The FirstLove Podcast

Philadelphia, the faithful church, who celebrated their weakness knowing that His strength would be made perfect. This was the church who lived faithfully before God. They did not receive a rebuke, but rather further encouragement to continue to step through the open doors. They were positioned at such a pivotal location to spread the Gospel and although it would have been easier to shrink back, they chose the narrow road, they chose surrender to HIs will and cause, they chose Jesus.

Many of us are increasingly faced with the persecution that comes with standing for His truth and not backing down. Be encouraged as you walk through these doors of opportunity that He will be your reward.

The church of Sardis had a reputation! Reputation does not have to be a bad thing. If you have a reputation for being kind and generous, thats great! The problem comes when your reputation does not match up to the way you're living.

For the church of Sardis, Jesus challenged their reputation for being ALIVE because unfortunately for them, they were dead on the inside. Similar to the Pharisee's that Jesus rebuked, they looked the part on the outside only.

In this episode, we chat about how Jesus is way more interested and invested with the inside of our lives and hearts, the hard but worth it process of pruning and refining and how with Him, there is always still a second chance.

It has been so much fun to share the podcast with my husband, Greg. This week we chat about the Church of Thyatira and it may have been our funnest, most vulnerable and raw conversation yet.

Our prayer is that these episodes drawer you deeper into His love and that despite being challenging, these letters challenge you to pursue Jesus and live completely devoted to Him.

The Church of Pergamum receives a stern letter. Jesus addresses them as the double edged sword so you know that this is going to be a letter that cuts deep. Pergamum, where Satan had his throne, an evil oppressed city and yet God calls His church to live above reproach and to not conform to their environment. The Church of Pergamum had allowed for compromise and this letter serves as their reminder to repent and to turn back to Jesus.

The same stands true for us today. If you have compromised and turned away from the Lord, He is calling us back to Him and all we need to do is to REPENT.

Join us for an episode of laughs, fun and a challenge to passionately pursue the purity of the Gospel.

Life can be hard, and sometimes God allows it! He allows us to walk through trial and hardships as it not only purifies us, but glorifies Him.

The church of Smyrna suffered persecution. Jesus commends them and encourages them to hold on and be faithful, even unto death.

In this episode we dig a little deeper into the hard seasons of life and talk about how to keep holding on.

A famous church in a famous city and to be honest, a church most of us would want to be part of. The worked hard and did good deeds, the took the responsibility of building God's house seriously. An alive and active church and yet Jesus had this against them... they had forgotten their first love. They were so busy doing that they neglected being. Their works became more important than their worship.

This is something that each one of us can easily fall prey to. We are so busy with our Fathers work that we actually forget to be with our Father. God is more interested in relationship with us than anything we can do for Him. The tension for us is to not be idle and lazy with what He has commissioned us to do, but also not neglect the most important thing in our lives and that is the person of Jesus.

"Whoever has an ear to hear, let him hear..."

I truly believe that there is so much within the letters to the seven churches that Jesus wants us to see and know and understand for right now.
When John wrote these letters, the church was riddled with idolatry, immorality and false teaching. In His love and mercy Jesus appealed to each church challenging them but also giving them the road map to live faithfully till the end.
I believe these three issues are still rampant within the church and that in His mercy and love Jesus is challenging us to get right before He returns.
Over the next few weeks we will be highlighting a church each week but for this week I am joined by a guest as we delve into the introduction of these letters.
“Whoever has ears to hear...”

In the book of Revelation, Jesus addresses 7 churches each of which carry a challenge and encouragement which applies to us today.

The church of Laodicea had fallen into apathy, neither hot nor cold when it concerned their faith in Jesus. This is heart breaking and an easy path for any of us to take. We love Jesus so much, but just enough that we can still have fun in the world and live how we see fit. Living life like this just doesn't work and God requires that we are either hot or cold but not living in the middle.

Yet the reward for those who repent and turn back is by far the most beautiful.

If you find yourself in this space of apathy and compromise, be encouraged by the words of Jesus and allow Him to draw you back unto Himself.