2008-07-01 - Laodicea

Part 4

Revelation 3:14-22 (NKJV) And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,  These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: ¹⁵ I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. ¹⁶ So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. ¹⁷ Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing - and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked - ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. ¹⁹ As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore 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 dine with him, and he with Me. ²¹ To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame 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.

The verse about standing and knocking instantly brings to my mind the classic picture of Jesus at a door with no knob on the outside. I do not know whom it is by but I've seen it a thousand times on the backs of church fans and it looks like it's from the Renaissance period or something.

Anyway, it is cool to think that Jesus is just outside waiting to come in. Normally this image is thought of just as a salvation type thing. Jesus waits outside waiting for you to accept him as Lord. But in thinking about this, it occurred to me that this was a letter from Jesus to his church. You see we may let him into our house but I think we keep him out of the bedrooms and closets. If we would invite him into those as well, it would be a wonderful thing. He'd sit and eat with us. Eating isn't just a nourishment thing; it is a social thing. Back in those days, you would not just walk from one town over to a friend's house and eat for 30 minutes then head back home. No, you'd be a guest in their house for the better part of a day or week. It was a social call more so than a feeding occasion. Isn't that cool to think about? God will just sit and hang out with us in even the darkest of rooms in our life if we just open the door. And, because he is light, those dark places won't seem so scary, sad, lonely, bitter, disturbing, or whatever for much longer.

Jesus - Come inside this heart of mine. Make yourself at home. Have free reign of each corner. Come into the room where my lust is hiding the beauty like so much dust and cobwebs. Come into the room where my anger has broken the furniture and left holes in the wall. Come into each room and let your light shine. Let it shins so brightly that it pierces the darkness of each corner and becomes a spotlight flowing out each window. Amen.

IHFHBOH
Adam

acdum@hotmail.com
http://www.cfdevotionals.org

All scripture references from KJV unless otherwise noted