The book of Judges presents a very dark and chaotic situation among the children of Israel who rejected Jehovah as their Husband, Lord, King, and Head; in their degradation, Israel became chaotic in government, worship, and morality. One phrase was repeated again and again in Judges, which gives you the impression of what was happening […]
We Live in the Age of Mystery: God, Christ, and the Church are a Mystery!
Today we live in the age of mystery, where God relates to His people not in a physical or outward way but spiritually, mystically, and inwardly. From the incarnation of Christ (which is a mystery) all the way to the coming of the millennial kingdom, everything is a mystery. In Rev. 10:7 we see that […]
overcoming the loss of the first love by giving the Lord the preeminence in all things
One very simple way to overcome the loss of the first love for the Lord is to give Christ the first place, the preeminence, in all things. The Bible begins with, “In the beginning, God …” (Gen. 1:1), and Colossians tells us that Christ must have the first place, the preeminence, in all things (Col. 1:18). In order for us to love the Lord with the first and best love, we need to consider the Lord Jesus as the first in everything. In God’s eyes and in God’s economy, Christ is the first – but what about in our personal universe, in our decisions, considerations, emotions, living, walking, speaking, attitude, and in all our being? [read more online]
desolation comes in when God’s people do not properly appreciate and exalt Christ
Our failure to give Christ the first place in all things – our failure to love Him with the best love and appreciate Him – brings in desolation and degradation. The problem of desolation can be solved by Christ being appreciated and exalted by God’s people (see Psa. 80:17). When Christ is enjoyed, appreciated, given the first place, given the preeminence in all things – when He is properly appreciated and exalted, the house and the city of God can be maintained, preserved, and built up! Our not giving Christ the preeminence and our not appreciating Him is the cause of our failure and desolation. [read more online]
degradation comes in when we lose our first love for the Lord, when we have an idol
When we were saved, when we believed into the Lord for the first time, we had eyes for the Lord Jesus only, and we didn’t see anything or anyone else but Him. Actually, when we were saved we entered into a love relationship with the Lord, into a life-union with Him, where we love Him […]