Category: Devotionals, Pastor Scott

Devotional on James

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – Nicolaus, CA

Taming the tongue

James 3: You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue.

A person can live a good life, honest and sensible, committed to doing good things and yet still have a tendency to say things that aren’t very Christian. One problem is that we see sins of speech as less serious than sins of action. People who would never dream of robbing anyone of anything will thoughtlessly gossip about another, thereby robbing them of their reputation. Sins of words are slippery, hard to pin down. A person might say something that’s absolutely innocent. The listener, though, misunderstands the meaning, hearing something that isn’t there at all. Another person might say the same thing but intend it to be hurtful in some way. In one case it’s just a misunderstanding. In the other case it’s sin. James emphasizes the fact that no one can win the battle of the tongue. Try as I might, in and of myself, my words will betray, humiliate, and condemn me. On the surface, it appears James leaves us in this sorry state of affairs. However, a different picture is painted as I read these words in the context of the passage. James says, “My friends this can’t go on.” A few paragraphs later he describes the Christian community as a place where people are treated “with dignity and honor.” On one hand, I can’t control my tongue (or my thoughts, or, sometimes, my actions). The only hope I have is to surrender my tongue to the Lord. As I give it, and my whole self, to him, making him Lord of my life, he goes to work transforming me into the person he wants me to be. It’s a more than one time surrender. In fact, I may have to bring my tongue back to the Lord on a regular basis. As I do that, he takes control doing for me what I can’t do for myself.

Take Away: “I surrender all” is a song that needs to be sung repeatedly.

Devotional on James

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – Nicolaus, CA

Planning for tomorrow with an eye toward God

James 4: You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow.

James challenges Christians in how they talk about the future. He advises us to not state with an attitude of certainty what will happen tomorrow. Instead, we’re to be humble about it, saying things like, “If it’s the Lord’s will we’ll do this or that tomorrow.” Now, he’s not giving us some formula to say as much as he’s describing an attitude we’re to have. He’s opposed to Christians living self-willed, God-ignoring lives in which we imagine ourselves to be self-sufficient and operating independent of the Lord. He’s not against my making plans and having dreams. At the same time, he’s in favor of my planning and dreaming with an eye toward God. The Lord, himself is a planner, operating on a scale far beyond my comprehension. As an individual created in his image I too plan, thinking about a desirable future and working now to bring it to pass. However, unlike my Heavenly Father, my view is limited and because of that, my expectations are flawed. I remember that I’m to pray for my “daily bread” trusting the Lord to supply the need of the day. To plan for the future while ignoring God isn’t only foolish. According to James it “is evil.”

Take Away: Ultimately, my future – my life – is in God’s hands and not my own.

Devotional on James

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – Lotus, CA

The most powerful force on earth

James 5: The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.

One righteous person praying is the most powerful force on earth. It’s true you know. Prayer is the most powerful and most underutilized force available to us. Righteous praying influences the God who’s already inclined to bless us. I think I believe this but tend to not act as though I believe it. Prayer’s more an “add on” to what matters to me. I sometimes do the best I can do and then toss in a prayer for good measure. In doing it that way I do it exactly backwards. What I need to learn to do is pray first and then add my efforts to it. James’ example of a powerful pray-er is Elijah. This righteous man prays for rain, and then, when he sees the first evidence that his prayer is being answered, takes action, preparing for that answer to come. His template, then, is: pray first, then, stop praying and start acting as though that prayer is being answered. I really do believe that Elijah is correct in this but all too often I don’t act like it.

Take Away: Pray first and then act.

Devotional on 1 Peter

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – Lotus, CA

Happy in Jesus

1Peter 1: You trust him, with laughter and singing.

Peter’s words are addressed to believers who are “scattered to the four winds.” These followers of Jesus don’t have it easy. They’re treated as outsiders and sometimes they suffer because of their faith. However, Peter’s writing to them isn’t heavy and grim. He doesn’t advise them to grit their teeth and hold on. Rather, he describes the victory that’s already theirs. He envisions their gatherings as joyful, celebrative events in which they sing and laugh, buoyed by the living presence of Jesus in their lives. The idea here isn’t that they pretend everything’s okay when it obviously isn’t. Instead, it’s that they see a bigger picture and weighing their current situation against “total salvation” they find that they’re the big winners. Beyond that, it’s more than just “pie in the sky” for them. Something has happened and is happening in their lives right now. These are people who just can’t get over how blessed they are. While it’s true that my life is quite easy, especially in comparison to that of these scattered Christians, I do share in their blessings. As I get together with my Christian friends, whether it’s in formal worship or relaxed fellowship, I hear lots of good singing and good natured laughter. That, my friend, is exactly as it should be.

