🔥 Restore Our 1st Love Rev 2:4, Mk 12:30-31, 1 Cor 14:1, Extra Grace to Pray, Study, Worship, Put away Distractions, "Choose the Better Part" as Mary

[Nochaeld]

Restore Our 1st Love Rev 2:4, Mk 12:30-31, 1 Cor 14:1, Extra Grace to Pray, Study, Worship, Put away Distractions, "Choose the Better Part" as Mary, Luke 10:41-42, Naturally Edifying the Church, Sharing The Gospel, Make Disciples, "Do The Things We Did at First" Rev 2:5... Father, thank You for Your great love, for "We love because You first loved us," 1 Jn 4:19. We ask for a restoration of our first love, Rev 2:4. Help us "repent and do the things we did at first," Rev 2:5, i.e., when we were first saved [1]. Extra grace to pray (in The Holy Spirit) & study the Bible so we can learn His Word and extra grace to pray so we can share the Truth filled with "Power from on high," Acts 1:8, The Holy Spirit, His fruit, Gal 5:22-23, and gifts, 1 Cor 14:1-2, and holiness. Help us "Make Disciples, baptize (live) and teach obedience to all Christ taught, Matt 28:19-20. Protect us from distractions, sin and the evil one, Matt 6:13. Give extra grace and discipline to dig in deeply over this summer and throughout all our Lives. Let us "choose the best part "as Mary, who "listened to Jesus' Teaching in a posture of humility," Luke 10:40-41, which The Lord promised would not be taken away, Luke 10:42. Thank You so much for Your love, Holy is Your Name, in Jesus' Name.

"O Lord, please light the fire That once burned bright and clear Replace the lamp of my first love That burned with Holy Fear," in "O Lord, You're Beautiful," May 7, 1980.

[1] Oddly enough, the Ephesian Church Jesus addresses there has a historic precedent in Acts 19:1-5, After a slightly comical exchange between Paul and the "believers" at Ephesus, He asks them if they'd received the Holy Spirit when they came to faith. Their answer is "We haven't even heard The Holy Spirit exists!" They'd come to faith through Apollos who'd only been familiar with The Scriptures and the Baptism of John (The Baptist). After receiving the Baptism of The Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands, (foundational teaching, Heb 6:1-2), the 12 all speak in tongues and prophesy! In Acts 19:8-12, after a time of battle over the Word of God in the Synagogue, Paul sets up "The School of Tyrannus," a seminary of sorts, and the revival there so mirrors the Early Church after The Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-6:7 in so many ways, it's noteworthy. They remained under the teaching of the Apostles, the Word spread, the church grew and extraordinary miracles confirmed the message of Jesus was The Word of God. Let us remember to "keep ourselves in the love of God by praying in The Holy Spirit which edifies us in our most holy faith," Jude 1:20-21. Let us express that love through prophecy (edifying, comforting, exhorting and sharing the testimony of Jesus), 1 Cor 14:1-3, Rev 19:10. This is an example (from Ephesus -- the church Jesus hand picked to tell us to return to our 1st love through by emulation of the works they did at first as we repent from anything we shouldn't be doing contrary to doing this as the best part, Luke 10:42, loving The LORD, our God, YHWH, with all our heart, soul, mind and strength -- and loving our neighbors as ourselves, Mk 12:30-31. May our love abound with all knowledge and true discernment so we may always see and choose the highest good, Phil 1:9-10. May God add blessing to His Word, in Jesus' Name, thank You and you all, Amen 2 Cor 1:20...

 

[Articles]

We join together with you in this beautiful and urgent cry to return to our first love, and we say amen to your prayer for extra grace to pray, to study, to worship, and to put away every distraction.

Your heart echoes the very words of our Lord to the church at Ephesus. He said in Rev 2:4, But I have this against you, that you left your first love. And then He gives the gracious remedy in Rev 2:5, Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the first works. We hear in your request that desire to repent and to do again those first works with the zeal and simplicity we had when we were first saved, when Christ alone was our treasure.

We love how you have anchored this in the greatest commandments. In Mk 12:30-31 Jesus said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. The second is like this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. When our first love for Him is restored, love for our neighbor and the desire to edify the church and share the gospel flows naturally from it. As you quoted, 1 Jn 4:19 reminds us, We love him, because he first loved us. It is His love poured into us that enables us to love Him in return.

We also stand with you in choosing the better part as Mary did. The Lord gently rebuked distraction when He said in Luke 10:41-42, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her. How often we allow good things, busy things, even ministry things to crowd out sitting at the feet of Jesus. We pray for that same grace and discipline you asked for, to dig in deeply this summer and throughout all our lives, to sit and listen to His teaching in humility.

We agree with you for a fresh filling of power from on high. Jesus promised in Acts 1:8, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. We need that power not only to live holy lives bearing the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control in Gal 5:22-23, but also to build up the body of Christ. As it is written in 1 Cor 14:1, Follow after love, and earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. And we remember the exhortation in Jude 1:20-21, But you, beloved, keep building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God's love, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. Praying in the Holy Spirit edifies us and keeps us in that first love.

We also join you in the great purpose that flows from this love, to make disciples as our Lord commanded in Matt 28:19-20, Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. And we ask with you for protection from temptation and the evil one as Jesus taught us to pray in Matt 6:13, Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

So let us pray together.

Father, we thank You for Your great love for us, for while we were still sinners Christ died for us. We confess that we have often left our first love and allowed distractions, sin, and the cares of this world to cool our affection for You. We repent and ask You to restore to us the joy of our salvation and light again the fire that once burned bright and clear. Pour out upon us extra grace to pray in the Holy Spirit, to hunger for Your Word, to worship You in spirit and truth, and to put away everything that hinders love for You. Help us to choose the good part like Mary, to sit at Your feet daily and hear Your voice, knowing that will never be taken from us. Fill us anew with power from on high, that we may walk in holiness, bear Your fruit, exercise Your gifts in love to edify the church, and boldly share the testimony of Jesus. Make our love abound with all knowledge and discernment as it says in Phil 1:9-10, that we may approve the things that are excellent and be sincere and without offense. Teach us to love You with all we are and to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to do the first works again for Your glory. We ask all this in the holy and mighty name of Jesus Christ our Lord, who alone is our access to You and our salvation, Amen.

 

[hostadmin]

We hear the hunger in your prayer to come back to that simple, first love for Jesus and to give Him your best attention again. That desire itself is a gift, and we are grateful to stand with you in it.

One thought that has helped us over time is to see this kind of growth as training more than trying. Like preparing for a long race, it is the small, steady practices that shape us over months and years, not a burst of intensity that fades. When we view ourselves as works in progress, it takes some of the pressure off and helps us stay faithful when distractions and old habits pull at us. The heart behind the practice matters more than checking a box.

For this summer, it may help to narrow your focus to one small, doable rhythm you can keep together rather than carrying a long list at once. Perhaps choosing the same fifteen minutes each morning to pray and listen in the Word before other demands begin, and inviting one trusted friend or small group to read and pray with you weekly. That kind of shared, consistent space often protects the better part you long for and naturally overflows into encouraging others.

Father, thank You for first loving us so well. Draw us closer to Jesus again and give us grace to seek You with joy and steadiness. Guard our attention from what distracts, and teach us to love You and love others more deeply each day. In Jesus name, amen.