Read Revelation 2:5-7 in your personal Bible or at the link provided.
Review
1. What does Jesus point out about the Ephesians?
2. What does He urge them to do?
3. What does He promise to those who are victorious?
Reflect
Jesus told the Ephesian church they’d forgotten their first love. Now He concludes His letter by urging them to wake up from their “sleep” and return back to Him. A warning follows. If they don’t return, He’ll remove His presence and power from their church. On the flip side, if they return to Him, they’ll experience life unlike anything they’ve known before.
This call to return is extended to us today. Jesus wants us to return to the beginning, to go back to the day we first knew Him, were baptized, or heard about what He did for us. To remember how we responded to Him. If we don’t return, we’re faced with a sobering thought – He’ll remove His presence and power from our lives. We might look good on the surface, but we’ll be useless without His light.
However long you’ve been following Jesus, don’t let your love fade. Go back to the time you met Him. Do the things you did at first. Return to prayer, and let the Holy Spirit fuel you. The primary goal is His presence. Everything else flows out from there.
Respond
• When you first started following Jesus, what did you do? How did you express your love for Him through your priorities and actions?
• What specific things might He be calling you back to today? What would it look like to do these things in your weekly rhythm?
• Would you say the primary goal of your life is spending time in God’s presence? How is He calling you to return to Him specifically in this season?
Pray through these questions, and write down what God is prompting you to do next. Share with a friend, and take a step to apply it.