Some of you may have seen the movie musical "My Fair Lady" starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. Near the end of the movie, Rex Harrison's character, Professor Higgins, sings a song about Hepburn's character, Eliza Doolittle. In it, he sings that he has "become accustomed to her face". The message of the song is the fact that he has taken their relationship for granted.

The same can sometimes be said of our relationship with God. We have become accustomed to His Presence, His blessings, and His word. We take it for granted that He will bless us. We leave Him in the background, asking Him to bless our plans instead of guide our steps. It would be better for us to take some time to just be still in His Presence, to fall back in love with Him.

We will be heading out with Watchmen of the Streets homeless ministry on Tuesday, October 17th. Any contributions are helpful and appreciated. If you are not able to pick up any of these items, you can also contribute by giving cash. Simply mark your envelope "Homeless" or Watchmen of the Streets".

One missing ingredient can ruin an entire entrée. Just ask my pal, Josh. He had been trying to concoct his own chili. After hours of experimenting, he let us taste it. It immediately became apparent something wasn’t right.

Seeing our confusion, his mother tried it and said, “You forgot to add chili powder!” It’s the one thing that makes chili, chili, and it was missing.

The Ephesian church, too, learned a lesson about missing ingredients. Of the seven churches in Revelation, Ephesus was the premier. It boasted the greatest harbor and market place in Asia. Cultures, customs, and religion met here. One Roman writer called Ephesus the “Light of Asia” because it shone with greatness.

The Ephesian Church had a mighty beginning: Paul started it and some of Christianity’s strongest leaders were associated with it. Here, Christianity experienced some of its first great victories.

Jesus said the church had many of the right ingredients:

I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. (Revelation 2:2)

The Greek word for toil, kopos, means “to be weary from taking a beating.” It describes intense labor, like a wrestler engaged in competition.

The Ephesians also had patient endurance, known in Greek as hypomonē. It was the kind of gallantry that withstood hazard until the situation became victorious. The Ephesian church had overcome threats, grown holy in the midst of wickedness, and expanded despite demonic attack.

On top of that, the church preserved true doctrine from false. The Greek word tested, peirazō, described assessing a city—finding out what it’s made of—to see if could be conquered. The Ephesians stood up to false teachers and protected its turf.

Despite these wonderful attributes, one key ingredient was missing. Like my friend Josh, who had tried to make chili without chili powder, the Ephesian church was missing love. It had grown cold; it was rare to find them showing God’s love within their community. This was a big problem. Love comes from God (see Romans 5:8), is evidence of eternal life (see 1 John 3:14), and demonstrates to the world that we are followers of Christ (see John 13:35).

Like the Ephesians, we may end up accomplishing titanic achievements for the kingdom of God. But if we neglect love, God won’t be pleased, because love is what makes everything else pleasant to His taste. So, go after kingdom feats with all your might. Just make sure to add the love.