Take Away: It’s good to remember that it’s a joy living in Jesus and that it’s fun being with his people.

Devotional on 1 Peter

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – near Sutter’s Mill – Coloma, CA

Putting Jesus on display

1Peter 2: Treat everyone with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government.

Being a Christian in a non-Christian society has its challenges. Sometimes Christians are viewed with suspicion and other times with contempt. Peter says it’s up to us to correct the mistaken views of our faith. We do that, not by standing up for our rights or debating to prove our point or by withdrawing from society. Instead, we take our spiritual lives out to the streets and let our faith be seen by anyone who cares to look. We treat people well, granting them dignity no matter what their station in life. We treat one another well, refusing to sink to petty infighting over minor differences of opinion. We live as people who reverence God, unashamedly putting our high regard for the Lord on display. Finally, we conduct ourselves as good citizens, not using our citizenship of heaven as an excuse for neglecting our duties as citizens of the country in which we live. The result is that people who don’t know much about our religion will come to respect us. That, in turn, will open the door for us to have a real influence for Jesus. We don’t try to win people by beating them over their heads with our Bibles. Rather, we win them by putting the Jesus we serve on display in our lives every day and in every situation.

Take Away: People are drawn to lives that reflect the real Jesus.

Devotional on 1 Peter

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – Yosemite National Park

The disposition of the believer

1Peter 3: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble.

The original readers of this letter are under pressure, suffering for their faith. Not only that but they’re in the first generation of Christianity. In this passage Peter describes the general disposition of a believer. Christians are to be agreeable, sympathetic people. We’re to be known for our compassion on others and our humility concerning ourselves. We’re not to advance the cause of Christianity by force and people aren’t to have to worry about watching their “P’s & Q’s” when they’re around us. Even non-Christians are to feel comfortable and it should go without saying that we’re to treat one another in kind, agreeable ways. Sad to say, some believers haven’t gotten this memo. They think that they’re doing God a favor by forcing their moral code down people’s throats. They think they’re being good soldiers in his army by creating lots of collateral damage on fellow believers with whom they have a few differences of opinion. The question I need to ask myself is how do I score on this “agreeable, sympathetic, loving, compassionate, humble” test? Peter, it seems, can almost hear people’s self-justification at this point, so he adds: “That goes for all of you, no exceptions.” He continues, “That’s your job, to bless.” Of course, my non-Christian friends are to know that I believe there’s a superior way for them to live. At the same time, they’re to conclude an encounter with me feeling that they’ve been blessed and not cursed.

Take Away: Do people think of time with us as a blessing or a curse?

Devotional on 1 Peter

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – Yosemite National Park

Breaking the “me centered” way of life

1Peter 4: Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way.

Peter’s target audience is Christians who are isolated and suffering for their faith. He doesn’t suggest to them that suffering in itself is good but he does tell them that their suffering for the right reason gives them reason to rejoice. If the same people who hate Jesus hate us because they see Jesus in our lives their poor treatment of us may be unwelcome but in it we can see a compliment. He also tells his readers that suffering tends to wean us from the idea that we’re always supposed to get our own way. As infants, we all start off there, caring not at all about the needs of those around us, but instead, totally focused on what we want and having it right now. To some extent we never outgrow that. Peter says that suffering (something no one wants) helps break that “me centered” way of life. This, in turn, sets the table for allowing the One who knows and loves us best to have his way in our lives. Again, the suffering isn’t a good thing, but the result can be a good one. My earnest desire is that I’ll learn these lessons early and well as the Lord uses the ups and downs of my life to benefit me and his kingdom.

Take Away: If we’ll allow it the Lord will use both the ups and downs of our lives to our benefit.

Devotional on 1 Peter

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – Yosemite National Park

Pulpit committee

1Peter 5: I have a special concern for you church leaders.

