Daily Devotional For Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Jesus said this about His church in Matthew 16:18b, “I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (ESV). What a promise from Jesus. In order for this promise to be fulfilled, Jesus has to be watching over His church. Has it ever popped up in your mind that Jesus pays attention to every single individual church? In Revelation 2-3, Jesus addresses 7 different churches personally. In each one, Jesus makes it clear that He is intimately and fully aware of the condition of each church and the issues He has with each one. For example:

1. The church at Ephesus, Jesus’ issue with this church is that it had abandoned its first love — Jesus Christ. They were the loveless church. 
2. The church at Smyrna, Jesus did not have any major issue with this church because it was struggling with being faithful while enduring persecution and tribulation.
3. To the church at Pergamum, Jesus’ issue with this church is that it had allowed false teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans to enter it so that there was sexual immorality in this church. They were guilty of accommodation to their culture. They were worldly. 
4. To the church at Thratira, Jesus’ issue with them was they were following the teaching of a woman name Jezebel and leading others to commit sexual immorality. They problem was internal compromise. This church accepted the wrong doctrine for their faith and practice.
5. To the church at Sardis, Jesus’ issue with them was that they were only going half way with Him rather than all the way. They were complacent and thus dead and were spiritually asleep.  This church was spiritually dead. 
6. To the church at Philadelphia, Jesus really did not have any major issue with this church. They stayed faithful during persecution and ridicule.
7. To the church at Laodicea, Jesus’ issue with them was their lukewarmness. They were neither hot nor cold. Instead, they relied upon their wealth and material possession as signs they were very spiritual.

My point is that Jesus personally knew each church, its location and its spiritual condition. Jesus knew their strengths and weaknesses….their successes and their failures….their obedience and disobedience. He knew which ones stayed true to biblical teaching and those that strayed from it. Jesus knew which of these 7 churches took advantage of the blessings and opportunities He gave them and which ones snubbed HIm. 

Think about this for a moment. This should rattle your heart a bit and change the way you think about Jesus’ involvement in the corporate and global church as well as the lives of the individual believers in each church. Jesus not only knows all the intimate details every church since the first century, but He knows about the intimate details of our church — meaning you personally. Please read these verses:

• Hebrews 4:13, “There is nothing that can be hid from God; everything in all creation is exposed and lies open before His eyes. And it is to Him that we must all give an account of ourselves” (GNT). 
• Proverbs 15:3, “The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping His eye on both the evil and the good” (NLT). 
• Job 34:21, “For God watches how people live; He sees everything they do” (NLT).
• Psalm 139:2, “You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away” (NLT).

If this is true for individuals, this is true for every single church that has existed, is existing and will ever exist. If Jesus could write our church, Southside Baptist Church a letter as He did to the  7 churches above, what do you think He would say to Southside and why? Or, if Jesus were to write you a letter, what do you think He would write to you and why?

Scripture Verse To Meditate On: Jeremiah 23:24, “Can anyone hide from Me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord” (NLT).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, I pray that if You were to write a letter to me, it would not be a rebuke or confrontational. All I want to do is bring You glory and honor You with my life. In truth, You have written me a “letter” — it is called The Bible. I pray that I will love you more than I love the things of this world. Thank You for loving me and saving me. You have called us out of darkness, into the Kingdom of Your Son. Holy Spirit, teach us to be faithful. Forgive my indifference and indulgence. Grant me boldness to stand faithfully in my generation. May Your Spirit be poured out upon me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

I love you Southside! — Pastor Kelly