For the past two weeks I've been thinking about the following two statements that I heard preached by Pastor John Garner of Redeemer Bible Church in Niagara Falls. I've also shared them with the staff of Grace Church in order to make sure we work hard at staying on guard and working towards course correction when needed as a spiritual drift can happen so quickly within our lives and the life of a church.
"You have forsaken your first love (Jesus). This is a tolerated drift from the heart of Christ and from a disposition and behavior of love... for one another and the spiritually lost. They are pumping out religious product with a waning affection, love and loyalty for Jesus and a compassionate love for people.
"Remember how it was... before your heart started to harden and shrivel, before your work for Jesus eclipsed your relationship with Him and others. Take the warning seriously... [if not] there will be a loss of spiritual vitality and power from your midst. A sense of God's activity and grace will evaporate."
This was the warning/exhortation to the church of Ephesus and to all of us who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ in 2010. It is so easy to justify your life in respects to your "doing" for Christ rather than your "being" in Christ.
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