THE DRAGON TALE

The story of Satan may be the explanation as to why we are all here. In Genesis 2:17, God cautioned Adam and Eve that if they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they would surely die. But Adam and Eve didn't die... at least not right away, they lived a full life and so did (do) generations of their posterity (aka: humanity). Eating the forbidden fruit seems not to have changed the course of their lives, at least not in the dire way God warned. So what did their choice change and how has it effected our lives?

For this study we have to traverse the entire Bible: from Genesis (the beginning), Ezekiel (the middle), and Revelation (the end). If this Satan character is behind the big, centuries-asked question, ("Why are we here?"), then we have to read about not just his first appearance but also his beginning and how it led to his end. By doing that, we will learn how who or what he is is less important than what he represents. For it is what he represents that changed the plan God had for us. 

• THE ANOINTED CHERUB

“You were the seal of perfection,
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty."

Ezekiel 28:12 

Satan was not the monster we think he was... at least not in outward appearance and certainly not at onset. God's description of Satan is quite a lot different from the media's portrayal of him, and not just physically. We think of Satan as an outcast rather than the blessed and beloved one he actually was.

“You were the anointed cherub who covers;

I established you;

You were on the holy mountain of God;

Ezekiel 28:14 

Not only was Satan beautiful, he had everything the storehouses of the Kingdom of God have to offer: he was wise, anointed, established. He was loved and trusted. So how did Satan become the serpent in Genesis? The dragon in Revelation? He gradually became greedy, violent and arrogant. And that is where we have to start paying attention; because the worst of Satan is more relatable to us than the best of him. After all, none of us can boast perfection in wisdom, beauty or behavior. But all of us have experienced at least a modicum of greed, violence and arrogance within ourselves. This is not to say that we are horrible people because the majority are not, but we are capable of the same character flaws that led to Satan's complete eviction from the Kingdom of God.

God's kingdom is broad and hosts a lot of life. In heaven, as it is on earth right now, God elects people to join Him in helping others. Satan was chosen as such, an overseer, a protector, by God. But the power became a drug to him and he a slave to it. He began to abuse his power and manipulate others with the wisdom he was given. He resented that he was chosen by God, a holy honor, and wanted instead to be the chooser. Yet the worst thing Satan did was to drag, connive and convince others to join him... and that is the story of Adam, Eve and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

• "YOUR EYES WILL BE OPENED" 

Eve's conversation with the serpent in Genesis is an allegory of how humanity obtained free will and consciousness as we know it today. God had designed a perfect system with the kingdom of God, represented by the Garden of Eden. He created life and cared for it. He made all of the decisions and refrained from distributed free will. Why? This is where we would play a montage of things like the widespread poverty, racism, pollution and other injustices on earth. God simply knew that we were not equipped for such responsibility. Satan disagreed; he wanted to unlock that aspect of life. 

Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Genesis 3:4 

 This is an example of the scheming Satan did when he was in the position of power as cherub. He portrayed God as a stingy authority rather than a wise Father. He slyly suggested that God's will was not the best course of action. He manipulated the truth so that it appeared that one's own will could procure glory and power and that God's will could not. Like he did with Eve, Satan made it seem like the righteous, obedient, humble way was ineffective, insufficient. 

And that is what Satan represents throughout the Bible and in our lives today. He represents that temptation within us to live by our own rule; to act and react on our emotions and desires regardless if they are good for us or others or not; to obtain influence by dubious means; to procure power by manipulating the justice system; to shirk responsibility and pursue our desires. Anger, arrogance and greed tempt us like Satan tempted Eve. They make promises that make us salivate, metaphorically speaking (usually), but they cannot keep those promises; because anything we obtain with impure intentions and corrupt machinations will not satisfy us. 

Eve gained free will, her mind expanded, but the quality of her life declined sharply. Indeed her mind expanded, but in many places she had been previously protected from. She then knew what it was to lack, to feel shame, grief, guilt and regret. The everlasting life of her soul (and ours) became subjected to life in a temporary body. Once constant and sustained, she became an aging and fragile form of life... and we all know the many traumas of that. When God told Adam and Eve that they would surely die, He meant this: life, now as we know it. Birth and death on earth, a rich but also traumatic experience. 

