First Love

As I write this blog story, I have been constantly surrounded by announcements of engagements or weddings. Just last week I was leading worship with a couple who were celebrating their 50th Wedding anniversary. And only a few days back I attended a young couple's engagement ceremony. It was quite amazing to see the couple, especially in the former instance who renewed the vows they had exchanged, half a century ago. They were celebrating God's faithfulness in their lives, through good times and bad.

Its quite amusing to see the way young couples behave when they are in love. Its that feeling of freshness where both the guy and the gal long to be with each other, talk and spend time with each other. Exchange of text messages, hours on the phone... basically find any excuse to meet up and be with each other. And once they are together, the world can pass by and they would hardly ever notice it.

Apostle John writes down the things he sees in a vision from God. In the Book of Revelation, chapters 1, 2 and 3 John addresses the seven churches... the Church of Ephesus (the Loveless Church), Smyrna (the Persecuted Church), Pergamos (the Compromising Church), Thyatira (the Corrupt Church), Sardis (the Dead Church), Philadelphia (the Faithful Church), Laodiceans (the lukewarm Church).

And as I kept reading these chapters, Revelation 2 : 2 - 4 just popped up at me...

"I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for My name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first." 

And when I read that last line, something in me just broke. I accepted the Lord in the year 1995, and ever since have tried to love, honor and serve God the best I can. But as always, life happens, choices are made, I become busy doing 'things', the Christian walk becomes a crawl... even a standstill. The love and passion that I had for God as a new born believer, now grown cold. Daily devotion becomes a chore, constant communion with God is forgotten among all the other voices that I am surrounded with. "I have forsaken the love I had at first" for God.

When I saw that old couple exchange their vows, they still had that spark in their eyes for each other. As that old gentleman repeated the vows to his lady, both had tears in their eyes and smiles on their faces. Fifty years din't draw them apart, but ever more closer to each other.

I want to get back to walking with God closer. I want to get back to that longing to spend time with Him. I don't want to be known as the Loveless or the Corrupt or the Lukewarm or the Dead Church. I want to be faithful to my Savior, my Redeemer, my Righteousness, my... First Love.    

I wanna sit at your feet, drink from the cup in Your hand, lay back against You and breathe, hear Your heart beat. This love is so deep, it's more than I can stand.

I melt in Your peace, it's overwhelming ~ Kari Jobe

Road Map

In the month of September 2010, my friend and I had registered to write a common entrance test for our further studies. The exam center was located on the outskirts of the city and we had no clue about how to reach this place. As the day for the exam came nearer, I decided to trace the route on Google Maps. I was soon able to write down a  detailed-list of landmarks that would come our way that day in a journey that would stretch to around 25 kilometers.

We began our journey, me driving the bike and my friend who was the pillion rider, calling out all the landmarks and route descriptions that I had listed out in-detail. In between we took time to ask people along the way if we weren't sure and without too many difficulties we reached the center, wrote our exam and headed back home. It was a part of the city that I had never ventured into and the satisfaction of completing something that we had set-out to do was unparalleled. On hindsight, if we din't take so much time to research about the location and trace the route, I am sure that we would've just ended up going around in circles, missing the purpose that we had set out to achieve. It was no accident that we reached where we reached but it was planning and seeking that helped us get there.

We take so much care to find the route to reach our destinations but we often don't even pay attention to where we are ending up with our lives. We have the attitude of just going through the motions in our everyday life's activities. Do we pause to ever think that what we are doing now may or may-not be the perfect will of God for our lives.

The bible in Jeremiah 29:11 says..."For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Most of us are content reading this scripture which shows us that God has something amazing planned for us. But we fail to understand that, things are not just going to happen accidentally. I can't plan to go north and start walking in the direction of east. Thus its very important that we find this amazing 'plan' that God has for us.
If you read further in the same chapter, verses 12 - 14 says this... "¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity." The background of the scripture is that the Israelites disobeyed God's direction for them and are captured by Babylonian empire. The prophet Jeremiah is directed by the Lord to send this letter to the leaders in exile. God calls them out to 'seek' Him with 'all' their heart. It then goes onto say that God will bring them back from captivity.


You might be in a situation that isn't in the perfect will of God. It could be job, education, relationship, etc that may not be the will of God for you. Remember, God knows our beginning from our end. He has our best interests at heart. Take time to seek His will for your life. More than you asking Him, He wants to reveal it to you. Its easier to go through this journey of life, when you know your destination. Depend on Him for every step. His word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (Psalms 119:105). And as you take time to seek His will, God will clearly show you what you have to do and will lead you back into the place where He wants you to be in.

My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. (Psalms 139)