I Stand at the Door

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me.” Revelation 3:20

Of the seven letters to the churches in Revelation, maybe the most famous is the last one, to the church of Laodicea. “So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth,” Jesus says. He goes on to warn them that even though they think they are rich, they are, in fact, poor and blind and naked. These are two powerful images that many preachers have used to stir up their congregations and provoke waves of commitment to being better Christians.

But we would do well to be careful that our emotions don’t get in the way of seeing and hearing what Jesus wants from us. I like to remember two of the short, straightforward parables of Jesus in this moment. The first is the parable of the two sons from Matthew 21:28-32. Jesus tells the story of a father who asks his two sons to go and work in the field. The first son says that he won’t but changes his mind and goes out to work. The second son says he will go, but he never does. Who has done his father’s will, Jesus asks. The obvious answer is that the son who actually did the work. Jesus is exposing the hypocrisy of religious people who say that they want God’s will but refuse to actually do what God asks them to.

Another parable that speaks to this moment is found in Luke 18:9-14. In this story, Jesus tells us that a tax collector and a Pharisee went to the Temple to pray. Tax collectors were considered morally unclean and were hated as collaborators with the Roman Empire. Pharisees were considered the most religious people in the community. The tax collector humbly asked God to have mercy on him. The Pharisee prayed a prayer full of arrogance. Jesus said that the tax collector was the one whose prayer God answered.

Jesus told these sorts of stories all the time. He wanted us to understand that a lot of people claim to be religious who are only saying words.

Often preachers have also noted that this letter to the church at Laodicea is one of the saddest images in the Bible. Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them…” This is a powerful and beautiful promise. The sad part is, Jesus is speaking these words to a church!

We can say the right words and call ourselves God’s people, but we are not really a church until we let Jesus in. Is Jesus welcome in our church? I’m reminded of another saying of Jesus found in Luke 6:46. “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?”

Love in Christ,

Greg

Endure Patiently

“Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.” Revelation 3:10

A lot of the Bible is made of this exhortation: Be Patient. “Wait on the Lord.” Jesus commends the church at Philadelphia in Revelation 3 by saying that they have kept His command to “endure patiently.”

Jesus loved to use images from rural gardening to talk about the life of faith. One of those well-known stories is the Sower and the Soils found in Mark 4:1-20. Jesus compares the way that people receive the word to the way seed sprouts in different soils. Some soil is too thin, some has weeds, but some is good seed that bears fruit.

Church is always full of people who fall into all of these categories. Some are full of deep faith, some are superficial and some let God’s word get choked off by the anxieties and bitterness they carry. In fact, all of us are a mixture of these soils at different times and on different occasions in our life.

Fruit cannot grow without attention but it also cannot grow without time. Patient waiting for the fruit to reveal itself goes along with careful cultivation of the plant. We “endure patiently” as we wait for the fruit of God’s word to grow in each other and as we cultivate the seedbed that is God’s church.

For any fruit to grow, patient waiting is required. And, after all, patience is a “fruit” of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).

Love in Christ,

Greg

Strengthen What Remains

“I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.” Revelation 3:1-2

I strongly suspect that a lot of churches, and lot of folks who call themselves Christians, would fall into the category of how Jesus describes the church at Sardis in these verses from Revelation. We have a reputation of being alive, but we are in fact, dead. Or close to it. We claim to be followers of Jesus, but we are really just asking God to validate what we want.

The story that we call the Parable of the Prodigal Son, in Luke chapter 15, gives the perfect illustration of this truth. The Father rejoices when his prodigal son returns. He exclaims, “He was dead but now he’s alive.” The prodigal son recognized that his own way was a failure. He returned to his father and found life and purpose again.

But as many preachers have noted, the story is really the Parable of the Elder Brother. He had stayed at home all those years, working for his father, being a good boy. But we do not realize until the prodigal returns that the elder brother’s heart was full of resentment. He was just waiting for his father to die.

Many of us as Christians are simply attaching ourselves to the church or to the name of Christ so that we can have the inheritance – eternal life. But our hearts resent the gracious love our heavenly Father just as much as the elder brother did. We believe that God owes us His blessing. We have not recognized that our own hearts are half dead with bitterness.

God wants children who love Him and find joy in building His kingdom that welcomes all of the prodigals home. If you have experienced the grace of Christ, then listen to the voice of Jesus. “Strengthen what remains and is about to die.”

You must remember that you are the prodigal, even if you’ve always remained at home. Welcome everyone in the name of Christ because you love the Father and you remember His grace when you didn’t deserve it.

Love in Christ,

Greg

To the Rest of You

“Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’” Revelation 2:24-25

Have you been eating food that’s been offered to idols? Probably not. That particular concern is not something that most of us in North America have to worry about. It was a pressing issue for Jews and Christians in the world of ancient Rome. (It still is in some parts of the world today.) In those cities, the majority of people worshipped Roman or local gods. Often food was offered as part of the ritual sacrifices and then sold in markets.

