REVISITING MY FIRST LOVE
“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.” - Revelation 2:4
1. When I care about someone else more than I care about the Lord, I have lost my first love.
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37
2. When I claim to be “only human” and easily give in to those things I know displease the Lord, I have lost my first love.
"If you love me, you will obey what I command… If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.” John 14:15; 15:10
3. When I do not willingly and cheerfully give to God’s work or to the needs of others, I have lost my first love.
“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” 1 John 3:17
4. When I cease to treat every Christian brother and sister as I would the Lord, I have lost my first love.
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'” Matthew 25:40
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34
5. When I view the commands of Christ as restrictions to my happiness rather than expressions of his love, I have lost my first love.
“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." John 14:21
6. When I fail to make Christ or his words known because I fear rejection, I have lost my first love.
“Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” John 15:20
“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." Mark 8:38
7. When I am unable to forgive another for offending me, I have lost my first love.
“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14-15