Kindle (Rekindle) your First Love

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. – James 4:8 (NIV)

Every big fire starts with a momentary spark of ignition. If there is no flame, there is no fire. We aspire to live as Spirit-filled Christians, speaking the Word of God boldly, sharing the gospel with family and friends fearlessly, praying fervently to see the power of God in action to save souls, heal the sick and deliver those in bondage. Remember how excited you were when you were born again as a newborn babe in Christ? Somehow, through the years, the daily grind of life and growing up has doused those flames. We become more “sophisticated” in our faith and can even justify our spiritual lethargy.

Where has all the godly zeal and passion dissipated to? We need to kindle and rekindle the small flames and fan them into a big fire again if we want to see revival of godly living and hearts turned to Christ in these last days. God is doing a mighty work in these last days. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken. Only our strong anchor in Christ can keep us steadfast and faithful to Him until we see Him face to face.

What does God say about this?

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

2 Timothy: 1:6 (NIV)

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

Revelation: 2: 4,5 (NIV)

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:14 (NIV)

What does this mean for practical living?

For a start, we should pause and find some quiet moments to take stock of our spiritual life. If God uses a “thermometer” to measure your spiritual temperature, in which zone would your temperature fall within: “Frozen, Cold, Lukewarm or Passionate”? We know our own spiritual condition. We try to take good care of our physical body and pursue worldly objectives with careful planning, regular monitoring and remedial actions to stay on track. What about our spiritual health and mission?

Without deliberate reflection, we will not be able to retrace the steps we took and identify where we went off-track. Remember that Mary and Joseph, when on the way back from Jerusalem, realised that they had lost Jesus only one day later! Thankfully, they found Him after three days. It is never too late for us to retrace our steps and recover from where we veered off our intended course. Consider the type, frequency and intensity of life activities and routines that you are currently engaged in. Make changes to bring your thermometer reading into the “Passionate” zone. Spark new flames and re-spark the glowing embers to press on towards God’s calling for your life.

Reflect and respond to God’s Word

• Recall some of the thoughts and ideas you had when you first knew God and learned about His Word. What have you done with them?
• Why does walking and working with God not sound “exciting” or relevant compared to when you first knew God?
• Identify one spiritual discipline that you know you must return to and work out a plan to practise it.