21st-27th September 2026
I remember the first evening I decided to come to Glenabbey when it was still meeting in Ballyearl Theatre. There was a sense of anticipation and expectation that God was at work amongst this small church with probably 120ish people gathering together to worship, engage with God’s word, pray and enjoy fellowship.
Chris talked about how easy it is to look back with rose tinted glasses, and I have no doubt that this is true, but much of what was shared in the imagination of life in the church in Ephesus resonated with me.
There is so much to look back on and to be thankful for and, as I consider how far the church has come, there is so much to still be thankful for. So, the challenge of this letter to the church of Ephesus has weighed on my heart as I reflect on my experience of the past 30 years at Glenabbey and consider how strong and healthy the church is and how over the years its members have worked hard, persevered through difficult circumstances and remained faithful to the name of Jesus. The focus has always been around strong bible teaching across all age ranges, seeking to create an environment where people are encouraged to grow in their faith and to have an impact where God has placed them.
Jesus saw the church in Ephesus and all it had sought to accomplish and commended them for it. I’ve pondered and wondered what his thoughts would be on Glenabbey and would he commend us as well?
Even with the commendation, Jesus also saw beneath the activity to what was happening within the heart of the church. Something had changed in the church at Ephesus. They were still serving, persevering and defending the truth, but they had forsaken the love they had at first. Perhaps their service had become lifeless and joyless. What had once flowed from love had gradually become a matter of duty and obligation.
That is a sobering challenge for every church. We can continue doing many good things while slowly losing sight of Jesus. We can serve him faithfully while spending less time with him. We can become more concerned about maintaining our activities than developing intimacy with him.
Those of us who are part of Glenabbey also need to hear these words. Some have been involved since the early days of planting the church. Some of that first generation have now gone home to be with the Lord, while others are growing older. Second and third generations have followed and each week we are so thankful to see so many children being a part of our service and then heading off for their own activities. There is much for which we should be deeply thankful and yet the challenge is that past faithfulness cannot replace a present love for Jesus.
The question that has lingered with me is not simply, “Are we still doing the work of God at Glenabbey?” It is, “Are we at Glenabbey still in love with Jesus?”
This week we will reflect again on what the Spirit says through this letter. We will consider what needs to be remembered, what needs to be confessed and what practices of intimacy we may need to rekindle as we seek a closer walk with Jesus, seeking him first so that all other things will fall into place.
Written by David Mairs
MONDAY
Jesus Holds His Church
To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.
Revelation 2:1
Jesus introduces himself as the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. This is where the message to Ephesus begins. Before Jesus speaks about their hard work, perseverance or loss of love, he reminds them that the church belongs to him.
Jesus holds his churches securely and walks among them. He is not watching from a distance or unaware of what they are experiencing. He sees their faithfulness, understands the pressures they face and knows what is happening beneath the surface.
I find that both encouraging and challenging. It is encouraging to know that Jesus has not abandoned his church. Through every season of change, uncertainty and difficulty, he continues to hold his people.
It is also challenging because Jesus sees what others may not see. He sees beyond full programmes, busy ministries and outward appearances. He knows whether our activity flows from love or has simply become something we feel obliged to continue. Before we examine how closely we are holding on to Jesus, we should remember that he is the one who holds us.
Pause and Reflect
What difference does it make to know that Jesus holds his church and walks among his people?
What might Jesus see beneath the outward activity of your life?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you that Jesus holds his church securely and remains present among his people. Thank you that he sees every quiet act of faithfulness and understands every pressure we face. Help me to remember that Glenabbey Church belongs to him. Search my heart and show me whether my service is flowing from love for Jesus or has it become a matter of routine. Amen.
TUESDAY
Faithful in a Challenging Culture
I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
Revelation 2:2–3
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
Acts 20:28–31
Ephesus was a wealthy and influential city dominated by the Temple of Artemis. The Christians lived in a culture shaped by idolatry, spiritual confusion and values that were very different from the gospel. Years earlier, Paul had warned the Ephesian elders that false teachers would arise and distort the truth. Now Jesus commends the church for taking that warning seriously. They had tested those who claimed spiritual authority and had refused to accept what was false. They had also endured hardship for the name of Jesus without giving up.
