2 Chronicles 3-4, Revelation 3

Read 2 Chronicles 3-4 and Revelation 3.

This devotional is about Revelation 3.

Years ago, when I was in seminary, I was in the driveway of my house, scraping the old grass off the bottom of my mower. A couple that lived a few doors down the street walked by on the sidewalk. They asked me if I was a minister; I said I was in seminary preparing to become a pastor. The wife said, “You need to come to our church and become our pastor!” I was startled by that and said, “What church do you go to?” “St. Matt’s” she said, referring to a  church in our neighborhood, just around the corner from my house on the next block. They were walking home from a church members’ meeting at the time.

“Don’t you have a pastor?” I asked. “Yes, but all he does is tell stories about going to the grocery store and doing this and that. We need someone who will come and preach the gospel!” I was surprised by this conversation because the church she mentioned was part of a denomination that left orthodox Christianity a long time ago. I knew the church she was referring to had dwindled to only a few members and attenders, just like most of the churches in the denomination had. So, my surprise wasn’t that the preaching was unbiblical and weak; it was that there were members still there who knew the Lord!

That’s kind of what was going on at the church in Sardis that we read about in verses 1-6. The church was “dead” (v. 1b) and what little life remained was “about to die” (v. 2b). Yet verse 4 described a “few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes.” Christ commanded the entire church to repent and hold fast to his doctrine (v. 3) but the promise in verses 4-6 was that those who truly did trust Christ would be saved, even if the church died around them. Verse 5 promises, “I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.”

In New Testament times, there was one church at the most in any town. So, if your church was dying, you couldn’t leave it for a living, growing one. That’s what most Christians would do today but there is something to be said for those who don’t give up the faith or the fight for a faithful church.

This passage also underscores the importance of walking with God personally even if others around you are not. At the last judgment, you will stand alone before God and so will I. We will be accountable to him for what we believe and how we lived, regardless of whether anyone else led us properly or walked with us in a way that pleases God. It must be strange to be one of the few (or only) true believers in a church, but that is no excuse to stop seeking the Lord yourself. I hope none of us is ever in that position, but regardless this passage should encourage us and challenge us to be diligent about our discipleship. If there are people who keep seeking the Lord in a dead and dying church, how much more should we be faithful to walk with him when we have so many others to encourage us, lead us and teach us to follow God!

Numbers 23, Isaiah 46, 1 Thessalonians 1

Read Numbers 23, Isaiah 46, and 1 Thessalonians 1.

This devotional is about 1 Thessalonians 1.

Yesterday we read Acts 18 but, instead of going on to Acts 19, we’re reading 1 Thessalonians today. Why? Because scholars believe that Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians while Paul was in Corinth as described inn Acts 18. So, that’s why we’ll divert our attention from Acts to read 1 Thessalonians over the next few days. Then we’ll get back to Acts.

Paul had concerns about the church in Thessalonica, but he had no direct rebuke for them in this book we call 1 Thessalonians. That’s one thing that sets this book of the Bible apart from Paul’s other letters. Here in chapter 1, Paul expresses great confidence in the salvation of the Thessalonian believers. He said, “we know… that he [God] has chosen you” (v. 4). The reason he was so confident is “because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction” (v. 5). and because “…you became imitators of us and of the Lord…” (v. 6). All the signs of new spiritual life obvious–abundant, even–in the lives of these believers. This spiritual work of God happened despite “severe suffering” (v. 6b) which Luke wrote about in Acts 17.

All of that gave Paul great joy and made him very thankful (v. 2) for God’s work in their lives. But, after Paul left Thessalonica, the situation only got better. They were such godly “imitators of us and of the Lord” (v. 6a) that they “…became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia” (v. 7). Macedonia and Achaia are regions of Greece and the city of Thessalonica is located in Macedonia. It would be similar to Paul saying to our church, “You have become a model to all believers in Washtenaw and Monroe counties, and even throughout all of Michigan and Ohio.”

In a pre-Internet, pre-broadcast age, how was the faith of these believers spreading so quickly and so widely? The answer is that they were vocal about it. Verse 8 says, “The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere.” The key phrase there is “The Lord’s message rang out from you” (v. 8a). In other words, they were talking about Christ and how they had come to know him in salvation. That’s what made them a model church. They not only received the gospel, they talked about the gospel and lived it out in obedience.

Is that true of us? Do people know that we’re Christians–not just because we go to church and don’t do some of the sinful things they do–but because we talk about the life-changing grace of God in salvation and how it has saved us and changed our lives?

The Thessalonians’ lives were changed. They turned away from idols to serve God (v. 9) and they were waiting for Christ’s return (v. 10). But they talked about Jesus with others in addition to living godly lives. God saved us not only so that we would worship him but so that we would spread the good news about him so that others will come to worship him as well.

Do you talk about Christ and offer the gospel to the non-Christians in your life? This is God’s will for us. Let’s look for ways to share his saving word with others.

Genesis 26, Esther 2, Matthew 19

Read Genesis 26, Esther 2, and Matthew 19. This devotional is about Matthew 19.

Compared to doing whatever you want to do and whatever the culture around you allows you to do, following Jesus is hard!

If you want to follow Jesus you:

  • shouldn’t get divorced unless your spouse is unfaithful (vv. 1-10).
  • would be better off staying single, but that requires something unusual that isn’t for most people (vv. 11-12).
  • need to be childlike in your faith, something that is really difficult to do (vv. 13-15).
  • must follow Jesus absolutely, even if he commands you to give everything you have away (vv. 16-24).
  • have to rely on God because what Jesus requires is impossible apart from his grace (vv. 25-26).

Quite a discouraging list, yes?

But notice the rewards Christ promised to those who trust him and follow him in obedience (vv. 27-30). He promised the Twelve a share of his rule (v. 28e) and that everyone who lost something or someone following him would receive “a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life” (v. 29).

The kind of submission to Christ described in this chapter may cause you to fall far behind in the rat race of human life.

But human life in this age is over quickly while eternity lasts forever.

Jesus promised more than fair compensation to those who follow him in this life. According to verse 29 you will get eternal life and far more, far better stuff in eternity when you actually have the spiritual capacity to enjoy created things without worshipping them.

Following Jesus in this way might make you feel like a loser in this life but expectations for this life are upside down. As verse 30 put it, “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”

So, so what Jesus says; it will be more than worth it!

Luke 5:27-32

Notes:

Luke 5:27-32 (NIV)

27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”