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Day 283 Promise 752 Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things say the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17 Because thou say, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and know not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou may be rich; and white raiment, that thou may be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness does not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21 To him who overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22 He who hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches. It’s rare when you can tell a rich person they are poor, naked, blind, and miserable. They believe they have everything and lack nothing. Jesus told John to write to the Laodiceans and tell them they were poor despite their outward wealth. Laodicea was a city of great importance in the Roman Empire. Rome named it a free city because of its immense wealth. An aqueduct ran north to south with Laodicea in middle. By the time the water reached Laodicea, it was warm. Laodicea was a major trade route, trading heavily in black wool. Laodicea had much going for it in the way of science, the arts, and literature. They had no reason to believe they were poor, wretched, miserable people. To consider them naked would have seemed laughable to them. Yet, that is how Jesus described them. (Information from Wikipedia) Jesus told them how they could restore their faith. He told them to buy gold from Him. Not the gold you can mine from the ground, but the gold found in the Word of God. He told them to buy eye salve because they were blind to the destruction of their faith. He told them to buy white raiment to clothe them. White raiment being the righteousness that comes from faith. Many Christians are lukewarm as the Laodiceans were. They have become complacent to the Word of God. They are ready to open their wallets and give generously for God’s kingdom, as long as they can sit on the sidelines and continue their way of life. Jesus doesn’t want lukewarm Christians. He wants Christians who spend time in His Word, gleaning all they can to become wealthy in the knowledge of Him. He wants them to use the eye salve of the Holy Spirit who teaches them what they need to know to keep them on the narrow path of salvation. When you spend time in God’s Word, reading and studying, you will discern when Satan comes at you with temptations that bring a lukewarm attitude to God’s Word to keep you sidelined. Don’t let the seductions of the world put your faith in jeopardy. Spend your time doing, not only giving to God’s work, and you will be wealthy beyond measure. Not by the world’s standards, but by God’s. You will be hot for Him. Then He will not spew you out of His mouth. Let’s pray: Father, help me see when Satan comes at me with temptations that would sideline my faith and cause me to be lukewarm towards You. Let the joy of Your Word clothe me in righteousness as I mine gold from Your Word. Gold tried by fire to make me wealthy in You. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 21 May 2021 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay