14 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation:
15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! 17 You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. 18 So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. 19 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.
20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. 21 Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.
22 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.”
Terrie's Comments:
I think it is interesting that in this letter Jesus reveals that he is the faithful and true witness. He is the beginning of God's new creation. In order to be faithful you need to have your eyes fixed in one direction. You cannot be faithful to your spouse and look around or flirt with others at the same time. That is not being truly faithful. We cannot be comfortable in the world and all that it has to offer and also have our eyes fixed on heaven... one will give and it will probably not be the world that looses our attention and focus. It is so important to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus only and remember that this world is temporary. OH SO TEMPORARY!! It is only a blink of our lives in light of our eternity in our heavenly home!
Tori's Comments:
Another reminder that we cannot stay still on our relationship with God! We are constantly either growing closer to Him or farther away from Him, there is no "time out".
I like how He pairs this with illusions of our own independence of Him in verse 17. I find that my own times of drifting from Him often come from a subtle belief that creeps in that I don't need God right now- so why pray? Why read His word? This is exactly the kind of thinking He tells us to guard against! We are "wretched and miserable and poor and naked" without Christ making us clean, giving us joy, promising us treasure in heaven and clothing us with His righteousness! We depend on Him for so much, so let us live a life of gratefulness and of seeking the Lord more and more everyday.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
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Please keep all comments respectful. We want to remember that each of us is at a different place in our walk with God. This is a place for us to share openly about what has been revealed to us as we open up Gods word and to learn from others. Please take every opportunity possible to build each other up in love :-)