Monday, July 2, 2018

Revelation Prayer Devotion Day 12


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?

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