Our Letter

In Revelation 2-3, the Lord wrote letters to the seven churches of Asia. He started them by identifying Himself and then dealt with positives and negatives. Next, He gave some type of encouragement to be faithful. He then closed with an admonition that he who has ears is to hear which might be interpreted as, “Listen to what I have said, and encourage the good and correct the bad.”

Here is what He said to Ephesus (2:1-7): He knew their deeds and perseverance and how they had tested false apostles, but they had left their first love. To the church at Smyrna (2:8-11), He said He knew their trials and faithfulness, and He encouraged them to remain faithful. To the church at Pergamum (2:12-17), He wrote about how they had not denied His faith even in the face of death, but He had a few things against them. Some held to the teachings of Balaam and some to the teachings of the Nicolaitans. To the church at Thyatira (2:18-29), He wrote that He knew their deeds and how they were greater than at first but some tolerated the woman Jezebel. To the church at Sardis (3:1-6), He wrote that they had a name that they were alive, but they were dead. To the church at Philadelphia (3:7-13), He wrote that He knew their deeds and had put an open door before them because they had kept His word. To the church at Laodicea (3:14-22), He wrote that they were lukewarm, and He was going to spit them out of His mouth.

The thought comes to me: What if Jesus wrote the church I attend a letter? He would know everything so we could not hide anything from Him. What would He say? Would there be some positive things that we need to encourage? Would there be some negative things we need to fix? The question comes to me: If there are some things Jesus would encourage, how can I encourage those things, and if there are some things He would correct, what can I do to correct those things?

Total Eclipse of the Moon

Did you get up early on March 3rd and watch? The next one is not suppose to happen for our area until 2029. You might be asking watch what? The lunar eclipse or the blood moon. Granted, it was at around 5 in the morning, and most of you were probably asleep. That is the great thing about videos. I am sure you can look it up on the internet and find a video if you were asleep. Whether you saw it live or not, it is pretty cool to think that we are flying through space on earth around a giant sun with a huge moon rotating around us. And yet we have not crashed into each other. That is order and design from the Great Designer, God.

The heavens have always fascinated mankind. Maybe it is the awesome power of the sun or the gravitational pull of the moon. Maybe it is something like the aurora borealis or a solar or lunar eclipse. (All things that we have been blessed to see recently.) Maybe it is just as simple as laying in your backyard counting the stars, admiring a sunrise or sunset. The heavens are fascinating. Again, they show great design, and that designer is God.

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.” -Psalm 19:1-6

In “West Tennessee,” I think that means the heavens are awesome, and they are screaming God is real to us.

Going for the Gold

What is your favorite Olympic sport? Skiing, sledding, or skating? One of my favorite winter sports is curling. I do not know much about the sport, but it makes me laugh when they release the stones and start yelling commands at each other. Especially when it is a team that does not speak English. I will try to mimic what they are saying in the tone they are saying it and in the volume they are saying it. No matter which sport is your favorite, you have to admire the time, effort, and dedication these athletes put into their craft.

Paul may have had some early games in mind when he wrote 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. He talked about how those who compete in the games do so to get a perishable wreath. That is a lot of self-control to get a perishable wreath. You might think our athletes are getting more, like a gold medal, fame, and endorsement deals. But in your grave, what is the value of a perishable wreath over a gold medal? In the grave, their value is the same. As Christians, we have something better that lasts beyond the grave. That is our relationship with Jesus. As a child of God, I have an inheritance of a home with the Father forever. Wreaths, gold, fame, and fortune fade away, but heaven does not (1 Peter 1:3-5).

Let’s turn back to how these athletes get the gold. Self-control. If these athletes are willing to  practice self-control in what they eat and how they train to win a perishable wreath, how should we be living in light of the promises of God? Paul talks about disciplining his body and making it his slave so he will not be disqualified. I do not want to be disqualified from an eternal inheritance so that means I need to practice self-control. Like the athletes in the games, I need to be willing to say “no” to some things I might think I want and “yes” to some I might not think I want. Are you going for the gold or for God?