Are we like Ephesus?

We have been studying Revelation in Bible study at Cal Baptist. I am so thankful for men like Mr. Babb who take the time to study the Word in great depth in order to present it to us at Bible study. Not that we shouldn't be checking to see if it is true, but it is truly a blessing. It's been a great joy leading worship as well. One thing that God brought to my attention tonight during the study is that we can be like the church of Ephesus (Revelation 2:2-3) having thought through almost everything... checking to see if there are false teachers, maintaining a high level of doctrine... and still lose our first love (Christ).

I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot
tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles,
and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance
and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary.

That is very sobering to me. By all outward appearances, they were doing everything right! It seems almost impossible for that to happen, but I guess when we are relying on our own strength in these things, we are prone to lose our first love. What a tragic thing! I pray that we would have a balance of upholding high standards in doctrine and yet be completely 100% dependent on the Author of the doctrine. He is the One that we need to depend on.

I had lunch with Pastor Tim today. He is such a blessing and encouragement to me. We talked a bit about what God might be doing in my life in the near future. Yes, that sounds rather abstract, but really, it is so much fun looking at the situations that God has put me in to make me who I am, and to try to peak into what He is leading me toward in the more long-term way. I am extremely excited about what He is doing and what He will do. Graduating in December (Lord willing) and being really not sure what God is leading me to do next, is both scary and very exciting (more on the exciting end)! I could go directly into grad school and get my doctorate, but I am not sure that I should go that direction or not. I do want to work toward my doctorate degree, but I could do that online as well. Obviously, I want to come to the point where I am ready to support a family when that time comes. I've been researching a bit, and extra degrees are likely to help in the initial application process, but they seem to care more about experience than degrees. I'm thinking maybe work full time and start working on my doctorate online or something. I don't know yet. We'll see where God opens and closes doors. :)