So for these Jews and Christians, they had to ask themselves if eating that food was somehow a violation of their faith. How would their neighbors view their eating that food? Does it mean that they are participating in the worship of those gods?

The disciples of Jesus continued to wrestle with this question. In Acts we learn that a group of church leaders in Jerusalem told the new Gentile Christians “to abstain from food offered to idols” (Acts 15:29).  In 1 Corinthians, Paul generally agrees that a Christian should not eat food offered to idols but he also says that they shouldn’t be too concerned about it. “If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience… If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?” (1 Corinthians 10: 27-30).

When we take these various teachings together, we can see that the point is our faithfulness to God. We do not want to engage in any practice which will compromise our own faith or will suggest to others that we approve of things that are contrary to God’s will. Food offered to idols is not an issue for most of us, but we can use this issue to think about how we are faithful to Christ.

The world is full of ideas about God and practices of religion that include almost anything a person could think of. Everyone says that Jesus supports their ideas. We must be careful that we do not “hold on to” those teachings that are not really from Jesus Himself. Listen to Jesus. Measure your own faith and practice by what He says. And trust that as you reject those teachings and practices that are not from Jesus, He has promised to bless us as we hold on until He comes.

Love in Christ,

Greg

A White Stone with a New Name

“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.” Revelation 2:17

So many references in Revelation are open to multiple interpretations. If you have spent any time trying to read about or understand Revelation, you know that there a lot of it remains obscure and open to these various interpretations and understandings. Jesus declares that He will give “hidden manna” to those who are victorious. Manna is the name given to the miraculous food God gave to the Hebrews in the wilderness. Maybe the manna from Jesus is like Jesus’ explanation to his disciples after meeting the Samaritan woman. “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me…” (John 4:34).

Likewise, it’s hard to know exactly what Jesus is referring to when he says that He will give “a white stone with a new name written on it…”

Could it be that the “new name” is our new identity in Jesus? I do not mean merely that we are “saved,” but that Jesus gives each person their own new identity of service in His church. Paul talks about the variety of spiritual gifts of service and how each are necessary for the body of Christ to function. “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12).  In the church, Jesus gives each person gifts for service, and all these gifts work together to make a healthy church body.

It is our faith that makes us victorious (1 John 5:4). In faith we willingly accept our calling to serve in the body of Christ. We also give thanks for the callings of all our brothers and sisters and the place they fill in that body. We are all necessary. We are all called and gifted, as long as we are willing to receive the calling with faith.

Accept your place in the body of Christ. Receive that “white stone with a new name,” that new identity in Jesus. God has a place for you to serve, a role for you to fill. Say “yes.”

Love in Christ,

Greg

Covid Lessons

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23

It’s been over a year since we have been struggling through pandemic restrictions related to Covid-19. And now, we have vaccines and many of our friends and neighbors have been vaccinated. Signs of life from before this virus are starting to show themselves again. It’s not over, there are still concerns for children and the many who have not been vaccinated, but we are enjoying a return to something more normal.

So often, when people experience bad things, they rush to forget them as quickly as possible. There is a danger that we will do that now. Can we force ourselves to remember and learn the lessons of this experience? What are some of those lessons we should remember?

Don’t take good things for granted. The people you love, your health, your income, any of these can be taken away at any time. We cannot keep them forever, even when we are not living in a global health crisis. Enjoy and appreciate those good things while you can. Call your mom. Take a walk. Have dinner with a friend.

Taking care of your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health is always a good investment. No matter what you live through, good times and bad, you will always be living with yourself. If you are not taking care of your own body, heart and spirit, you will not be prepared to be alone with yourself if that becomes necessary. Strengthen those muscles, find someone to love, think deeply, pray.

Learn to let go. A part of that emotional and spiritual health is learning the necessary lesson that we cannot hold onto people or things forever. Holding fiercely to the things we love is a healthy part of living. But we also need to be able to let things go when the time comes.

As disciples of Jesus, we can see in His example all of these things. Jesus valued the short times that He had on earth. He loved others. He took time to pray and to eat. He was willing to let go of His own plans when God’s will took Him on a different path. He calls us to live the same way.

Love in Christ,

Greg

Even to the Point of Death

“Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.” Revelation 2:10

Once upon a time there was an old farmer who had an old donkey. One day, the donkey fell into a deep hole. The farmer thought and puzzled about how to get the donkey out, but he could not think of a way. Finally, her decided that the donkey was old anyway and the hole needed to be filled, so he called all of his neighbors to help him fill the hole and bury the poor old donkey. But as they shoveled dirt into the hole, an amazing thing happened. As each load of dirt landed, the donkey stepped up onto it. He climbed each layer of dirt. Soon, as the dirt nearly filled the hole to the top, the donkey was able to walk out of the hole.

Often we may feel like life has dropped us in a deep hole and the world is shoveling dirt on top of us. But sometimes God brings a revival to our souls when we use the struggles of life that have knocked us down and turned them into new paths of deliverance. We cannot manufacture resurrection in our faith, but when we walk the path given to us in faith, we find that God has provided the way of life.

