“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.”

 

Revelations 2:4

 

 

Every day should be as joyful as the first day you were saved.

 

One day Sam, a city guy, decided to visit his brother, Jerry, who lived in the country. Jerry showed Sam around his farm, pointing out the milk cows, the old barn, and his new dog. “What you don’t know,” said Jerry, “is that this here dog can do something none of your city dogs can do.” With a whistle from Jerry, his dog began to corral the cows from the field, drive them into the barn, then shut the barn door and secure it with his paw. “That’s amazing!” exclaimed Sam. “What is your dog’s name?” Thinking for a minute, Sam asked, “What’s that flower called that has the thorns on it?” “A rose?” Jerry replied, “Yeah, that’s it.” Then Jerry turned to his wife and said, “Hey Rose, what’s the dog’s name?”

 

We all forget things now and then. Have you ever forgotten an appointment, a child’s sports game, or perhaps even a deadline at work?

 

Forgetfulness is common to us (sometimes we can’t even remember what we had for breakfast yesterday!), but it should not be common in our spiritual lives. We shouldn’t forget our first love as the church did in Revelations 2:4, “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.”

 

Remember when you were first saved? Remember the joy in your heart, the constant smile on your face, the willingness to help wherever needed? Do you remember how eager you were to tell everyone about your decision? What about giving-do you remember when it thrilled you to be able to give to missionary families, church projects, and God’s word? What has taken you from that?

 

So often as time goes by, we can lose that initial overwhelming love for Christ. A loss of love doesn’t come from not serving God, for as our verse shows, the church at Ephesus was busy about God’s work. There simply was no love behind their actions.

 

Take time right now to reflect on those first few days of your spiritual life. Remember how you were saved? Do you remember the peace that swept over you and the joy you felt? Remember how you wanted to tell everyone you knew about your decision? What has changed since then? Do you still feel the same way or have things “cooled off” since then?

 

Don’t let the fervor and love you feel for Christ wane as you grow older in your Christian life. Keep that passion alive as you serve, give, witness, and obey God. Let the joy of salvation fill your heart today and serve God out of love for Him!–By Paul Chappell

—first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.-Matthew 7:5

 

There is a duty of fault-finding. The Master Himself teaches it. In the Sermon on the Mount, He makes it very plain. We must note carefully, however, where the duty begins. We are to look first after our own faults. “Why do you look at the mote that is in your brother’s eye-but do not consider the beam that is in your own eye?”

We must consider the beam that is in our own eye!

The form of this question suggest that we are naturally inclined to pay more attention to flaws and blemishes in others-than in ourselves; and also that a very small fault-a mere mote of fault in another person-may seem larger to us than a blemish many times greater in ourselves!

Of course, it is far easier to see other people’s faults-than our own. Our eyes are set in our head in such a way-that we can look at our neighbor, better than at ourselves. Yet we all have faults of our own. Most of us have quite enough of them to occupy our thought, to the exclusion of our neighbor’s faults-if only we would give them our attention.

Really, too, our own faults ought to interest us, more than our neighbor’s, because they are our own; and being our own, we are responsible for them. We do not have to answer for any other one’s sins-but we must answer for our own sins, “Each one must give an account of himself.”

Also, the responsibility for getting rid of them, is ours. No faithful friend, no wise teacher, can cure our faults for us. If ever they are taken out of our life-it must be by our own faith, our own firm, persistent effort.

It is a fact, that the faults which we usually see and criticize in others-are the very faults which are the most marked in us! In our judgment of others-we show a miniature of ourselves. If this is true, we should be careful in judging others, for in doing so-we are only revealing our own faults! This should lead us also to close scrutiny of our own life, to get rid of the things in us which are not beautiful.-By J. R. Miller

—first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.-Matthew 7:5

 

There is a duty of fault-finding. The Master Himself teaches it. In the Sermon on the Mount, He makes it very plain. We must note carefully, however, where the duty begins. We are to look first after our own faults. “Why do you look at the mote that is in your brother’s eye-but do not consider the beam that is in your own eye?”

We must consider the beam that is in our own eye!

The form of this question suggest that we are naturally inclined to pay more attention to flaws and blemishes in others-than in ourselves; and also that a very small fault-a mere mote of fault in another person-may seem larger to us than a blemish many times greater in ourselves!

Of course, it is far easier to see other people’s faults-than our own. Our eyes are set in our head in such a way-that we can look at our neighbor, better than at ourselves. Yet we all have faults of our own. Most of us have quite enough of them to occupy our thought, to the exclusion of our neighbor’s faults-if only we would give them our attention.