We study Satan as the serpent in Genesis, the proverbial King of Tyre in Ezekiel and the metaphorical dragon in Revelation, but it is crucial for us to recognize Satan he really is. Not the sly characters of the Bible or the monster depicted in movies but Satan is the impatience within us, the frustration, anger, arrogance and greed. All of that behavior was drawn out of us by him. Every time we are tempted to act on our base (ugly) emotions and desires we are Eve in the garden, allowing Satan to convince us our plan is better than God's.

• THE DRAGON TAIL DREW 

We are here because when free will was unlocked, humanity needed a place to exercise their (our) new ability. We needed a place to make the mess of trial and error, a place with consequence enough to take the task seriously, but not permanently damage. Of course death and disparity seem like permanently damage (and they are definite consequences), life on earth was designed to feel that way. But the only permanent damage that can be done can only be done by God and it is the death of a soul, not a body.

We are here because we needed a space to not just to learn the consequences of free will, but also to well, use it. Because with our free will we make decisions and those decisions add up to the inevitable decision: my way, or the highway... to heaven. Joking aside, God honestly wants us to decide. He will not force His will on people who do not want it. He preferred to love us His way, even if it meant that our love for Him was less authentic, if it also meant that we were spared the pain that transpires in life-with-free-will (life as it we know it now).

And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth.

Revelation 12:3-4 

Satan was able to convince a third of God's people buy what he was selling... and trade in all of the free "stuff" God had been providing. Life on earth is our opportunity to give it all back. We were once with God because He chose us. Today, we have the opportunity to be with God because we choose Him. 

We spoke before about permanent damage: the death of the soul. Satan has been named the son of perdition by God, in other words, his soul has been sentenced to that permanent death (Ezekiel 23:18; John 17:12; and many other places!) Satan has been sentenced to death and he doesn't want to go alone. Just like before, he is recruiting people onto his side... even though he now knows his to be the losing side. 

Of course now that life on earth is our reality, God has plans within plans for not just the whole picture but also for every individual. He has made our tale a story of redemption and purpose rather than one of punishment or subsequent consequence. And though some bad things came with free will, two really good things came too: faith and authentic love. We are now able to love God (and others) intimately; that is, love with the knowledge of the power and work and depth and complexity and strength and fragility and value of love. 

Now, when God blesses us and when others love us, we understand how precious the act of love and all that it encompasses is. And that is why out of all the history and instruction and lesson that scripture and life hold, God has chosen to emphasize love:

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 22:37-40 

So if the history is too complicated, and the future too difficult to grasp, we have been directed by Jesus to simply love in the present.

FOR COMFORT

In life, fear will work to invade atmospheres of peace. Anticipate its attempted intrusion and let it at the door meet full force conviction. The following are a selection of verses in scripture that help us to do just that: to dismantle fear's power and dissipate fear's presence with the conviction that our God is stronger, wiser, and more able than any foreboding thing, person or situation. 

While each of the following help us to restore peace, their greatest impact is made when they are deeply founded in faith. The more time we spend deep in scripture, in prayer and communication with God, the more powerfully we are able to dispel fear. The more faith we give God to work with, the more readily and systematically do we disassemble the machination of fear. 

If read chronologically, the Bible is essentially a tracking of mess to order. Through the lives of Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and so many others, we can see God working arduously, skillfully within details to ensure a specific outcome. Revelation 21, all things made new; no fear, no tear, no death, no sorrow, no pain. Scripture is an example of how our God is able to work all things for good despite close and persistent threat. From an eternal perspective, lifelong perspective and day-to-day perspective God rescues us and solves our problems. Fight the panic and hopelessness of fear with the love letter God wrote specifically for you. 

• Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

God understands that our responsibilities accumulate here; there is so much we have to do and be to have a full life. In response to that, He teaches us to swap the burden of those responsibilities for this one opportunity: seek God. The sixth chapter of Matthew encourages us to pursue our relationship with God, for while we do, He will take care of everything else. 