As Christians, we are called to live as if we are already dead, dead to the world and its ways, but alive in Jesus to His new way. If we live to merely avoid death, our life will be dying. If we live each moment in faithfulness, trusting God to give us life, we will find blessing for ourselves and bring new life to others.

Step us and be faithful. You will overcome the fear of death and find new hope for life.

Love in Christ,

Greg

The Love You Had at First

Blog Post Sunday May 9 2021

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” Revelation 2:4-5

The book of Revelation starts with seven letters to individual churches that were located in Asia Minor in the ancient world. The first of these churches is Ephesus. Jesus speaks to these churches through the writing of John. He commends the good things they are doing but He also provides important corrections in areas where their church life is not what He wants.

In Ephesus, Jesus tells the church, “You have forsaken the love you had at first.” In spite of all the good things that Jesus commends at Ephesus, He is especially concerned that their first love is gone. They are active, they have withstood many trials but in that activity, they seem to have forgotten the first principle: love.

Love is the foundation for all disciples of Jesus. Love for God and love for other people, these are the foundational commandments. Jesus says that every other commandment is rooted in these. Love shows itself in action, but it is deeper than just doing.

To feel love and gratitude toward God for His saving grace and love for us, all of our best discipleship comes from this. Do you love God? Has your first love for God diminished? It’s natural for human love to weaken, to ebb and flow. Remember that our love comes from a deep awareness of God’s love for us. “We love because God loved us first,” the scripture says (1 John 4:19).

So how do we regain this forsaken love? Many commentators have pointed out that Jesus commands the Ephesian church to do three things: Remember their first love – (“Consider how far you have fallen”), repent – turn your heart and mind back to God’s love, and do – do those acts of service and devotion that are rooted in love.

Without this first love, we are not faithful followers of Jesus. Take note of Jesus’ warning: “If you do not repent, I will come and remove your lampstand” (Revelation 2:5). For every church, the light of our witness must come from the light of our love for God!

Love in Christ,

Greg

I Hold the Keys

“Then [Jesus] placed his right hand on me and said, ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.’” Revelation 1:17-18

The entire first chapter of Revelation is a powerful reminder that Jesus is the One who reveals God to us. We must see Jesus as He truly is to understand who God the Father truly is. The image of the son of man that begins in Revelation 1:13 presents the glorified Christ who is the true King of the universe. He is mightier and more splendid than even the Roman Emperor who punished Christians like John.

But the transformed glory of Jesus was almost too much for human to take. John was “in the Spirit” and by this power he was able to see Jesus as He really is. “I fell at his feet as though dead,” John says. But the response of the mighty Son of God is one of comfort. “He placed his right hand on me and said, ‘Do not be afraid.’”

Jesus continues His reassurance by telling John that he has everything under control.

God knows that we are uncertain about so much of our life and our death. So much is not under our control. We sometimes feel like we are running down a steep hillside that will end with us in a broken heap at the bottom.

“I hold the keys,” Jesus says. Death and Hades, which is a formal name for “the Grave” is not the end of us. We may be afraid that we will one day be closed up in death, in the grave forever, but Jesus has the keys. He is one who was dead but is alive forever. He paved the way. He opened the door. Jesus holds the keys.

When you trust Jesus, you can be assured that death is not what will hold you. Jesus will hold you in the eternal love of God the Father.

Love in Christ,

Greg

I Was in the Spirit

“On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet which said, ‘Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches…’” Revelation 1:10-11

I have always been attracted to these verses in Revelation. The simple phrase, “On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit…” seems to capture something vital in our faith. We recognize that our Christian faith is something that is spiritual, essentially mystical. It also reminds us that the Lord’s Day, Sunday, when we worship in community at church is the perfect time to have this important experience.

Interpreters don’t completely agree on the meaning of John’s experience. Different Christian denominations will understand the experience of being “in the Spirit” in different ways. But we all agree that in some way, this experience occurs when our spirit recognizes the Spirit of God being upon us in a way that feels especially close. We cannot conjure God’s Spirit. But we open ourselves to God’s Spirit by our faith and our prayer.

The New Testament often mentions that every believer has the Spirit of God within him or her. Paul, the early Christian apostle, declares that having the Spirit in you is in some sense the same experience as being “in the Spirit.” “But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Romans 8:9, RSV).

Being in the Spirit or having the Spirit within is a central and constant truth for everyone who has faith in Jesus. We “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16) and “stand firm in the Spirit” (Philippians 1:27) and “we love in the Spirit” (Colossians 1:8). The unity of the church is begun and maintained in the Spirit – “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body…” (1 Corinthians 12:13). In these verses and many more, we see that our connection to the Spirit of God is vital to our discipleship. The Spirit is with us in everything.

But there are some moments when the presence of God’s Spirit is more obvious than others. Moments when God chooses to take hold of us. Our Christian life is not meant to be lived in a deep trance of ecstatic prayer, but these moments are special signposts on the journey that strengthen and renew our faith. As the old chorus says, “open our eyes, Lord. We want to see Jesus.”

Love in Christ,

Greg