses and Knowing God

God has created us with five senses so that we can encounter Him in all of His creation.  Each sense, in its own unique way, shows us something about God. 

Most of us these days acknowledge hearing in this way, when hear God’s word. Most of us these days acknowledge seeing in this way, when we read God’s word.

But God gives us five senses, not just two.

For the next while, we will examine a characteristic of God as He reveals it in all five senses.  We will examine a fact about God as He reveals it in all five senses.  We will examine God’s revelation of Himself as we can understand it using all five senses.

I hope to follow a five day cycle.  Throughout the five days, we will look at how something about God (for example His power, His omniscience, His love, His providence, His justice, His grace, His love, etc.) is found and enjoyed through each of the senses.    (Following the cycle like this:  God’s power and hearing, God’s power and sight, God’s power and smell, God’s power and taste, God’s power and touch.)

Basically, one attribute per week, examined five different ways.

Revelation VI: These Very Words

Revelation V

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. (Revelation 22:18-19 ESV)

These Very Words

It is an old phrase, with its origin in I Thessalonians 32:13, but many churches have been returning lately to reciting: “This is the very word of God!” after scripture is read.

It is a good phrase. 

Because the Bible does not merely contain the word of God.  The Bible is not simply an example of the word of God.  The Bible is not a summary of the word of God.  The Bible is not a way for us to connect with the word of God.

The Bible… from Genesis to Revelation is the very word of God.

And the way to receive it is not through a picture, or a cartoon, or a movie, or a work of art, or anything other than the actual words of God, as He wrote them in His scripture.

Don’t add to them.  Don’t take away from them.

Read them… absorb them… study them… accept them… learn them… obey them.

Because they are the very words of God.

Revelation V: Grand Finale

Revelation IV

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3,4 ESV)

Grand Finale

At the end of a concert, the classy performers come meet with the audience.  When I was a boy, the preacher would come meet with the congregation after the worship service.  At some political rallies, the main speakers come meet the supporters.  At the end of the Indianapolis 500, the cool racers gather at the finish line to meet aspiring drivers.  After some baseball games, the kind athletes come sign autographs after the game.

And at the end of this earthly timeline, God Himself will be with us!

Yes, in Christ, He already is, but then, God will be completely with us!

Yes, in our hearts we experience the amazing presence of God, but then, God will be completely with us!

Yes, we know the presence of God through His people in our lives, through His church, but then, God will be completely with us!

And is not that description exciting? No more tears, no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain… all those horrible things will be gone.

Because God will be with us, and we will be with Him.

What a grand finale!

Revelation Letters VII: Lukewarm

Revelation Letters VII

And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.  ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.  For you say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,” not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.  I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.  Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.  The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ (Revelation 3:14-22)

Lukewarm

“Lukewarm” is a strange word.  It is a compound word, beginning with the “luke” part, which means tepid… or warm.  The “warm” part means warm.

So the word literally means, ‘warm-warm.’

Warm would be bad enough, either for morning coffee, or ice cream.

But warm-warm… double warm… REALLY warm… is terribly bland, uncommitted (to temperature), and needs SOMETHING done to it: either more heat or more cold.

It is far too easy to slip into lukewarm-mode with our faith.  We become so used to it.  We  become so complacent about it.  We become so unenthusiastic about it.  We become so bored with it.

Because we forget who Jesus really is for us.  He is not just a friend who comes in and out of our lives from time to time.  He is not a far-away divine meddler.  He is not a fix or cure that we can take out when we have particular needs.  He is not merely a line in a creed or profession of faith.

He is the shield standing between us and our deserved eternal death.  He is our only comfort in life, and in death.  He is the only completely reliable brother.  He is the only person who actually understands us.  He is the inventor of love.  He is all powerful.  He is all knowing.  He is always present everywhere.  He is ruling from heaven, and is the King of the Kingdom of God on earth.  He is more than we can imagine, and the fulness of all knowledge.

He is nothing to be lukewarm about.

Revelation Letters VI: Name Dropping

Revelation Letters VI

 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.  ‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.   Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.  Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.  I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.  The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ Revelation 3:7-13

Name Dropping

I was at a film award ceremony a few years ago, and I had the opportunity to converse with a fairly well-known actor about my appreciation for some of his work.  For the rest of the weekend, whenever he noticed me, he called me over and introduced me to his famous friends. 

None of them new me, or anything about me.  But because HE introduced me, praised me, and claimed me as a friend, so did they.

I was not accepted because of the small part I played in a small film.  I was accepted because that well-known actor claimed me.

That is what all Christians are like in the kingdom of God.  We are accepted because JESUS loves us individually.  We are of note because JESUS loves us individually.  We are adopted children of God because JESUS loves us individually.

He, before God, drops OUR name!  And that makes us amazing.

Revelation Letters V: Awake and Clothed

Revelation Letters V

 And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.  ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.  Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’  (Revelation 3:1-6 ESV)

Awake and Clothed

I would not make a good fireman.  I wake up slowly.  I usually need to cough a little, dry my eyes a little, blow my nose a little, and un-muddy my thoughts.

When I plan to wake up very early in the morning, I do better when I have lain out my clothes.  The process of getting ready in the morning, while usually simple, seems complex when I am just waking up.  A plan helps.  Knowing what I am doing, helps.