Our culture may look very different, but the challenge remains. We are surrounded by competing voices telling us what to believe, what to value and where to find meaning. Following Jesus faithfully requires discernment, courage and perseverance.
Yet there is a danger here. We can become so focused on defending the truth that we forget the spirit in which it should be defended. We can be right in what we believe but unloving in the way we speak and respond to others. Truth and love must never be separated. Faithfulness to Jesus requires both.
Pause and Reflect
What pressures make it difficult for you to remain faithful to Jesus?
Does the way you speak about truth reflect the love and character of Jesus?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me to remain faithful to Jesus in a culture filled with competing voices. In a world where truth is hard to discern, we need wisdom to recognise what is true and courage to remain faithful to Jesus. Father, will you give me the wisdom to recognise what is false and courage to stand firmly upon your Word. Help me to speak the truth with humility, grace and love when opportunity arises. Amen.
WEDNESDAY
Hard Work and Perseverance
I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
Revelation 2:2–3
Jesus knew how hard the Ephesian Christians had worked. He knew what they had endured and that they had not grown weary of remaining faithful to his name. There is something deeply encouraging about knowing that Jesus sees our service. He sees the things that may never be noticed or acknowledged by anyone else. He sees the prayer offered quietly, the person visited, the practical help given and the responsibility carried over many years.
There is much within the life of Glenabbey for which we can be thankful. Across the generations, people have given their time, energy and gifts because they wanted others to come to know Jesus and grow in their relationship with him.
Yet even faithful service can become tiring. We can continue because something needs to be done rather than because love compels us. Gradually, service can feel more like a burden than a privilege. Perhaps today Jesus is inviting us to pause and ask not only what we are doing for him, but what is happening within us as we do it. We need to serve from our relationship with Jesus rather than allow our service to replace that relationship.
Pause and Reflect
Has any area of Christian service become joyless, burdensome or driven mainly by obligation?
How might drawing closer to Jesus renew the way you serve?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you that you see every act of service offered in the name of your Son, Jesus. Thank you for those who have served faithfully across the generations at Glenabbey. When I become tired or begin to serve only from obligation, draw me back to Jesus. Renew my joy and help everything I do to flow from my love for him. Amen.
THURSDAY
Have We Lost Sight of Jesus?
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.
Revelation 2:4
The word of the Lord came to me: “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: ‘This is what the Lord says: ‘“I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness, through a land not sown” … ‘My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.’
Jeremiah 2:1–2, 13
The words Jesus speaks to Ephesus are direct: they had forsaken the love they had at first.
Jeremiah uses the picture of a bride and bridegroom to describe the early relationship between God and his people. They had once followed him with devotion, but later they turned away from the source of living water and looked elsewhere for satisfaction.
The church in Ephesus had not stopped working or abandoned the truth. Yet something had changed at the heart of who they were. Their relationship with Jesus was no longer characterised by the love they had once known.
That raises an uncomfortable question for us: are we becoming a bride shaped by duty rather than love, by obligation rather than intimacy? Very few relationships become distant overnight. Distance usually develops gradually. Life gets busy, conversation becomes less frequent and other things begin to occupy the space once given to the relationship.
The same can happen in our walk with Jesus. We may not consciously choose to move away from him, but prayer becomes hurried, Scripture becomes familiar and our attention becomes absorbed by other things. Jesus points this out because he loves us and wants us to come close again.
Pause and Reflect
Has duty or obligation begun to replace intimacy in your relationship with Jesus?
What may have distracted you from the love you once had for him?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, forgive me for the times when I have allowed duty and activity to replace intimacy with Jesus. Show me the things that have distracted my heart and drawn me away from him. Renew my desire to spend time in his presence and restore the joy of walking closely with him again, I pray. Amen.