A church is without a pastor and the search is on to fill that vacancy. The pulpit committee has a list of pastoral qualifications and they’re sifting through applicants. They want an experienced pastor who still has children at home. The new pastor needs to be a good preacher, but who’s also a people person who’ll get along well with the diverse congregation. It’s not a bad idea to have such a list but Peter’s qualifications for church leaders ought to be prominently in the mix. He urges pastors to see themselves as shepherds who are dedicated to caring for God’s flock. He expects them to be servants who aren’t always trying to figure out ways to get more money or leverage over the congregation. He wants them to be tender in spirit and be good examples for God’s people. It would be nice to have a pastor with the right mix of youth and maturity, who is studious in sermon preparation but is also a people person. Still, I can’t help but think Peter’s criteria trumps all the above. A church with such a pastor is blessed indeed.

Take Away: Ultimately the Lord’s list of pastoral qualifications is the one that makes the most sense.

Devotional on 2 Peter

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – Yosemite National Park

Retelling the old story

2Peter 1: This is the post to which I’ve been assigned—keeping you alert with frequent reminders.

In the early days of my ministry the so-called “special days” were especially challenging to me. Every year Easter and Christmas came around and I felt challenged to come up with some innovative way to preach sermons on them. I was especially challenged by “civil” calendar events like Mother’s Day and Independence Day. Ultimately, I arrived at a two sided solution. For Father’s Day and the like, I don’t preach on the day, but acknowledge and observe it early in the service. Then, having done that, we move on to a regular worship event. “Spiritual” calendar events, though, need to be highlighted. I was still left with the challenge of preaching a sermon that would help people better process the meaning of the day. Finally, the Lord seemed to have mercy on this struggling preacher. It dawned on me that spiritual events come around as reminders. I don’t need to “dress them up” with some impressive new approach. Instead, I need to go back to the basics and retell the story. From that point on, I prepared sermons for those days with a sense of freedom. As I read this passage from 2Peter today I see that he set the example for me and countless spiritual leaders through the centuries. He tells his readers that some things need to be said again and again and that, to some extent, if the leader is successful in keeping people reminded of basic spiritual truths that leader has been successful, fulfilling his or her God-given assignment.

Take Away: We never progress to the point that we don’t need to be reminded of foundational spiritual truths.

Devotional on 2 Peter

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – Yosemite National Park

Not the most encouraging chapter in the Bible

2Peter 2: Their evil will boomerang on them.

If you’re looking for some comforting, uplifting, encouraging words from the Bible, I suggest you skip 2Peter Chapter 2! This is full blown “hell, fire, brimstone” preaching. Peter is writing to scattered believers who are under considerable pressure from outsiders who don’t understand their faith. Now, to top that off, there are so-called “teachers” traveling here and there pretending to be Christians but are actually hucksters trying to get out of gullible believers anything they can. Peter warns his readers about such people and then he lowers the boom on these unprincipled predators. He takes us back to some of the Old Testament stories of God’s judgment: Sodom and Gomorrah and the Great Flood. He describes the false teachers in the worst of terms: insolent, brutes, loudmouths who are headed for “a black hole in hell.” Peter’s words are so heated that you can practically warm your hands above the page! The thing that has him so riled up is that these predators are preying on God’s people. Peter is good and mad and, according to him, so is God. Apparently, God takes it personally when individuals take unfair advantage of his people. Directly stated, he’s not going to put up with it. On one hand, there’s an encouragement here for believers to be prudent in who they allow to influence them in spiritual matters. On the other hand, there’s a warning for any who try it. Even though Peter uses every description he can think of in describing what’s coming for such people I can’t help but come away thinking that the actual judgment of God will be even worse.

Take Away: Be careful who you allow to influence you in spiritual matters.

Devotional on 2 Peter

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – Yosemite National Park

Why it’s taking so long for Jesus to come back

2Peter 3: So what’s happened to the promise of his Coming?

