Daily Scripture
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 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 that person, and they with me. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Revelation 3:14-22
devotion
Going on in verse 17, we see what it means to be spiritually ignorant. If we act as though we are self-satisfied, we believe we do not need anything. However, Jesus sees us for who we truly are, “...wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” If the people of the church begin to self-evaluate and realize they do in fact need Jesus, they can avoid being spewed out of his mouth. I am thankful that Jesus wants to cover us with righteousness and remove our wretchedness and poverty.
God’s love ultimately leads to discipline. As we know, if we think we have no needs and can do it on our own, we are destined to be spit out. However, if we are “zealous and repent,” we can count on God to supply our needs. Even better, we are in constant fellowship with our Lord and are promised eternity in His presence.
I challenge you to self-evaluate your relationship with Jesus. Are you going through the motions of church? Does His truth guide your life? Or do you remain uninfluenced by our creator? Living a lukewarm life is not sustainable. We are fooling ourselves if we believe God won’t notice if we are not truly living for Him. I pray that as a church, we continue to remain zealously dependent on God! I am thankful to be a part of a church that lives and loves like Jesus.
Elise Wiliams