Comforted and warned . . .

Revelation’s letters to seven churches applied to them, to other churches like them, to today’s churches with the same conditions, and to individuals who need to hear the words of Jesus. This includes me.

His letter to the church in Smyrna describes an event in my life. With tears, He informed me that I was going to experience a great trial. It began that very day and the vision of His tears sustained me for the lengthy time of that horrid trial. I can imagine how the church at Smyrna felt when they received a similar message also accompanied by the loving thoughts of the Lord:

“Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.” (Revelation 2:10–11)

As I have learned from that trial and others, suffering is not an evil intended to destroy. God has purpose in it and fulfills His promise to use all things for my good (Romans 8:28-29), the good being transformed into the image of His Son. Sometimes suffering is a discipline, or a way for God to prevent me from becoming proud or thinking too highly of myself. Sometimes it is a way to learn obedience. If I am like Jesus when under pressure, then my testimony of God’s power and love is far more believable than if I fold up in self-pity.

Most of all, through trials God teaches patience. He shows me that struggling, complaining, or any other response does not change the trial. Those responses only put my focus off Jesus and on myself, rob me of energy and make matters worse. Because of trials, I can now see that patience truly is a virtue.

The letter to the church in Pergamum is not as encouraging as the one sent to Smyrna. While Jesus commended for their faith under persecution, He also pointed out that they had a few false ideas that lead to sinful behavior. They needed to repent. Otherwise they would find themselves in trouble with Jesus rather than in trouble with false teachers:

“I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.” (Revelation 2:13–17)

Compromise with worldly morality and pagan doctrine was prevalent in that church. It is also a danger today. In the name of tolerance, Christians are urged to put up with sinful practices. The danger of tolerance is eventually participating in that which we are supposed to merely tolerate.

The situation in Pergamum was severe. It is not that strong for me, but there are times when I should speak up but remain silent. The saying, “For evil to triumph, all that is required is for good people to do nothing” may be the problem. I tend to follow the idea that “If truth and lies are allowed to battle, truth will win” but sometimes forget that I hold the sword of truth. I cannot leave it unused when the arrows of the Liar are flying all over the place, and particularly when they are hitting targets within the Body of Christ.

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Jesus, You know the challenges of using that Sword in a hostile world. You died because You told the truth to a people who didn’t want to hear it. Eventually ‘Jesus wins’ yet the battle rages and You expect me to be part of it, to resist sin, to repent of any sin I am guilty of, to rebuke it in others and do what I can to restore those who fall to the enemy’s arrows. In these two letters, I see You both as a Comforter in the battles and difficulties of life and a Warrior who knows the real enemy and fights the Liar and His lies with all of Your heart and soul. You gave Your life to defeat that enemy and I want to be just like You.  

Today’s thankful list . . .

- being comforted by God’s Word.

- the Lord’s reminders to press on in truth.

- sweet prayer and sharing with other Christians.

- feeling physically stronger because of the weekly session at the gym and doing the homework.

- the beauty of winter.

- the love of family and friends.

Obedience or Popularity?

While it is not my aim to make enemies, the Bible tells me that if I do right and stand for truth, I will be in conflict with those who are not interested in either righteousness or truth. I will make enemies.

Lately I’ve realized how easily I can slide into a subtle compromise. Just being silent when I should speak is one way, but there are others. Any time that I go along with the world’s value system, I am denying what I believe. 

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15–17)

A worldly value system is more interested in satisfying self and personal desire, being comfortable, even being exalted, than it is interested in obedience to God. It is one thing to love the world more than God, but how often have I encouraged this value system in others as well? How often had I lifted up status over godly character or achievement over integrity? What did I praise in my children’s lives to encourage a love of God rather than the love of things in the world? And did I do things like this to avoid losing relationships?

The motivations for taking the world’s route can be as simple as not wanting to make enemies. Christ may be the Prince of Peace, but He also said this . . . 

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. (Matthew 10:34–36)

When His light came into my life, it did not necessarily come into the lives of those around me, including my family. The presence of light should make darkness flee, but if resistance to Light refuses to yield, and if truth sticks to its guns, there will be conflict. Truth always puts lies underfoot, and those who believe those lies will shake their fist at the putting.

