Day 9: Repentance

Revelation 2:4-5 (NIV) Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.

Our daily life is full of “gods” that vie for our attention and affection. It often feels like everything is pulling us away from our love for God. If we are not vigilant we will begin to turn away from Him in favor of other desires and pursuits.

In these verses, Jesus warns believers in the city of Ephesus who have gone down this path. Apparently they started off well in their relationship with the Lord but now have forsaken their “first love.”

The answer for them, and for us, is repentance—turning away from any enticements to love Jesus less and turning to Him with faith, love and obedience. This means we will do the things we did when we began walking with Him, living with a fresh sense of wonder, joy and determination to honor God.

Fasting works hand-in-hand with repentance to direct our desires toward God. Denying our most basic need helps us remember our real need to keep Jesus first in our affections.

Prayer: Lord, we repent of giving in to sinful desires that draw us away from you. We want to live in the fire of our first love, to give you first place in our hearts and to walk closely with you every day. Thank you for the grace and power to do it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.