His Heart, My Home

A tsunami of blueberries!

That would describe the extraordinarily abundant harvest of blueberries from our small backyard garden this year. Not only were our berries plentiful, but they were deliciously flavorful… succulently sweet!

That’s because Grace let them stay on the bushes until they reached their peak state of ripeness before she picked them. So delicious!

And that’s exactly the way I feel about the insights I have been receiving from Holy Spirit regarding God’s first love for us. I’ve stayed connected to the Vine, and He has brought forth fruit that is fresh, flavorful, and super-abundant!

I want to share it all with you, so please see the first three posts in this series, entitled “First Love Forever!” before reading Part 4. That will bring you up to speed on this Spirit-anointed teaching.

But for those “too busy” to read the other  posts, here are a couple of highlights:

● We should never prioritize the “work of the Lord” more than we cherish and prize the “Lord of the work”.

● Rather than engage in the busy-ness that leads to weariness, the Lord encourages us to focus on the immeasurable first-love He has for us, and to lean upon, and rest in His  arms!

I think of Joshua, who would not leave the Tabernacle, day or night, because he was unwilling to depart from God’s presence.
(Exodus 33:11)

I think of David, “a man after God’s own heart”, who craved the presence of Yahweh more than anything else in life. (Psalm 27:4)

I think of Mary, the sister of super-server Martha, who sat at the feet of the Master, hanging on His every word, cherishing every syllable, coming from His lips. (Luke 10:38-41)

And I think of John, who had been so self-confident that he had asked to sit on the throne next to Jesus in His coming kingdom, now reclining against His chest at their last Passover meal. John was so close that he could hear the Lord’s heartbeat, and confident this time, not in Himself, but in the love he knew Jesus had for him personally. (John 13:23-25)

Sincere acts of faith, love, and devotion, like the examples above, and many others, don’t originate within us. They are simply Holy Spirit-inspired responses to the Father’s “first-love”.

The phrase “first love” in Revelation 2:4 is translated from the Greek phrase “protos agape”.

We know by now that “protos” means, not just “first in time”, but more importantly it means, “the highest priority or degree”.

And of course, “agape” is defined as “the unconditional, self-sacrificing love of God”.

So we can see that God’s love for us not only comes first, before we loved Him, but is also exponentially greater, higher, deeper, and superior in every way to our faulty and feeble attempts to love Him.

“We love, because He first loved us.”
(1 John 4:19, Amplified Translation)

“First love” is not referring to our love for God, but to His love for us. He has loved us, and cherished us in His heart before He even created the universe.

“The Lord has appeared of old to me saying: ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” (Jeremiah 31:3, NKJV)

God [said], “I’ve never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love!
(Jeremiah 31:3, The Message)

When Jesus counseled the Ephesian church for neglecting their first love, He was saying that they were no longer receiving, or abiding in, the Father’s love, as they once had.

It’s from the place of abiding, resting faith that we are energized and equipped to live the Christ-life, and to serve Him, not with life-draining religious works, but as a celebration of love, freely offering acts of spiritual service and heart-felt worship to Him!

Jesus graciously and lovingly invites us into this holy abode, a place where He dwells in us, and we in Him, forever connected to Him in love!

The Greek word which is most often used to describe our love-connection with Christ is the word “meno”.

It is used by John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved”, far more than any other writer in the New Testament… twelve times in a single chapter, John 15, and 23 more times in his three short epistles.

The word “meno” means, “to stay, remain, live, dwell, or abide in a given place, state, or relation.” It conveys a sense of faithful continuity. Some Bible scholars believe there is a connection between the Greek word “MENO” and the Hebrew word AMEN.

Of course, we know that the word AMEN means “truly; indeed; so be it”. It speaks of finality in our faith, At the AMEN point, we only need to rest, to abide in Him, confidently knowing that God is doing what only He can do. At the AMEN point we celebrate the victory!

Abiding in Christ, is not about struggling or self-effort. It is about resting in His love, “living in the moment” with Him, secure in His love, and being vitally connected to Him, spirit-to-Spirit. His love becomes the foundation, the very bedrock, of our lives.

“I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love.”
(John 15:9, The Message)

“I love each of you with the same love that the Father loves me. You must continually let my love nourish your hearts.”
(John 15:9, The Passion Translation)

The longer we abide in the Vine, staying vitally connected to Him, the more we are nourished and supplied by Him.

We draw fresh revelation from the life-giving “sap” of His Word and produce the sweet fruit of His presence and love!

Abide in Him. Make your home in His love. Lean on Him. Rest in His faithfulness. Let your roots go down deep into His love. Draw everything you need from Him.

He’s all you need!

This is our prayer for you today:

“Father, out of your honorable and glorious riches, strengthen your people. Fill their souls with the power of your Spirit so that through faith the Anointed One will reside in their hearts. May love be the rich soil where their lives take root. May it be the bedrock where their lives are founded so that together with all of your people they will have the power to understand that the love of the Anointed is infinitely long, wide, high, and deep, surpassing everything anyone previously experienced. God, may your fullness flood through their entire beings. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
(Ephesians 3:16-19, The Voice Translation)

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Also, please share it with others. Let’s all keep growing and going for Jesus!

Blessings!