God is able to wield and forge and arrange the details of our lives to culminate in the growth and betterment of our life and character. The more pieces we put into His hands with faith in His skill, the more comprehensively He is able to sculpt our lives.

• 2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Fear will fight faith: can God handle it? Will God handle it? And if so, how? Fear is concerned about the journey but faith is secure in God's path. Faith is stalwart in the belief that He can and He will so efficiently that the how is irrelevant. God calls us to seek Him with our whole heart and whole soul; He understands that if we do give our entire attention to Him, we will need Him to take care of what is  unseen in our periphery and ahead in our path. 

• Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Quite simply, we do not need to fear because when we vocalize our distress, He rescues. In the Old Testament, Jehoshaphat is seconds and dozen spears away from death but because he used his last seconds to call to God, he was saved. The situation was literal for Jehoshaphat (see 2 Chronicles 17), but for us it is often metaphorical. Fear is oppresses, stifles, and pervades but use those last seconds before it closes in completely to call to God. It has been declared that He will answer and that He will save. 

• Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Find a haven in the fact that God has purpose for you, purpose He established in advance. He is intentional with your life when you allow Him to position His will within it. God has plans for you to do good work, not to sink or fail. Would God prepare failure or destitution for you in advance? No, that would not require planning. If that were His plan, He never would have even introduced Himself to us. He would have just let us flail about. Remember that God has made plans to craft your life for good. 

• Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

God is really talented. He is the original abstract-artist. He compiles unlikely materials and welds them into a masterpiece. From our perspective, our life might look like a pile of unusable, non-valuable junk. But from God's perspective, our life is a challenge He has already artistically mastered; to Him, our life is a pile of materials that only He can see the connections in. In desperate situations, when the outcome looks bleak, trust that God's artistry is more advanced than our limited view. 

• Matthew 6:8 Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

Speaking of our limited view, Jesus stated frankly that God knows what we need better than we do, before we do. It's like driving only to suddenly find that the bridge is closed! We panic for an alternate route! But God knew that bridge was closed before we even buckled our seat-belt and planned accordingly, which is why it is so imperative that we have submitted ourselves to His plan! 

Jesus did not want us to be like the rest of the panicked world because as children of God, we have already been provided for. God has planned our course and therefore He has already accounted for it's turns and divots and barriers. Before we realize them and before we ask for help through them, He already has a plan through them. He will lead you forward, usually incrementally, at a pace that requires faith. He will deliver you directly into the provision you require. 

God knows what we need; He is an informed and attentive Father. He is fully prepared to fill our biological, emotional, and spiritual needs. He is fully prepared to compensate for our inadequacy, and supplement our deficiency, in friendship, relationship, profession and whatever else. If with live our lives with righteous intent, God will provide.

• Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

God knows what we need... and better than we do. Moreover, He emphatically pursues and creates and intercedes to ensure that we get it! God's wisdom is able to discern between what we think we want and what we actually need. In moments of fear, trust that God is interceding on your behalf. He knows what prayer will rescue you from your fear and utters it on your behalf. He speaks your rescue into the universe and into existence. 

We might think a certain circumstance would rescue us from a fearsome outcome; it would cause us to pray for the wrong thing. How blessed is it for us that God bats those nonconstructive thoughts away and replaces them with constructive action?

• Isaiah 43:1-3

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine. 

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you. 

For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

We have been claimed by God. God will take care of what belongs to Him; He has promised to accompany us through our journey, its difficulty and its joy. He has declared Himself our savior. He chose the word savior because of our tendency to need saving! 

Sometimes humans adopt animals without understanding (or committing to) the responsibility of pet ownership. But God knew what the adoption of humanity would require and He committed to it. We are an accident-prone bunch. We need constant saving and so God became our savior. We have been adopted by God, He is going to take care of His family. 

But, Father cannot help us if we have run away from home. In time of fear (and also joy) return home to be provided for, to be saved.

• Jeremiah 29:11-12 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

God's intentions for our lives are pure. He designs a future we can look forward to. He takes our prayer into account; His blessings are tailored specifically to who we are as individuals. 

• Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

God delights in witnessing our joy. He delights in providing our joy. The life He plans for us is filled with people and circumstances that were planned by Him to make us feel safe and happy. In this verse, God affectionately soothes our fear. Take a deep breathe of hope and love, little flock, it gives your Father joy to shower you and protect you with the power and provision of His kingdom. 

The term of endearment is not random: God is our shepherd. We are His little flock of sheep. We are inherently naive and vulnerable (as well as beautiful and kind) and He loves us for our delicacy. He protects it at all costs. 

• Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

We can only truly bask in the promise of God's provision and protection if we feel eligible for it. Good news! Jesus told us how precious we are to God, how precisely we are loved. We are valuable to Him, worth the effort we require. He knows every minute and intricate detail about us not because He has to but because we wants to. 

God loves all of His creations, for example: the tiny sparrows in the trees. God has designed a planet to sustain them, too, has He not? The environment He created supports their provision and protection. God wants us to know that if He did it for the sparrows, He will certainly do it for us. 

• Psalm 116:1-11

I love the Lord, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.

The pains of death surrounded me,
And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me;
I found trouble and sorrow.
Then I called upon the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!”

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
Yes, our God is merciful.
The Lord preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

For You have delivered my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from falling.
I will walk before the Lord
In the land of the living.
I believed, therefore I spoke,
“I am greatly afflicted.”
I said in my haste, “All men are liars.”

Take courage from this psalmists relationship with God. From a hopeless situation, God restored. A desperate cry, God heard and answered. From trouble and sorrow God saved. From the lowest point, God raised. The psalmist had no one in the world to trust but had God and He was more than enough. 

God dealt bountifully with the psalmist's soul. God does not flippantly toss scraps. He blesses abundantly, intentionally. He rescues triumphantly. He loves emphatically. With conviction dismiss fear and allow yourself to be embraced by the perfect love of God.

• 2 Chronicles 20:12 For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

Jehoshaphat was surrounded. Out-manned. Over powered. Out-witted. In that moment of complete fear, he fixed his eyes on God. Though the moment sounds panicked, Jehoshaphat solemnly relied solely on his faith. When we lose our chance, our weapon, our hope and even the will to fight, we must finally fix our eyes on God. 

Sometimes it is only when we realize and accept our inability that we see the benefit of trusting God. God's strength and ability begins working for us the exact moment it is activated by our faith. Jehoshaphat knew that from God's perspective a way could be made. Surrender, never to your enemies but always to God. Put your weapons down and allow Him to become your defense. 

• 2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.

God wants us to feel secure in His qualifications for our rescue and defense:

His omnipresence is vigilant, fastidious and alert.

• Nothing escapes His notice. His children are so valuable to Him that is present everywhere to support them.

His omnipotence is powerful, unmatched and undeterred.

• No force is able to contend with Him; He wins with ease. 

His omniscience is complete.

• He owns all wisdom, all knowledge, all reason, all logic, all science, all sides, all forms; whatever it is, He has both created and mastered it.

God wants us to have conviction in His ability to render the fear in our life mute, powerless and irrelevant.

• Luke 11:11-13 "If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

When we adopt the Christian lifestyle, we are adopted by God. We were always His creation, but we become reclaimed. As claimed children, we have ownership within our Father's kingdom. We become possessors of His love and kindness, God's mercy and protection. We can expect our lives to unfold in accordance with His will. And God's will for us is good.

Jesus more than gave us permission to ask, Jesus encouraged us to ask God for our myriad of needs. He told us that we would receive. From Jesus we learned that we cannot expect that God will hear and respond with action and deliverance. For God's children know what to ask for; we ask for God. We ask for His will over our life. We ask for the peace and protection and provision He has promised. And Jesus assured us that God is fully aware of a good gift.

God has offered peace and protection and provision because He knows that ultimately, every need we have is stemmed from a need for those three things. When we ask God for those things, why would we ever expect or fear that He would answer with their opposites?

