Reputation of Being Alive

In ancient times, the city of Sardis was sacked twice when the watchmen on the walls failed to detect an enemy army sneaking up to its “impregnable” cliffs and walls. We all know of famous people, who with smooth speech sounded good to the masses. However, their lives were wrecked by scandals caused by wicked motives in the hearts.

In Revelation 3:1-3 Jesus speaks to the church of Sardis saying, “I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent.” God is more concerned about what is in your heart than in what you do. Make sure your heart is strengthened in the Lord, by remembering what you have heard from God and becoming like Him. Ask God to keep guard over your soul. Don’t fall asleep when guarding your heart.

Walk Carefully

It was very early and still dark as I walked to church this morning. We had just had a storm come through the area, and the wind and hail knocked down trees and branches everywhere. I had to carefully place each step to avoid stumbling and falling. Life presents the same difficulties as we need light from above to let us carefully take the next step.

Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” God usually doesn’t reveal the full plan of His will for our lives at any one time. We learn His will by following Him closely, as He gives us light for each step.

Entirety

We rarely get to know the entirety of a subject or circumstance. If we witness a car accident, we probably don’t know all the factors that caused the accident. If we study a topic, our knowledge is growing, but it is rarely complete. If we create something, then our knowledge is more complete than when we merely receive something.

Revelation 1:8 says, “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'” As the creator of all things, Jesus was before all things and will reign over all things eternally. He has never changed and never will because He is perfect in every way. He has all knowledge, power, and authority as the Almighty.

Why Am I So Restless?

There remains something within us that wants to control everything, from emotions, to circumstances, and even to other people. We express this desire to exercise control by working hard to make everything work out as we would like. When it doesn’t work out as we would like, or even if it is just slow at working out as we would like, we get restless. We remain restless until we work it out. Some people do this even with religion. They worship a God who will do as they want and they work hard to make sure that God does what they want.

Hebrews 4:9-10 says, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.” Our natural instinct is to try to control our lives and circumstances. We think that if we work hard enough these circumstances and our lives will work out well. But the opposite is true. The harder we work at controlling things, the less rest we have. Rest is only found in submitting to God’s control. We can do that by knowing Him more and acting upon our trust in Him.

Light of the World

These Indiana winters are hard for me to bear. I believe that it is true that prolonged periods of mostly darkness can negatively one’s attitudes. While my attitude hasn’t yet reached one of despair, I can’t say that my thoughts are extremely positive. Some good weather will help, but my attitude about the weather is a choice.

Psalm 4:6-7 says, “There are many who say, ‘Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!’ You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.” Even in the darkest times, God’s face brings light to this fallen world. His presence gives us greater joy than anything this world has to offer. Let us be bearers of this joy and light to those around us.