So the very first significant lesson I was taught within 24 hours of ‘surrendering my life to the Lord’ made a rather impactful impression on me for sure. It actually came on the heels within 8 hours of my offering up that prayer asking the Lord to come in to my life. (Yesterday’s post) I was a brand new ‘babe in Christ’ and God chose to introduce me to the ‘real world’ in which I lived; and it was spiritual in nature. If I can be more direct, the lesson that was ‘revealed’ to me was the fact there were ‘spiritual forces’ very much at play in this world and in my life and I would do well to take heed and pay attention.

And sitting up and paying attention I did. But I did not learn this ‘lesson’ from reading a stack of books and commentaries written by intellectuals and educated folks. The Holy Spirit ‘revealed’ this to me through a very real, yet ‘controlled’ encounter. Jesus does that, you know...with His ‘babes’...He reveals the mysteries to His kingdom to those who come to Him. (Luke 10:21; Matt. 13:1-12) You will never sit under a more effective and patient teacher, than Jesus.(1 John 2:24-27) ...

You know...there’s a valid reason why math teachers instruct their students to ‘show their work’ when they are solving longer, more complex math problems. When they get the wrong answer, they can then go back and retrace their steps and usually find out where they ‘missed’ something; like maybe dividing when they should have multiplied or forgot the rule when multiplying two negative numbers, etc. You get the idea. I taught two years of high school algebra, so I remember telling kids in class repeatedly: Go back and check your steps.

In the book of Revelation, chapters 2 and 3 contain the seven letters that were instructed to be written and sent to the ‘seven churches’ in the region there. (Rev. 1:20). This was not ‘junk mail’ as the Lord Jesus was the author of these letters. And while He did have some good words of advice to offer up and affirm His followers in those letters, they do seem to be a bit ‘heavy’ on correcting and even rebuking them for an assortment of things that He points out to them. You might call them ‘areas of concern’ He had.

In fact, there is an interesting line included there in His last letter to the church at Laodicea found in 3:19 where Jesus says: “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.”

You probably have heard this phrase or seen the quote tossed around on social media platforms that says something along the lines of: “Some of you have never heard the sound of a belt coming quickly out the loops, or the snap of a peach tree limb being broken off...and it shows.”

In case you have not had your first cup of coffee today, the idea here is many folks are not familiar with the practice of being ‘rebuked or disciplined/chastened...and it shows’. I would have no problem suggesting the same could be said about many who claim to be followers or children of God. And yet Jesus was the one who made that comment about rebuking and chastening those whom He loves. You might also revisit Heb. 12:5-11... as in go take a look at it now if you would. “Chastening” is not designed to be ‘joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those...who have been trained by it.” (11)

There is an interesting ‘rebuke’ followed up by some corrective advice given by Jesus to the first church He addresses there in those letters; - the church at Ephesus. After commending them on a few things they were doing right...then comes that word that we are usually all waiting for ...’nevertheless...’. (2:4). And here it came....”Nevertheless I have this against you: You have left your first love.”

It would be helpful here to point out that Jesus does not mention some particular ‘sin’ they are doing or some ‘good work’ they are failing to do. He is going straight to the heart of the matter when He in effect is saying...”You sure don’t love me like you did in the beginning when you first came to Me. Is it possible your heart has grown cold or waxed hard? I told you that this would most likely happen with the increase of lawlessness and sin.” (Matt. 24:12; Heb. 3:12-15)

And what had Jesus made clear to any and all to those who claim to love Him? They would ‘do what He says’. (John 14:15; 15:10). Paul would later point out to Titus in his letter to him that there would be many who would ‘profess to know God but by their actions they would deny Him’. (1:16). Remember Jesus asking that convicting question to those in Luke 6:46: “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, and not do the things I say?”

We, (those who claim to be the ‘church’), are good about promising folks that God can truly ‘change their lives’ and ‘make them a new creation’. (2 Cor. 5:17). Where we fail in instructing them on, much less doing it ourselves, is giving them the same advice that Mary gave those servants at the wedding who were in a real bind and needing a miracle of ‘transformation’. They were out of wine and had only water. So in steps Jesus ...and then the seven-word command offered up by His mother who looks at those servants and says: “Whatever He says to you, do it!”

