Our world is enduring upheaval like it was in the first century when Christians were being persecuted throughout the Roman Empire. The letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 & 3 were sent to encourage Christians who couldn’t understand what was happening for according to their understanding of prophecy they expected the Kingdom of God to cover the earth. All seven letters follow the same basic structure, all of them were to be read aloud to all who heard them and all of the churches were situated along the same road and in the order that the messenger would have delivered the letters.

The letter to the Christians of Ephesus addresses their passions and their priorities. This church had benefited from enormous privileges and had had a tremendous impact. Christ walks among the churches like an OFSTED inspector and speaks of what he has observed: “I know…” He commends the Ephesians for their good deeds, their hard work, their perseverance and vigilance, but reproaches them for having abandoned their first love – love for him and love the one for the other. Jesus exhorts them therefore to remember and then to repent – to recapture the burning flame of their initial passion. Otherwise, he warns, there would be dire consequences.

We, also, live in a sinful world, and many things conspire to kill our passion. The Lord Jesus encourages us to “Love the Lord God with all our passion, prayer, intelligence and energy” (Mark 12:30 – The Message). Paul encourages by saying: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for men” (Col 3:23). What a challenge!

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