These are the words that Jesus told John to write to the “lukewarm” church at Laodicea. He asked them to listen for his gentle knocking at their door. Christ expressed that he was ready to “spit” (Literally, “vomit”) them out for their lukewarm commitment. But then he offered to come and abide with them, if they would only open their hearts and listen to his Word. Has your lukewarm commitment locked Jesus outside your church?
Sometimes we have to lose everything before we finally “count on the Lord.” The bereaved, the homeless, the jobless, the single mom, the parent of the prodigal and whoever has come to the end of their own wisdom and resource, these are those who learn that nothing in this world is dependable. Don’t waste the pain. Learn to depend on God and to put your “hope in his word.” When all else fails, God is there.
The Spirit of God inspired the prophet Amos to warn Israel and Judah and the surrounding nations of God’s coming judgment. He also revealed God’s heart to Amos by explaining that God always warns us beforehand, so we have opportunity to repent. The people did not listen to Amos, nor the other prophets of that day and they were overthrown. Today, God has revealed His plans for the future return of King Jesus to judge the living and the dead. Yet, many go about their business as if the warning had not been sounded. We live in the day of God’s grace, the day of redemption. But God has warned us through His prophets that there is coming a day of judgment. God has not hidden His plans from us.
The apostle John was exiled to the Isle of Patmos for preaching the gospel. There, on a Sunday, the revelation of Jesus Christ came to him while he was in worship. The early church fathers reported that John was in a cave on Patmos when the Lord spoke to him. Was John singing worship songs? He had no hymnbook nor choir. Was he sitting under preaching? There was no preacher. Was he reading Scripture? He probably had no access to his scrolls and parchments. How was he worshiping? “In the Spirit,” he said. You could beat him, boil him in oil or exile him from his fellow believers on a rock in the Mediterranean Sea, but you couldn’t keep him from worshiping Jesus. It was on that day that Jesus called to John in a voice as loud and penetrating as a trumpet. It was on that day that Jesus gave His revelation to John.
Parenting is a holy stewardship. Our children are a gift from God and He instructs us to “discipline” them. The word “discipline” used here could also be translated “to bind, chasten, correct, instruct, reform, reprove, or teach.” This is a full-time job, which is why many parents struggle. For they themselves are so undisciplined in their personal lives that they find it difficult to hold their children to any standard of behavior. To truly be able to discipline your children, so that you know the blessings of this proverb’s promise, you will need God’s power and wisdom. Submit your own life first to God, then depend on Him for strength to help parent your child.
God had provided one way for the Israelites to have their sins forgiven, one altar, in one place called Jerusalem. Yet, they chose to build their own altars according to their own desires. They rejected God’s redemption by building their own means of morality. As if their sins were not great enough, this man-made religion was perhaps their greatest sin. In trying to cover their own sins, they multiplied them. This is a foreshadowing of how many have rejected God’s Son today. God provided Jesus as the only means for our redemption from sin, the only way to be reconciled to God. He is the fulfillment of the Jewish sacrificial system, which always pointed to Him. Yet, people today continue to build their own altars, declaring themselves good based on their own thinking. They say, “I have no need of a Savior. My sins did not crucify Jesus. I think He was a good man, a good teacher, but I’m doing fine on my own.” And in saying this they multiply their own sin.
Have you heard someone make excuses about the way they lose their temper? They blame it on a family trait or a situation, but they don’t own the problem. In the book of Proverbs, the words wisdom and foolishness are considered nearly synonymous with righteousness and sin. In this verse, fools (sinners) express uncontrolled anger, while the wise (righteous) keep theirs under control. Is anger sin? No. It is an emotional response to a felt offense. Even God gets angry. Yet, His anger is always under His complete control, whereas, our anger usually is not. Don’t let your anger be an excuse for sin. Believers can put their anger under the Spirit’s control, practicing self-control, which is the fruit of those filled with the Spirit.
A timely word from the book of Proverbs for today. Is your goal to “agitate” others with that which has agitated you? Or is it your desire to “calm” others with wisdom, so that the truth of the matter may be revealed? The mocker will incite rioting and destruction in the streets, but the wise will look for solutions without anger. The former may be considered more newsworthy, but the latter will actually take steps towards solving problems.
What the apostle John here calls “proof,” the apostle Paul calls a “guarantee (deposit, earnest, pledge)” (Eph. 1:14). Paul spoke of how the Holy Spirit seals our salvation, giving us inward assurance of salvation. But John is more concerned with what this mutual abiding looks like outwardly. He says that the one who lives in the Spirit and has the Spirit living in him, will testify that Jesus is the Son of God with his lips and have the love of God for others in his actions. The outworking of the Spirit living in us is evidenced by our testimony about Jesus and our love of others.
When we receive Christ, we receive the love of Christ. This is the love that moved Christ to die in our place, so that we might have eternal life. Real love takes action. The evidence that we have received Christ is that the love that goes beyond mere words and takes action is suddenly ours. Christian love communicates itself through word and deed.