The Seven Churches

The second and third books of Revelation are a survey not simply of seven different types of churches, but of seven different types of faith. Seven different types of people. They comprise an examination done by God. To each of the seven churches: Ephesus; Smyrna; Pergamos; Thyatira; Sardis; Philadelphia and Loadicia, John delivered a specific message from God about the quality of their ministry, authenticity of their relationship with God, and the potency of their faith. As hosts of the temple of God, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, we are each a church. As churches, these letters are written to us.


From the island of Patmos, John wrote the book of Revelation; he wrote to us in effort to secure the result of the culmination of our faith. As individual churches, temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16), these short letters urge us to be present, accountable and productive in genuine faith. They reveal our strengths and weaknesses, and discipline us to either remain steadfast or to mend our broken way before it's too late, too irrelevant to do so.


God intended for these letters to serve as discipline, rather than admonishment. Caution rather than condemnation. Each individual must honestly admit which "church" they are a member of, and decide if they would like to remain there.



EPHESUS:

The church of Ephesus represents a bland faith. That said, members of this church get a lot right. According to God's analysis, they labor for the will of God, and they follow his commands. They are able to identify false preachers and prophets and are not hesitant to call them out as such. Generally, they are patient and forbearing in righteousness.


But God added: “Nevertheless”. As in, despite all of that, they have a significant flaw: they do not love God. They do what is right because He told them to, not because they feel a connection with Him. God requires genuine faith. For Him, it is not enough to do right, we must be righteous.


A person who does the right thing because it's required or because it comes with a reward or because they can use their "righteousness" to lord over others is not a person God is pleased with. God teaches us, from moment to moment, to do rightly because it is right and because we feel it an honor and blessed responsibility to foster righteousness.



SMYRNA:

The church of Smyrna represents a faith God is entirely pleased with. Members of this church endure persecution and tribulation on behalf of God; they are poor in the world but rich in spirit. Their faith is alive and fervent and strong. To this church God wrote not an admonishment but an encouragement: for them to continue persevere.


The strength of their faith makes them targets of their enemies; because the works of their faith constantly confront corruption, the corrupt constantly confront them. Their righteous work is so productive, so impactful that it destabilizes their enemies and enemies' plans. They are seen and known and thus become targets; they stand out as the ones the wicked need to beat to succeed in their plans.


God is wholeheartedly pleased with these types of people because their work is the most important work done on the earth. These are the people who start revolutions in people, families, communities and nations. These are the people who fracture dictatorships and rings of corruption. These are people who often work under the radar in order to reach and to save the people who are not on society's radar. They are not often recognized or celebrated; they do not have material wealth. They quietly unwire the dynamite beneath corrupt people and unjust nations and inhumane ways of life. They allocate all of their personal resources to the community they serve. God has said they will wear the crown of life.


PERGAMOS:

The church of Pergamos represents a useless faith. These are people who believe in God but live neutrally. They make no impact, and that can be as dangerous as making a bad impact. They do not participate in corruption, but they allow corruption to run rampant. They do not confront evil, they do not challenge evil, and thus they give evil free reign.


Their faith is not their life, it is an aspect of their life. It is not enough. Their faith does not exist beyond anyone but themselves, it is not enough. Jesus modeled that life is not about the self, it is about the neighbor. Those who have faith that does not extend beyond the scope of their individual life have an unproductive faith.


God gave each person a fingerprint for a reason: so that we mark what we touch. So that the world is affected by the impact we make here. So that our influence here is imprinted as our own. So make an impact. God is molding a new way of life, ensure that your fingerprints are in the clay of that new creation.


THYATIRA:


The church of Thyatira was led by a corrupt person. Thyatira represents a type of faith that makes allowances for sins. This type of faith is represented in a person who makes excuses for succumbing to their temptations. This is a person who has idols and lusts. Though they profess belief in God, their true god is wealth or vanity, fame or desire.


A person cannot just believe in God's commandments, they must behave within them as well. They must identify the people, desires and mindsets which contradict the word of God, and then they must expel them from their mind and life. We must all be strict about who and what we allow to influence us. For although the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41). We must be aware that we are susceptible to idolatry and desire. Because if we are aware of it, we can build our spiritual defense against it.