The Apostle tells his readers that as the time for the return of Christ gets closer that people will be more outspoken in their doubt that it will happen. One of their reasons for doubting is that it’s been so long since the promise was made. Common sense, they think, dictates abandoning belief. People will think, “Nothing like that has ever happened since the beginning of time, now so long after the promise, things have continued as they have always been. It’s time to move on and forget about the promise.” Peter gives a three point response to that kind of thinking. First, there’s precedence for God stepping in and changing everything. After all, for eons the universe existed without this planet. Then, God stepped in, bringing about the creation of this very world. Later on, in Noah’s day, God changed everything again by bringing to pass a great flood. Here are two prime examples of God intervening in Creation to do a new thing. Second, time matters a lot more to us than it does to the Eternal One. A thousand years is a lot of time for humanity, but it’s a blink of the eye for the Ancient of Days. Third, God has reason to wait. That reason is that he wants to give more generations opportunity to be redeemed. The Lord wants to save people; all the people he can save. Therefore, he’s patient, taking all the time necessary to get as many in as he can. The Day of Judgment is definitely coming. Jesus will return and that will set the whole End of Time in motion. Meanwhile, we wait with the understanding that God knows exactly what he’s doing and at just the right time Jesus will come back. My job is to get ready, to stay ready, and to help all who will to prepare for that certain upheaval of history.

Take Away: No doubt about it, Jesus is coming back.

Devotional on 1 John

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
Near Groveland, CA

Walking in the light

1John 1: If we walk in the light…

John the Apostle is a man who enjoyed a close relationship with Jesus. At the Last Supper he’s the one who leans against the Lord to ask about the betrayer. His unofficial title in history is “John the Beloved.” The short letters he wrote focus on God’s love being active in us. He says that as a person who walked with Jesus, knowing him intimately, he wants to tell us how we too can experience an intimate relationship with the Lord. The key, he says, is our “walking in the light.” Immediately he defines that for us. To walk in the light is to walk with God. Obviously, there’s a way of living that nurtures a close, abiding relationship with the Lord. That way of life has wonderful benefits for me. For one thing as I walk in the light I find myself in the company of God’s people. For another, it’s in that relationship that the blood of Jesus is applied to my life, making me clean of all my sin. As I live in the light, I join the multitudes that have been made clean by the work of Christ. John is remembered as “the beloved” and as I walk with the Lord I join countless others who can be rightly called “beloved.” What a wonderful prospect!

Take Away: It’s such an amazing blessing to be one of the “beloved.”

Devotional on 1 John

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – Yosemite National Park

Victory in Jesus

1John 2: He solved the sin problem for good.

An old preacher’s line is when asked the topic of his or her sermon is to reply “I’ve decided to preach about sin…I’m going to take a stand against it.” In this passage we find John doing just that. He tells his readers that he’s writing “to guide you out of sin.” Then, if a believer falls back into sin, he points us to the remedy, our “Priest-Friend” Jesus. Beyond that, as I consider the broader problem of sin, I’m told that Jesus has already dealt with sin at that level too. Sin, which breaks our relationship with our Heavenly Father, has been decisively dealt with through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. “He solved the sin problem for good.” When sin is an issue in my life there’s a remedy and his name is Jesus. From this passage I learn, then, that Christians can live in victory over intentional spiritual failure. I learn that if that failure comes anyway that Christ’s victory can yet be mine. I learn that, even as I’m dismayed by rampant, destructive sin in the world that there’s hope, a way out through the Lord. Because of him I’m set free from the domination of sin. That opens the way to abundant life. For every person who struggles with some old sinful habit; for everyone who sometimes feels the tug of some especially powerful temptation; for everyone who wants to live freely in Christ – for everyone – this is a wonderful, hope-filled Word from the Lord.

Take Away: At the cross Jesus defeated sin and death once and for all.

Devotional on 1 John

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – Yosemite National Park

Good for what ails you

1John 3: For God is greater than our worried hearts.

John moves to his favorite topic: love. Frankly, he sees love as a cure-all, good for what ails us. Are we at odds with our brothers and sisters? Love will fix it. Are we struggling in understanding God’s purpose for us and in grasping what Jesus has done for us? The key is love. When we see countless wrongs in the world and wonder what should be done about them John says the key component in our response is, you guessed it: love. The test of love proves or disproves our relationship to this God who is love. As his love is allowed into my life — as it’s allowed to influence how I feel about, well, everything, its then that I know I’m where God wants me. For many of us our greatest challenge is loving self. I, more than anyone else, know my faults and failures. It may be that I’ve been verbally abused and have come to believe that what was said to me and about me is true. Possibly, deep in my psyche is the belief that if anyone really knew me they’d see so many flaws that they’d never love me. John tells me that that’s simply untrue. The One who knows me best, who “knows more about us than we do ourselves” loves me with a powerful, sacrificial love. He thinks I’m worth loving, worth dying for. As I accept his love for me, and his evaluation of me my relationship with myself changes. Once again, even as I struggle with my own self-esteem, the answer is love.

