Corona Devo 3107

Which pew (at the church in Sardis) are we sitting in today?

The "good" pew?  Or the seemingly good pew?
(And we had better figure it out.)

~~~

As a teen boy, my brother and his best friend used to have a (typical teenage boy) phrase that they would say about some teen girls: “Good from far, but far from good.”

This could mean…the girls looked good from far away, but up-close…not so much.  Hence, “Good from far, but far from good.”  

This could also mean that she might have been a pretty girl on the outside, but when they got to know her, she wasn’t so pretty on the inside.  Again, “Good from far, but far from good.”

What would Jesus Christ say about you and me...us--and our faith today?  Are we “Good from far, but far from good”?

Are we alive or dead?

~~~

The apostle John was exiled to the island of Patmos, and an angel of the Lord visited him and told him to write seven letters (and what to say) to seven churches that had been planted in the Name of Jesus.  

Each letter had a specific message for that specific church, and it balanced the complimenting of their good side with a call-for-correction on their bad sides.  

We can fool some of the people all of the time, and some of the people some of the time, but friends-in-Christ: we cannot fool our Heavenly Father with our faith.  He knows when we are “Good from far, but far from good.”

We all have bad sides (traits/attitudes/tendencies/habits) that could be more holy, and the Lord is interested in our continuous process of becoming (more) holy, like Him.  And so, our Lord speaks bluntly into us today.  Are we alive or dead in our faith?

When the Lord looked in the pews at the church of Sardis, he saw two types of people, and He addressed them.  

When the Lord looks at us today, He addresses us with the same words and stark honesty.  God's word is ancient, but God's Word is always current.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  ~Hebrews 4:12

God's words to the church in Sardis are also His words to us, His church today:

“I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead. (2) Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God. (3) Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief.  ~Revelation 3:1-3

Ouch. These are harsh and heavy accusations, and if they were coming from anyone else, we'd probably tell them to "put their dukes up".  
These are fightin' words. 

But these words come in complete truth and out of soul-saving love from our Father in Heaven.  Our God loves us enough to call out the pretentious and surface-level faith of us and our churches.

Look around.  
Look inside.  
He is not wrong.  

...you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead. 

(2) Wake up! ...I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God.  ~Revelation 3:1-2

And this is a truthful-pain that we would rather experience here on earth, while we have time to heed God's warning and while we have "ears to hear", rather than when we have run out of time.

Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief.  ~Revelation 3:3

We have time today.  
Time to reflect.  
Time to get honest with ourselves about our walk with Christ. 

Is our faith good?  Is our faith "good from far"?  Or is our faith "far from good"?

God is talking directly to us and our hearts today, and His voice is stern.
...but what if we are among those sitting in a "good" pew in the church at Sardis today?

We may be "good from far", and we may be actually good/true/firm/active/alive(!) in our faith today.  And God knows it. And He speaks beautiful, promising, special, too-good-to-be-true words to us today, Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

(4) “Yet there are some in the church in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with evil. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. (5) All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.  ~Revelation 3:4-5

Could we (ever!) hear sweeter words spoken about us?  
Could there be a mansion more massive than these verses?  
Could there be a bank account more providing than the Lord's words here?  
Can this world offer us anything that could compare to the promises spoken here to true Believers?

Brothers and Sisters--let's be honest today about our faith-life and our hearts for God.  

Which pew (at the church in Sardis) are we sitting in today?

The "good" pew?  Or the seemingly good pew?

Are we “Good from far, but far from good”...or are we good with our God?

The last part of the message spoken to the church in Sardis is spoken into our ears and heart today too.

“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.  ~Revelation 3:6

Even if we have been good from far, but far from good--we can make a change today.  

We can wake up(!) today.

We can go back to what we heard and believed at first today.

We can hold to it firmly today.

We can repent and turn to the Lord again today. (Revelation 3:2-3)

Which pew (at the church in Sardis) are we sitting in today?

Whichever one we decide to.

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com