Faith like that of the church of Thyatira is weak, distracted. It is so consumed by its own need that it leeches on the earth and humanity. God charged Thyatira to remove its false prophet; and He charged members of this type of faith to remove theirs as well. To remove that thing or person or desire that distracts them from truly productive, selfless, pure faith. The guilty pleasures, the vices, the addictions, the destructive habits and immoral tendencies have to go. Because if they are not put behind, they are before, leading.


SARDIS:

The church of Sardis represents an apathetic and thus lethargic faith. These are the people who are not connected with the reality God wants them to see, from the perspective God wants them to see it. Their state of disengagement from the plans of God renders them prey to the machinations of evil.


They are caught unaware, unprepared, and unable to defend themselves when vultures swoop. And vultures swoop; they constantly search for prey. There is always something God wants an individual to see and to learn from. There is always something God wants an individual to expect and deny. Apathetic faith has neither the awareness nor the skill to do either.


Awareness is a mark of God's children. We are trained by Him to observe, to perceive, to analyze, to inspect. Members of the church of Sardis are easily plucked up by vultures, by unexpected circumstances. It is imperative to be alert in faith because vigilant faith is rooted faith, and a person rooted faith cannot be claimed by a predator, no matter what form in which it comes (a bully, depression, anxiety, a bad influence, a con artist, Satan himself leading you from God).


PHILADELPHIA:

The church of Philadelphia represents an absolute faith. A faith that remains resilient despite all the other options life provides. Members of this faith live in the midst of the world like everyone else, but resist the world, much unlike everyone else. They walk directly through the door of heaven, which has been opened for them, because they acknowledge no other door!


So much in the world is vying to be your god, the thing you devote yourself to: wealth, fame, vanity and desire all use culture's platform to make their case for your reverence. Anger to fuel you. Desire wants you to devote yourself to it. Depression wants you to submit to it. Deny them all; establish God as the authority in your life. Submit to His will. Devote yourself to His word. Submit yourself to His love.


The people who have faith like the church of Philadelphia have chosen to knock on one door, God's door, and it has opened for them. Life presents a series of doors, we have to decide which one we will knock on. So many people knock on other doors, multiple doors, but the rooms they enter are unsatisfactory: empty, corrupt or both. Walk steadfastly toward God's door exclusively, permitting none of your attention to divert from it.


LAODICEA:

The church of Laodicea represents a pitiful faith. It represents people who have placed their faith in the world: in who they have become in the world and in what they have procured from the world. They cater to their flesh by neglecting their spirit. What they have chosen as their sustenance will not sustain them; Jesus taught us that we cannot live on bread alone, Matthew 4:4, we can not serve the body only.


We need every word that comes from the mouth of God. What He has spoken has been said for purpose not for show. God has spoken in effort to uncover their delusions: they think they understand but they are blind to truth; they think they are impressively arrayed but are naked in righteousness; they are so misguided that they pretend their money buys happiness, they pretend to others that their misery is happiness. They think power, property, popularity and pompousness equate with joy.


God counsels such people. They need correction; they need to be properly aligned in order to properly interpret what actual wisdom is, what true happiness is like, how beauty is actually embodied. God pities people of this kind of faith, for they are so off-base, so comprehensively confused. People alive in this century should be especially attentive to this letter because it is descriptive of our culture. It so aptly describes the world we live in, the values that have been exalted in our world. The confusion spoken of in this particular letter, written centuries ago, permeates our society today.



"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." (Revelation 3:19). These letters were transcribed to encourage, to discipline, to realign, to correct and heal. Irrespective of God's pleasure or displeasure in each church, He proffered the same to each. At the end of each letter He made promises that the beginning of each letter proclaimed He was able to fulfill. He promised that repentance would result in redemption. That both realignment or continued alignment would result in the same destination: His door, His kingdom.


Ask yourself: At which church do I congregate? Which church am I? For which church do I live and work? It is vital that you know.