A brief prayer is offered that you can add to your daily
prayers this week. We conclude our sermon series of the 500th
anniversary of the reformation. The scripture is from our Sunday Service
Bulletin.
NT Reading –
Revelation 3:14-22
“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.
15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor
hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you
are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my
mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need
nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and
naked. 18 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 your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your
eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and
discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 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. 21 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. 22 He who has an
ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
Devotion: A Church
for the Future
Laodicea, at the time of John’s writing was very wealthy;
complacent; and self-sufficient. In fact, it was destroyed recently by an earth
quake and the citizens were prosperous enough to rebuild it. This prosperity is
lulling the community and, especially the church, into an attitude of going
along to get along. The church is there
but not making an impact on society. Jesus, through John, is trying to shake
the parishioners out of this and to be a bold church. Our text, then, is
warning us not to be a lukewarm church. If the reformers of 500 years ago had
been lukewarm instead of hot and bold, the reformation would likely not have
been so transformative. You might not be reading this post, etc. Are there
things you and I should be doing to keep from being lukewarm? Let’s look at the
world around us and continue in the great and bold reformer mindset!!
We pray: “Lord
we pray for boldness. Amen”
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