The Church of Ephesus

(Katie)

The Church of Ephesus was one of the great revival centers in the early Church (Acts 19-20). Yet, they did not sustain the freshness in their love for Jesus. They became workers for God more than lovers of God. Lovers will always out work the workers.

1 To the...church of Ephesus write, 2 "I know your works...3 you have persevered and have...labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love."

This weekend, James and I attended Launch, an incredible conference focusing on the Church's call to go to the nations. Both James and I went into the weekend desiring God to bring clarity to some of the things that He's laid on our heart regarding the Nations. Ironically, in the midst of hearing messages from a church planter in Asia, we both felt God asking us to focus on delighting in Him. I realized this weekend that a temptation that I easily fall into is to love the dreams that God has put in my heart, rather than to love the dreamer Himself. Like the church of Ephesus, it is easy to focus more on our works than our first love.

God continues to highlight to both James and I that we are in a season of REST. It keeps coming up over and over and over. I still cringe when I hear the word because I am awful at it. I would much rather be out doing the works. I realized this weekend that I have believed a lie in that I have equated love with what I do. Therefore, when God continues to speak REST over James and I, I am fearful that God can't love me in that place. I am in the midst of a major paradigm shift of understanding God's love for me, a part from what I believe that I do for Him. 

 I pray that in the midst of all the good works we will do this week, that we won't forget our FIRST love.