Take Away: Love is the greatest.

Devotional on 1 John

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – Yosemite National Park

Feelings, nothing more than feelings…naw!

1John 4: That is the kind of love we are talking about.

Now I find myself at the heart of John’s letter. It’s here that I find the repeated declaration that “God is love.” The Apostle hammers his point home: God is love therefore to be in God is to be in love. If love doesn’t dominate my life then God doesn’t dominate me. If I don’t love people then God’s love is missing from my life and therefore God, himself, is missing. This “love business” demands some serious thought. What does it mean to love as God loves? If I’m not careful I wind up on the “emotions side” of love. I get the feeling that God is all about warm fuzzy feelings. Once there, I’m left with the idea that loving like God loves is to always “feel” a particular way about people whether they’re good or bad. However, I’ve taken the wrong fork in the road. John carefully describes what it means for God to be love. We know God is love, John says, because of what he does: he “sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.” Love, then, isn’t how God feels about us. Rather it’s the action he takes in our behalf. The Lord doesn’t “so love the world that he” feels all warm and tingly toward us. Instead, he “so loves the world that he gives his only begotten Son.” Love is, then, an action word. To love is to take action, even personally painful action, on the behalf of the one loved…even if that one is absolutely unlovable. If I love as God loves I too will take action. John reminds me that there’s no way I can do that unless the Lord lives in me. On the other hand, if the Lord lives in me, I can’t help but act in love.

Take Away: Love isn’t how I feel as much as it is what I do.

Devotional on 2 John

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – Sightseeing in San Francisco, CA

Pastor to people

2John: My dear congregation, I, your pastor, love you in very truth.

Compared to some books of the Bible, 2John isn’t much of a “book.” It’s more of an “email.” It’s just a few lines, written as a quick placeholder for a congregation by their pastor. He’ll fill in the material in person. He greets them by declaring his love for them. I can’t help but think, as I read this opening line, that’s it’s a beautiful thing when a pastor loves his or her congregation “in very truth.” Because of that love-based relationship John starts his note to them by encouraging them, telling them how happy he is with them. Anyone who thinks the pastor’s job is to “tell it like it is” and “set people straight” needs to spend some time here. John tells his church how much he loves them and how pleased he is with their faithfulness to Christ’s command that his followers love one another. It’s only after doing that that he moves on to warning them about some false teachers who are taking advantage of gullible Christians. He has more to say to them, but until he can be with them personally, he thinks this little “email” will do. The brevity of this letter speaks volumes about the friendly, loving relationship between this pastor and his congregation. I can’t help but think that sometimes saying less is saying more.

Take Away: Pastors need to love and appreciate the churches under their charge. Churches, on the other hand, need to love and appreciate pastors who lovingly care for them.

Devotional on 3 John

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – Sightseeing in San Francisco, CA – Golden Gate Bridge

Finding the middle road

3John : Model the good.

Second John is written to a congregation and one of the primary themes there is a warning concerning false teachers who take advantage of well-meaning Christians. Third John is written to an individual named Gaius and one of the primary themes concerns this otherwise unknown believer’s good heart and hospitality to traveling Christian teachers. One letter then provides balance to the other. Christians aren’t to be gullible and stupid as we live in a world that has more than its share of wicked, predatory people. At the same time we aren’t to be so afraid or so calloused that we lose sight of what it means to be people of God who model our lives after one who “went about doing good.” Apparently that’s what’s happened to one man who’s mentioned by John in this letter. Diotrephes, who “loves being in charge” learned the don’t-be-gullible lesson so well that he forgot the practice-hospitality lesson. In Gaius, then, we meet a man who’s found the middle way and his hospitality to God’s people prompts the writing of this short letter. One of the challenges of the Christian life is avoiding the extremes mentioned in this letter and finding the balance where we “model the good.”

Take Away: Christians have to find the balance between being easy targets of those who take unfair advantage of others and, at the same time, being caring, compassionate people.

Devotional on Jude

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – Sightseeing in San Francisco, CA

The Bible’s “emergency letter”

Jude: I’ve dropped everything to write you.