If you truly want a miracle of transformation in your life, you can’t just be a ‘hearer of His word; you have to be a doer!’. Otherwise you will end up being deceived. (James 1:22)

So back to our first ‘rebuke’ by Jesus to the church at Ephesus. He has just told them the real problem here is they have allowed their heart to harden as they had ‘fallen from where they once were’. (Rev. 2:5). Their love has cooled off and they seemingly have ‘drifted’. That happens when we don’t give ‘earnest heed’ to the things He says. (Heb. 2:1). He lovingly tells them they need to ‘repent’ which is a constant theme of His in the gospels and it comes with a sobering warning as well. (Matt. 4:17; Luke 13:3,5; John 5:14)

But then comes a truly enlightening word of helpful counsel which should be so well marked and underlined in our Bibles. He is basically telling us how to make a ‘course-correction and get back on this ‘narrow path that leads to life’. (Matt. 7:14). Are you ready for it? Let’s read it: “Do the first works”. (2:5). Do you know another way you can read this?:

“Go back and check your work and see where you went wrong”. Go do...what you did in the very beginning. And let me just tell you now...it had nothing to do with ‘signing up’ for a new discipleship class or getting baptized or ‘joining’ some local church. The very first deed or act or ‘work’ that any of us have to do if we truly want ‘eternal life’ is we have to come to Him with all our heart, no strings attached, no conditions imposed upon Him. Failure to do so will shut down this walk of faith pretty fast. Just ask that rich young ruler in Matthew 19 who was ‘so close’, yet turned and walked away. He was not willing to lay it all down and take up his cross and follow Jesus.

If you think this is no important matter, you are greatly deceived. Now you may not know what you are getting into when you first ‘come to the Lord’, but He has a way of testing your heart pretty quick to make sure you are serious. (Deut. 8:2; 1 Thess. 2:4). You are either all in, or not in at all. I like to compare it to vows that a new couple make on their wedding day. They sure sound sincere when they promise to love each other for ‘better or worse’ but really...do we truly know what we are signing on for? I used to call it VUI’s – ‘vowing under the influence’ of being madly in love. ;-). And as you well know, that ‘vow’ will be tested more than a few times over the course of that marriage. Am I right, or am I right? ;-)

In my post yesterday, I started sharing the early days of my conversion and what transpired over the first 12 hours of my ‘vowing’ to turn my heart over to Jesus. Clearly I did not know what I was signing on for nor did I have a clue to what it meant to ‘surrender all to Him’. But I quickly was about to find out. And it has nothing to do with keeping rules and doing works for God. It has everything to do with learning to recognize His voice...and then following Him. (John 10:27). And here’s the serious part...we can say ‘no’ and ‘tap out’ any time we want and go our own way. There were plenty who did that as we read in John 6:66.

This ‘path of peace’ that Jesus came to lead us on (Luke 1:79), which He described as being ‘narrow’ is all about learning to abide in Him, to hear and recognize His voice and then follow Him. He pointed out how multitudes would find it easier to take that wider path that was more well-traveled...thinking it would lead to eternal life. But they will discover how deceived they had been. (Matt. 7:13-14, 21-23)

Can I just tell you in the simplest way I can what ‘abiding in Jesus’ really is all about? If you are abiding in Him, there is just a heightened ‘awareness’ of His presence. It is continuous and as long as long as you continue to abide in Him...and do as He instructs, you will be aware of His presence that comes with both peace...and joy. (Ps. 16:11).

How many of you have gone through those ‘long spells of dryness’ or perhaps are still there (as in not sensing much of a God’s presence in your life)...and other well meaning ‘saints’ try to comfort and encourage you with empty words like how you just need to ‘trust and know that God is with you’ or how ‘faith is not about feeling’. Why we even come up with nice stories about ‘footprints in the sand’ to support such talk. But I am here to tell you that abiding in Christ is very much like learning to drive on a narrow road and you do better to ‘stay in your lane’. IF...you begin to veer or ‘drift’, you hit those ridges or bumps on the side of the road that “should” prompt you to adjust the wheel and get back in your lane. This is called ‘repenting’. But if you don’t learn this early on, it does not take much to ‘go rogue and go offroad’ while maintaining a ‘form of godliness’  (devoid of power) as you do your own thing. (2 Tim. 3:5)

That’s what happens when there is no ‘King’ in your life and Jesus is not truly Lord of all. (Judges 21:25; 2:11-14; Luke 6:46). It can be a painful lesson to learn; which is why we need to ’go back and check your work’ and do what you did in the beginning. (James 4:7-10). Sooo...much more to share.  I hope you join me tomorrow. :- )