FRIDAY
What Needs to Be Dredged?
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
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23–24
Ephesus was once an important port city, but over time silt accumulated in its harbour. The water became shallower, the channel narrowed and eventually the city lost access to the sea that had contributed so much to its life and importance.
Belfast Harbour faces the same natural problem, but its channels are regularly dredged. Without that continuing work, silt would accumulate and eventually prevent large ships from entering. Something that happens slowly and almost unnoticed could eventually cut the harbour off from an important source of its life. That picture has stayed with me, especially as I had the opportunity to visit Ephesus recently and stood at the old port looking out not at the sea but at land!
Our relationship with Jesus can also become obstructed gradually. Sin, pride, disappointment, distraction, busyness or misplaced priorities begin to accumulate. None may appear decisive by itself, but over time they can create distance between us and Jesus.
We need to allow the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and reveal what needs to be dredged out, confessed and left behind. This is not about earning our way back into God’s love. It is about removing what is preventing us from enjoying the closeness with Jesus that he invites us to know.
Pause and Reflect
What has been accumulating within your life and creating distance between you and Jesus?
Is there something you need to confess honestly to him today?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, search my heart and show me anything that is creating distance between me and Jesus. Reveal the sin, pride, distraction or disappointment that I need to bring before you. Thank you that when I confess my sin, you forgive me and cleanse me. Draw me close again and renew within me a heart that desires to spend time with you. Amen.
SATURDAY
Remember, Repent and Return
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. But you have this in your favour: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Revelation 2:5–6
Jesus gives the Ephesian church three clear instructions: remember, repent and return to the things they did at first.
Remembering means looking back honestly. What was our relationship with Jesus like when his grace first became real to us? What practices helped us grow in our love for him? What have we gradually allowed to disappear?
Repentance involves more than feeling sorry. It means recognising the direction in which we have been moving is wrong and turning back towards Jesus.
Returning then gives repentance a practical expression. Perhaps we need to make space to pray without rushing, open Scripture with a fresh desire to hear God speak, return to worship with gratitude or reconnect with others who encourage us in our faith.
Jesus also warns that if the church refuses to respond, its lampstand will be removed. A church may generate plenty of activity and energy, lots of wattage but if it produces no light, something essential has been lost. Jesus calls us back because he wants our lives and our church to shine with the light that comes from remaining close to him.
Pause and Reflect
What have you stopped doing that once helped you walk closely with Jesus?
What practical step could you take today to begin again?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me to remember the ways you have met me and drawn me close to Jesus. Give me humility to repent where I have drifted and courage to return. Show me the habits and practices I need to rekindle in my life at this time. Help me to produce more than activity but rather help me to be impactful for you. Amen.
SUNDAY
The Promise of Life
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Revelation 2:7
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
Revelation 22:1–5
Jesus ends this letter with an invitation to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. These words were spoken to Ephesus, but they were never intended for Ephesus alone. The seven churches represent a complete picture of the church, and every church including Glenabbey is invited to listen.
Glenabbey is one church among many. The question for us is not simply, “What was Jesus saying to them?” but, “What is the Spirit saying to us?”
Are we holding on to our first love? Is our service flowing from intimacy with Jesus, or has it become shaped mainly by duty and obligation? What do we need to remember? What do we need to confess? What practices do we need to recover?
The letter ends with the promise that those who overcome will eat from the tree of life in the paradise of God. The story that began with humanity losing access to the tree of life ends with God’s people welcomed into his presence forever. We are not simply being called back to something we once experienced. We are being called forward to the life that Jesus has promised.
Pause and Reflect
What has the Spirit brought to your attention through this letter?
What will returning to your first love look like for you in the week ahead?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, give me ears to hear what the Spirit is saying through this letter. Thank you that Jesus continues to call his people back to himself. Renew my first love and help me to walk closely with him. May our service as a church flow from intimacy rather than obligation, and may our lives shine with the light of Jesus. Keep us faithful until the day when we enter your presence and enjoy life with you forever, what a day that will be! Amen.