This includes those close to me, but it goes farther. Spurgeon says, “If you follow Christ, you shall have all the dogs of the world yelping at your heels.” That means that if my life stands under all tests to my faith, the world might first applaud, but it soon will not speak well of me. Those who are true and faithful to Jesus Christ will find others resenting that unflinching stand because it is a testimony against their sin. It was true for Him and is also true for me.

If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’ (John 15:18–25)

Today’s devotional reading also says I need the courage of a lion to pursue such a course, because it will turn my best friend into my fiercest foe. For the love of Jesus, I must be courageous to stand for truth, knowing such a stand is hazardous to popularity and acceptance, even from my own family.

Only the Holy Spirit can do this. When pressed to choose between reputation or obedience that risks the friendship of others, my natural response is to back off and be careful, to say as little as possible. But when I do that, I am a spiritual coward. I am forgetting the life of Christ and how He never wavered.

I’m also forgetting that His life lives in me. When I choose to obey, He will come forth, giving my lips and legs and even my heart all that it needs to do what He asks. Whether my words and actions are embraced or rejected, appreciated or ridiculed, it is better to experience the worst of reactions for a brief time or even a long time, than it is to see a frown on the face of my Savior.

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Lord, I’ve an attitude to confess. I want to be a “sweet little old lady” — which is not a bad ambition, but if my motivation is a desire to have everyone love me, then I must ask for Your forgiveness and grace.

Instead, my desire must be to always love You and not be concerned what others think of me. You said, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love” (John 15:10). Abiding in Your love means obedience, not compromise — even for the sake of merely being a sweet little old lady.

Stand Firm

In two episodes of NCIS (taped reruns) we watched Gibbs and Tony each face someone with a raised weapon who started shooting. Both officers stood their ground, drew their weapon, and successfully defended themselves. Of course this is television not real-life, yet their actions illustrate my devotional reading for today.

Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends! (Philippians 4:1)

Standing firm means just what it says. While this is not necessarily about an enemy with a gun, it could involve harm of some sort, so no matter the threat, whenever something challenges my faith, I am supposed to face it, not run, nor give up, nor turn away.

If the danger is physical, and it could be, the context gives the grounds for standing firm. The verses just previous to this say,

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:20-21)

In the face of an extreme threat, like death, I can be fearless because I know that death is my doorway to eternity with God. This gives me pause. My life is hardly ever in danger, but I have friends who work in other parts of the world where this threat is real and constant. Their lives are often threatened simply because they are Christians and this promise is for them too. No matter what happens to the old body, we are guaranteed to receive new bodies that are like the body of the resurrected Christ. Death is not the end for us, far from it.

Standing firm is also the attitude God wants me to have when I face temptation, or when my faith is challenged. Ephesians 6:11 uses a similar term, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

Satan would love to see my back. He tries to make me fearful so I will not face or defend my faith or stand firm in the face of his strategies to ruin my Christian life. God commands me to never compromise my Christian testimony or allow myself to be overwhelmed by trials or temptation. He gives me what I need to obey.

Sadly, there are times when I do not take God and His commands seriously enough. The writer of my devotional book laments that many Christians do need seek the knowledge of God, but prefer to be pampered and entertained. Some even are apathetic to the point of acting as if His commands are mere suggestions, and the alternatives are desirable options.

I like watching NCIS, partly because the characters are believable and with human quirks and flaws, but more because of their zeal to “stop the bad guys” and stand firm against evil and wrong doing.

However, as I think about those two shows, I get a picture in my mind of what would happen if the script writers decided to show Tony or Gibbs as not willing to stand firm. They would die. The end. Show over.

In real life, standing against sin, could mean death. Jesus is a prime example. He refused to sin and was crucified because of it. Yet because of His firm stand, I can do the same. 

Therefore . . . let me stand firm against everything that hinders me and the sin that so easily entangles, and let me run with perseverance the race marked out for me. Let me fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. May I consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that I will not grow weary and lose heart. In my struggle against sin, I have not yet resisted to the point of shedding my blood. (Hebrews 12:1-4)

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