Where Are You In Your Walk With Jesus
Where Are You In Your Walk With Jesus
Christmas vs. Commercialization
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and sup with that person, and he will sup with me.” – Revelation 3:20
As we look back at celebrating our blessings during Thanksgiving, and we look ahead to celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I ask you to stop and take a look at the world around us and ask yourself have you given your all to Jesus or are you still trying to live with one foot on earth and one foot in heaven.
Jesus Speaks of Bland Faith
Laodicea was the seventh of seven Churches that Jesus told John to write letters to that knew and trusted him. Laodicea was the wealthiest of the seven cities. Known for its financial, manufacturing and medical industry.
The city built a great aqueduct to bring water from a hot spring, but by the time the water reached the city it was lukewarm, which describes the Church as bland as it had become. Becoming like lukewarm water in faith means to become distasteful and repugnant. Lukewarm believers do not take a stand for anything.
Personal Relationship vs. Half-Heartedness
They become half-hearted. They set the same standard we see in so-called, in-name-only Christians relying on their own understanding instead of the Lord. They were settling on following God only halfway. The Laodiceans were not finding their true riches in Christ.
Jesus is Knocking on the Door of our Hearts
To the Laodicean’s, material wealth was more important as God’s sign of spiritual blessings, which of course is not the truth. A personal relationship with Christ is the most important thing a person can have.
Christ’s letter to the Laodiceans was for them to buy their gold from him, the real and true spiritual treas-ure. They needed to get their righteousness through a relationship with Christ, not material possessions.
Don’t Become Complacent in Faith
Revelation 3:20 shows us Christ is knocking on the door, but they were so busy enjoying worldly pleasures, they didn’t notice they had put Christ outside, and He was trying to enter their lives.
Christ is outside…
Christ is pleading…
Christ promises to save…
Christ promises to sanctify…
Christ promises to secure us…
Christ is Outside, “Behold I stand outside and knock.” He is pleading, “If any man hear my voice.”
But his solemn promise of salvation is seen through this verse. He promises to save, – “I will come in to him.” He promises to sanctify, – “I will sup with him.” He promises to secure his people, – “and he with me.”
Don’t Trust the Pleasures of This World
There’s a reason why John the Baptist told us: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)
We should be working constantly to identify the parts of our lives that are not of Christ so that we eradicate them and fill him in the void.
Nobody will ever achieve this perfectly while on earth, but we are to strive for that perfection; a perfection where “It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Galatians 2:20
Love Defined through God’s Word
“For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“Greater Love has no man than this…that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13
“By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us: and we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” 1 John 3:16
Walking with Christ
“We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:8
In this season we celebrate Christ’s birth, I ask you…Are you going to open the door to your Heavenly Visitor?