October 24 – Revelation 2:18-29
Dear Lord God, we come before You in worship and praise, for You are the orchestrator of Your creation. Be with us as we spend time with You, and guide us to what You want to show us.
Let’s learn first from what the Church of Thyatira did right. The church was growing – the New Living Translation says there was “constant improvement” in four key areas. 1) They showed love. I love that love comes first! Oh, let’s be known as someone who loves deeply – both God and others. 2) Their faith was real and improving. Despite the fact that they lived in a time of deep persecution, they still believed in Jesus and trusted Him. That’s huge. 3) They served. They didn’t just love in a squishy feeling way … they acted on it with service to others. They probably did things like feed the hungry and help with chores when someone was laid up for a season – things we also ought to do when people we know are hurting. Let’s serve as we love! 4) They exhibited patient endurance in hard times. There’s nothing all that glamorous about patient endurance, is there? It’s a simple, quiet, non-flashy attitude of acceptance of what is and a willingness to honor God and keep going despite hardship. To do so without whining and complaining is hard, isn’t it? And yet that quiet acceptance speaks volumes to others. May we love, believe, serve, and exhibit patient endurance in all we do!
Just like the Church in Pergamum, the Church in Thyatira faced false teaching. Jesus, in His message through John, is very, very clear. Do not follow false teaching. Worshiping idols and sexual immorality is wrong. It was then. It is now. We are to worship God only with our hearts and our bodies. If we do, a great reward awaits us. For starters … clear consciences and no need to hide. Eventually, it will also mean that we will gain some sort of authority in ways beyond my current ability to imagine! And speaking of hard to imagine, Jesus promises this church of overcomers the morning star! I am constantly in awe of what is to come – it’s gonna be super exciting and full of stunned amazement. Don’t let anyone tell you Heaven will be boring.
My verse: Revelation 2:24b, 25, “ … I will ask nothing more of you except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come.”
My response: Lord, You saw the tremendous pressure they were under. You did not ask more than they could do! Thank You that their mission was simply to hold tightly to what they had, waiting for Your return. I want to hold tightly to You, Lord. Now, and always. Keep me close.
What’s next?
As the Spirit leads, share what He has laid on your heart in the comment section below. Then join us again tomorrow for the next commentary.
