April 8, 2025

April 8   Revelation 3

Revelation 3 concludes the letters to the churches.

Sardis and Laodicea really don't have compliments made about their ministry.  Philadelphia has no complaint lodged against them.  This is a reminder that even though the body of Christ is broader than our local congregations, God looks at what we are doing in our local contexts and that matters greatly.  We hear so many things about the "Church in America" does this or that.  But we need to ask a follow up question- which church? People meet in buildings on Sunday mornings and call themselves churches, but what really matters is what God says about us.  

We need to be aware that there will be Sardis and Laodicea like churches around.  They will get a bad reputation and cause people to question church at times.  But we must not forget there was a church in Philadelphia that was faithful and doing what was right in the eyes of God.  It is easy to look around and call out Laodiceans around us, but are we honestly striving to be like the church in Philadelphia?  We need to also remember that despite being called out for their wrongs, they were also given and command and a chance to repent- to turn away from their sins and to God.  In our minds we may call that revival.  If we are ever going to see revival happen, we must take a long hard look in mirror, see what God says is wrong in us just like these churches, and then do the humble response of repentance and change that will bring us into alignment with God's desires for us.