The Christians in Sardis needed to wake up, and be dressed.  And as long as they were depending on their own wisdom, they would fail.  As long as they were depending on their own righteousness, they would fail.  As long as they were depending on their own maturity, they would fail.

The pathway to waking up and getting dressed is found in remembering how they were saved, how they can continue in that salvation, and how they can finish the earthly part of that salvation strongly.

And it is all Jesus.

Waking up, for them and us, means leaving our slumbers of self-focus.  Waking up, for them and us, means an awareness of Christ’s presence, His holiness on our behalf, His gracious forgiveness when we fail, and His sufficiency.  Waking up, for them and us, means seeing clearly our need for Christ in every area of our lives.

Getting dressed, for them and us, means wearing HIS robes of perfection.  It is HIS holiness that brings salvation.  Getting dressed, for them and us, means wearing HIS robes of relationship with God.  It is HIS Son-ness that lets us be adopted as sons and daughters.  Getting dressed, for them and us, means wearing HIS robes of readiness.  Because HE is our fortress, our protector, and our provider.

Wake up, and get dressed.

Revelation Letters IV: Compromise

Revelation Letters IV

And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.  ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.  But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.  I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.  But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden.  Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,  and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ (Revelation 2:18-29 ESV)

Compromise

When it comes to dinner plans, interior design, or dog names, compromise can be a useful tool.  But when it comes to Christians living under our King Jesus, yet having to interact with the Kingdom of this World, compromise is dangerous.

Thyatiran Christians lived in a busy intersection of worldviews, due to trade.  Remaining strong in the teachings of Christ would on the one hand be easy (Since there were so MANY views of life, Christians could appear to blend in.)  On the other hand, since Christ’s teachings are foundationally, practically, and noticeably different than every other religion, philosophy, and lifestyle, the life of a Christian was a life of standing out, of being different, of not blending in.

On the whole, those Christians were living correctly.  Other than, apparently, a group who mixed Christianity with other religious practices, the Thyatiran Christians understood that Christ’s world is not a world of compromise with the enemy.  

WE live in a similar world.  SO many worldviews.  SO many philosophies.  SO many potential compromises.

But do not blend in, but in only the ways Jesus does, stand out.  Do not strive to be like everyone else, but strive to be like King Jesus. 

And the most unique things about Jesus surely include: love, grace, love, hope, love, faith, love, forgiveness, love, honesty, love, love, and love.

Revelation Letters III: Warfare

Revelation Letters III

 And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.  So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.  Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’ (Revelation 2:12-17 ESV)

Warfare

During the Franco-Prussian War of 1871, most French and Prussian citizens did not even know they were at war.  But by the time of World War I, things changed.  Not only was World War I called a world war because so many nations took part, but also it is best described as a world war because the entire populace of the combatant nations were affected by the war, suffered because of the war, and were involved in the war.

The Spiritual war between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of the World is more like World War I than like the Franco-Prussian War.

We are involved in that war, even if we do not feel like we are on the front line.  We are involved in that war even if we do not notice the struggle.  We are involved in that war even if we are not missionaries, preachers, elders, or deacons.

We are involved in the Spiritual War between the Kingdom of god and the Kingdom of the World simply because we live, we interact, we exist, we ARE.

Hold fast, brothers and sisters. We’re at war!  Christ’s War…

Revelation Letters II: The Worst

Revelation Letters II

And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.  “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.” (Revelation 2:8-11 ESV)

The Worst

What is the worst that could happen?  The church in Smyrna (as in fact, ALL followers of Christ) was suffering.  They were being slandered, publicly challenged, and falsely accused.  Soon, Christ tells them, their suffering would increase.  Some might be imprisoned.  And some might die as they suffer.

But the worst they would experience was physical death.  Obviously, that is not ‘nothing.’ But Jesus tells them that even the worst leads to the best.  The ‘second death’, the result of God’s judgment after their bodies die, was NOTHING to fear.

In fact, it is a fantastic blessing.  For them, those who lean on Christ, those who believe, those who know Him, those who are HIS… the judgment was not fearful, but hopeful.  It was not suffering, but blessing.  It was not difficult, but an easy yoke to bear.

And that promise is the same for believers today. When bad days come (and I am not necessarily referring to any apocalyptic, world-ending, movie-level disaster.  But we suffer… and we will suffer.  And when we do, no matter HOW bad it seems or is, that suffering is an avenue to betterness instead of bitterness, a beginning instead of an end, and blessing instead of pain.

The worst is not the worst… it is God at work bringing us the best.

Revelation Letters I: Lost and Found

Revelation Letters I

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.  But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’ (Revelation 2:1-7 ESV)

Lost

Some things, once lost, are gone.   Things such as money, time, and  cake left out in the rain.

Some things, once lost, are regained with difficulty.  Things such as memories, car keys, and the good opinion of Mr. Darcy.

Some things, once lost, come back easily.  Things such as phone numbers, a dog, and weight.

The first love of the church of Ephesus had been lost.  But Christ Jesus writes to them because they can find it again.  God is gracious.  God is very interested in restoration.  God fixes things.

Every Christian has been lost, in this sense, and then found.  Repeatedly.

There is even a line in a familiar song about it.  “I once was lost but now I am found.”

Find your first love, Jesus Christ, again. (And again… and again…)