30 New Days - Day 29

The 29th  day of a 30 day devotional Bible Study by the Rev. Tracy A. Siegman, Senior Pastor FCC, Covington, KY.  Shared with her gracious permission.

If you read the suggested passage each day, by the end of 30 days you will have read the entire New Testament.

Day 29
30-day reading plan: Revelation 1 – 11
Daily Verse: Revelation 2: 7
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

The Apostle John in his revelation had a message to deliver to the seven churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Each church had an angel and Jesus had a message for each angel. Revelation is a letter containing a message for all churches with words of tough love calling the churches to repent of behavior that is leading them away from their commitment and devotion to Christ and encouragement for whoever conquers. 

John wrote a letter to each of the 7 churches in hopes of helping them deal with loss of love and devotion, defending against false teachers, sexual immorality, dying faith, lack of deeds, lukewarm faith, and greed. John calls them to repent and persevere in the faith given to them through the Apostles’ teaching. In different ways, each of the churches are called to renew their faith, defend against false teachers, and engage in works of faith. Thousands of years later, the Church still faces these challenges.

Pergamum, Ephesus and Thyatira had false apostles teaching among them and giving them permission to compromise with the pagan culture around them. Ephesus had resisted the false teachings by testing and reproving false apostles but Pergamum and Thyatira had been following these teachers.  We should be careful of who we listen to and what we read. Not all who claim to be Christian preach and teach the true faith. Some authors are no more than life coaches who tell us that if we believe enough or give enough we will have the life we want. These teachings leave us with a shallow good feelings that lacks the depth of true love and devotion. 

Question for Reflection: 

What background do you expect of an author who you would consider authoritative?