Really, too, our own faults ought to interest us, more than our neighbor’s, because they are our own; and being our own, we are responsible for them. We do not have to answer for any other one’s sins-but we must answer for our own sins, “Each one must give an account of himself.”

Also, the responsibility for getting rid of them, is ours. No faithful friend, no wise teacher, can cure our faults for us. If ever they are taken out of our life-it must be by our own faith, our own firm, persistent effort.

It is a fact, that the faults which we usually see and criticize in others-are the very faults which are the most marked in us! In our judgment of others-we show a miniature of ourselves. If this is true, we should be careful in judging others, for in doing so-we are only revealing our own faults! This should lead us also to close scrutiny of our own life, to get rid of the things in us which are not beautiful.-By J. R. Miller

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”-Ephesians 4:31-32

Arturo Toscanini was an expert conductor in the early 1900s. Known for his interpretation of great composers such as Verdi, Beethoven, Brahms, and Wagner; Toscanini was revered as one of the greatest Italian conductors of his time. Through his time conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra on a radio program, he became a household name. What most people didn’t know about the great composer was his often uncontrollable temper. In fits of rage he was known to throw precious masterpieces at his musicians and risk losing such great compositions. Especially troubled by his temper was his composition librarian. Charged to watch over the masterpieces, she went to great lengths to study Toscanini’s behavior before a fit of temper. First, he would grab his baton with both hands and struggle to break it. If he succeeded, he would usually calm down afterward. If he did not succeed, he would grab the nearest compositions and begin hurling them at students. How did his librarian help preserve the compositions? She made sure Toscanini conducted with a weak baton.

Toscanini’s anger almost cost him timeless, priceless pieces of workmanship. Rather than controlling his temper, he allowed his anger to overcome him. How many people could identify with Toscanini? Classes are taught, seminars held, and trained professionals hold meetings to help people combat anger issues. But God shows us in Ephesians 4 that His desire is for anger, hatred, a quick temper, and bitterness be put off each day, “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.”

Put off anger. Someone once described anger as a man who hated being slapped on the back, so his solution was to strap dynamite to his back and wait to teach a lesson to the next person who slapped him. Anger not only hurts the people around you, but also hurts you.

Anger not only brings emotional and spiritual problems, but anger and bitterness has been linked to several medical problems. Doctors and medical professionals realize the danger in holding onto anger, and encourage people to release their anger in a constructive manner. While their methods are based on science, God’s methods of putting off anger is based in His Word.

You must practice a putting off of anger each time your emotions rise. Even when a situation seems beyond your control and your flesh tells you to react harshly, seek God and put off the anger you feel.

Put on kindness. To replace the anger you feel, God commands you to put on kindness, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” When putting off something in your life, replacing it with something good helps keep you on the right track. In the case of anger, a good way to put off feelings of animosity is to replace them with feelings of kindness. Showing someone love, turning the other cheek, and returning evil with good are all ways God desires for you to put on kindness.

Do you ever feel anger toward someone? Perhaps a situation happens that “presses your buttons” or builds feelings of resentment in you. Rather than giving place to anger, seek God’s help in putting off the old feelings of hatred and putting on kindness through loving actions toward others.(By Dr. Paul Chappell)

Holding onto anger is like holding onto a snake poised to strike!

For whom the Lord he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.-Hebrews 12:6

Did you know that guilt can be good? Guilt means that your conscience is working. The time to be concerned is when you don’t feel guilt, when you can sin against God again and again and feel no remorse or sense of wrongdoing. Hebrews 12:6 says, the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child. If you are a believer-one of His sons or daughters-and you go astray, the Holy Spirit will convict you of your sin. He will call you on it, because He loves you. He will reprove you, just like a father reproves his child.

God disciplines His own children. So if you can do things that you know are wrong and don’t feel remorse about it, then I have to wonder whether you are a child of God. But if you feel busted and come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit the moment you cross the line, then that is good. The Holy Spirit is working.

But we also need to know the difference between the Holy Spirit’s conviction and the devil’s accusations. The devil always will try to keep you from the cross, while the Holy Spirit always will bring you to it. When you know you have sinned, the devil says, “Run! Don’t go to God!” He will try to drive you away into despair.

But the Holy Spirit says, “Repent-now.” So that is what you need to do. Ask for God’s forgiveness. And once you have, don’t keep going over and over it again. You should not choose to remember what God has chosen to forget. God has a big eraser. And if He has used it your life, then be thankful that your sin is not only forgiven, but it is forgotten. (By Greg Laurie)