There’s nothing leisurely about the little letter of Jude. In fact, you might call this an “emergency letter.” Jude has received disturbing news concerning happenings in an unnamed church. Events there are unfolding that could result in their turning away from the faith. He quickly reminds them of just how dangerous this is, listing one event after another from the Old Testament about spiritual failure and its consequences. Jude is just a short no-chapter book but if one takes time to follow all the references, the book expands considerably. The bottom line, though, is that they’ve allowed teachers into their number who aren’t teaching the Gospel. The result is that a cancer has begun to grow in the church that, if left unchecked, will have disastrous effects of biblical proportions concerning their salvation. Jude gives them a plan of action and urges them to act immediately. They’re to focus on the “most holy faith” and to pray “in the Holy Spirit” and to stay “right at the center of God’s love” and keep their “arms open and outstretched” to receive the mercy of Jesus in their lives. As they deal with those who are already wavering in the faith they’re to tread lightly and as they deal with those who are outside the church, the sinners, they’re to take it easy on them while standing firm against their sin. Jude has already told them what to do about the false teachers who have infiltrated their church: they’re to “fight with everything” they have “for the faith entrusted” to them. As I read this “two-page book” I’m reminded to be careful about who I allow to influence my spiritual life. Not everyone who claims to speak for Christ does so. At the same time I’m reminded not to get too worked up over this kind of stuff. Jude says: “Relax, everything’s going to be all right.” As I focus on the basics of love and prayer and the like, things will work out just fine for me.

Take Away: It’s a challenge for Christians to major on the majors and to minor on the minors and to tell one from the other.

Devotional on Revelation

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – Sightseeing in San Francisco, CA – Golden Gate bridge

The book of the Bible that promises to make things plain to us

Revelation 1: A revealing of Jesus, the Messiah. God gave it to make plain to his servants what is about to happen.

It’s interesting that a book of the Bible that states its purpose to be “revealing” and making “plain” God’s intentions is considered by most people to be secretive, filled with hidden meanings and puzzles that can only be unraveled thousands of years after it was written. To some extent I think its John’s own fault. He likes to write using symbols and poetry. Also in play, I think, are the advances of technology John never imagined. He writes this letter thinking it’ll be passed around among seven churches. He never imagines that 1500 years later an invention will allow his letter to be mass produced and put in the hands of anyone who wants to read it. Had he thought about people greatly removed from the seven churches reading and trying to understand his words he might have at least added a few footnotes for those of us reading his writing hundreds of years later and under vastly different circumstances. However, that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing here for us today. In fact, it’s just the opposite. John’s Revelation connects us to Jesus in a way very different than do the Gospels or the Epistles. Here, we get a glimpse of how things look when viewed from heaven’s side. As long as I remember the purpose of this book – that it’s a revelation of Jesus — it has great value to me. Also, let me remind you that I’m writing devotionally here so don’t expect me to find any secret messages or unique interpretations here.

Take Away: When reading any book of the Bible it’s important to understand its purpose and read it with that purpose in mind.

Devotional on Revelation

GR 'Scott' Cundiff
2014 – Pinnacles National Park, CA

He sees

Revelation 2: I see what you’ve done…I see where you live…I see everything you’re doing for me.

In his Revelation John has a message for seven churches. Each message follows a similar format: a description of Jesus as conqueror followed by a declaration that he sees what’s happening in the churches. Then there’s a word of encouragement followed by a word of correction followed by a call to response. Finally, there’s a command to hear these words and respond by taking action. These churches are operating in some extreme circumstances with lots of opposition both inside and outside their number. There are enemies of Christ dressed up as apostles and there are those who are trying to blend Christianity with the local religion. As the church stands firm in the faith and stands up to these deceivers the Lord is pleased. If the church fails here it places itself in danger of being something other than Christian. The thing that stands out to me today is that the Lord sees all this. He wants the believers to know that they aren’t operating out in the darkness apart from him. He also wants those who are dabbling in some of these beliefs and practices to know that he knows what they’re doing. It’s good to remember that our labor for the Lord doesn’t go unnoticed. As I faithfully serve him he takes note and wants to encourage me. It’s nice when people tell me I’m doing a good job. It makes me feel good, even appreciated. However, whether that happens or not there’s One who sees what I’ve done, where I live, and appreciates what I do in his name. Ultimately, that’s the only thing that really matters.

Take Away: Even if no one else sees the Lord sees. In the long run, that what matters.

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