Ignite with Barry Meguiar Podcast

In His Letter to the Church at Ephesus, God tells Faithful Christians to Repent, yes Repent – for not doing two things! And YOU might be making the very same two things! This is an important message!

Tell me something, what is it that gets you more excited than anything else? What is it – that you like to do more than anything else? What are your hopes and dreams? What’s your heart’s desire? What is it that fills your prayers?

If – your answer to any of these questions isn’t something that involves God, then God has ceased being God in your life. You’re, in fact, chasing other God’s.

You know, you can always spot a new Christian because of their exuberance, their zeal for telling people about Jesus. They’re fresh from accepting Jesus Christ as the Lord of their life and they really mean it. God is their ‘First Love’ – no question . . . UNTIL the things of this world become more attractive and exciting over time – and God starts to take a secondary position.

It’s so easy to let other things become your God, without even realizing it. For a lot of Christians today, politics and even Donald Trump has become their God . . . and their entire outlook on life is based on the latest breaking news . . . with most of it being bad news!

But it’s just as much in error – for your favorite ministry to become your God. So many Christians today are passionately devoted to the raising of funds and the giving of their time to badly needed ministries – and having their entire outlook on life based on the income and the politics and the performance of that ministry. It doesn’t matter what it is! Whatever it is that takes your eyes off of God – is guaranteed to rob you of your joy and your intimacy with God.

The steps of the righteous are directed by the LORD – and nothing else. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, in all ways acknowledge HIM and HE will direct your steps. No one else. Delight yourself in the LORD, and HE will grant you the desires of your heart. The Bible shouts the message that we are to keep our eyes on GOD, follow Him, honor Him, Love Him above everything else. In all seriousness, that’s the only thing that will keep your life on track.

When Karen and I were young parents, we did just the opposite. We were so focused on volunteering for every opportunity in our church that we lost sight of God. We forgot who we were serving – and began serving ministries run by people – by flawed people – and found ourselves spiritually dry and wondering why God wasn’t overflowing us with Joy. With the best of intentions, we were completely off track. God was no longer our ‘First Love’.

In His Letter to the Church in Ephesus, in Revelation Chapter 2, God call’s FAITHFUL Christians, like Karen and I were – and you may be now, to Repentance – when we no longer hold God as our ‘First Love’.

If this sounds like where you are right now, in His Letter to the Church in Ephesus, in Revelation Chapter 2, God actually calls you to repent, by saying: I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil; and thou has tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars.

And has borne, and hast patience, and for my names sake has laboured, and hast not fainted. He’s talking about faithful Christians here!!!

Nevertheless, I have this against you, because you have left your ‘First Love’. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and REPENT, and do the FIRST WORKS; or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy candlestick out of its place – unless you REPENT.

He talking to faithful Christians who are doing good things, but have put those things above Him – and He says to them – and possibly to you – to REPENT – to return to making God your ‘First Love’ and return to doing your ‘First Work’ – the first thing every Christian does when they get saved – tell people about Jesus.

Unless you remember how far you have fallen and return to making God your ‘First Love’ and doing the ‘First Work’ telling people about Jesus, He will remove your candlestick – the Holy Spirit – your Testimony. That in fact is what’s happened to the church today! The testimony of the Church has been removed.

We’re called to be the ‘Salt of the Earth’ and the ‘Light of the World’. Have you noticed that there’s only one characteristic that Salt and Light share? They both change their environment.

Here’s a question for you: Are you changing your environment, or is it changing you? More importantly, is the Church changing our environment, or is our environment changing the Church? The answer to that question is pretty obvious. But that’s beyond your control.

What you Can Control – and what God is calling you to do – is to go back to where your heart was – when you first accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and completely surrendered your life to Him – and make God your ‘First Love’ again – and start doing the ‘First Work’ again, moving everyone, every day closer to Jesus.

The Word is so clear on this: Keep God No. 1, Trust the Lord with your whole heart, lean not unto your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him – tell people about Him – and – Get This – He/God will direct your steps.

It doesn’t get any better than that!

See you next time!