Day 12
Scripture focus: And
to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: “The words of the Amen, the
faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. I know your works:
you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So,
because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my
mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not
realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel
you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white
garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of our nakedness may not
be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love,
I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door
and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him
and eat with him and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit
with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his
throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Revelation 3:14-22
Application: I believe we could sit in
this one passage for a full twelve weeks. There is such great richness in it,
beyond what we even see on the surface. We miss the contextual information the
first century church would have had when they read this letter. Briefly, from
what I’ve learned there is a lot in this letter referring to the geographical
location and culture of the city of Laodicea. As He often does, the Lord uses
specifics to an individual or group to personalize His message. Laodicea had no
good water source, where one nearby city had hot springs known for their
healing properties and another a fresh, cold water source known for its purity.
Hot and cold aren’t opposites here, but equally beneficial. Lukewarm, on the
other hand, is useless, as is lukewarm faith. Also, Laodicea had thriving cloth
and eye ointment industries. Yet, Jesus calls them naked and blind. How often
do we have what we need physically yet miss out on what we need spiritually? In
each of these cases the Lord uses what would be familiar to the hearers of this
letter to get their attention. He does the same with us. But even more so, He
uses His Word.
One of the
sentences in this passage that sticks out to me is: “For you say, I am rich, I
have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched,
pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” Could it be that when we are most
self-sufficient, we are most spiritually deficient? There is not a direct link
between financial wealth and lack of faith, but there is often a correlation.
Remember the “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle”
passage. Why is there such a connection? Because when we experience success on
our own, we tend to lose our dependence on God. But the truth is, we couldn’t
do one thing without Him. There’s no way for us to even cause ourselves to
continue breathing or our heart to keep beating if the Lord does not sustain
us. Much less get out of bed and work. Yet we take these things for granted and
give ourselves entirely too much credit. Granted, there is choice involved in
what we do and how we spend our time and talents, but it is God alone who gives
us our time and talents. We tend to forget that we have a thousand reasons to
praise Him each and every day. Every breath and heartbeat are cause for
worshipping the Lord.
Oh, that we
would be on fire for God, desire to be filled with His presence, seek to do His
will, and be a vessel to bring Him glory every day! That we would share the
cool, refreshing, revitalizing truth of the Living Water with others wherever
we are. That we would spend more time clothing ourselves with His righteousness
than we spend on our physical clothes. That we would focus our eyes on Him and
see as He sees. And what He wants us to see. That we would open ourselves and
even welcome the loving discipline of the Lord. That we would be zealous and
repent and open the door when He calls out to us. Oh, to experience the
indescribable presence of the holy, Lord Almighty! This is the call He makes
each and every day.
Prayer: Lord, let me not forget what
you have been teaching me through Your Word. Plant it deep into my mind and
heart and transform me by it. Help me to always evaluate my works according to
the fruit they produce for Your Kingdom. Stoke the fire in my heart for the
Gospel and embolden me to live in such a way to bring glory to You every day.
Give me the wisdom, power, and steadfastness to conquer in this world and one
day sit with You on Your throne, to ever bring glory and honor and praise to
Your name.
Reflection questions/prayer prompts:
What temperature am I? Do I burn for Jesus and
bring healing? Do I pour out the cool, refreshing Water on others with my words
and actions?
In what ways
do I place confidence in myself and my abilities instead of in God?
Where is my greatest spiritual need?
In what areas or my life and/or ministry could I
see more clearly?
Lord, help me not to shrink back from Your
discipline, but embrace it as You mature my faith and multiply my fruit.
What can I change to hear God’s voice more?
How can I praise God and bring Him more glory
today?
