LAODICEA
Today’s Reading: Revelation 3:14-22
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
Evidences of settlements at Laodicea go back 5,000 years, according to the archeologists. Here they are reconstructing a temple from pieces of rubble found nearby. Laodicea was destroyed by earthquakes many times, the last being in the 7th century, after which it was abandoned. According to today’s reading, the people who lived here said, “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing” (3:17a).
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verse: Revelation 3:20-21
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Today’s reading begins with Jesus giving three descriptive titles for Himself: (1) “The AMEN!” He is “Truth!” He is the “Absolute Certainty!” The Apostle Paul declares, “All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen!” (read 2 Corinthians 1:19-22). Let us “Hear what the Spirit says to the churches!” (2) “FAITHFUL AND TRUE WITNESS!” In court the promise is made to tell “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” Jesus takes the witness stand! (read John 3:30-33). He is totally and completely accurate. It is impossible for Him to say anything other than truth! (3) The “BEGINNING OF THE CREATION OF GOD!” This does not mean that He was created! It means that He began the creation. We must always compare Scripture with Scripture. This is why we must read all of it, so as not to come up with error as does the false religion which teaches Jesus was a created angel (read Colossians 1:16-18).
History records that this city had a very poor water supply which was contaminated by impurities and literally made many people sick to their stomachs. If their water was cold, it would mean that it was from an artesian well. If it was hot (boiling), the impurities would be destroyed. It was “lukewarm.” These people made Jesus feel sick. “I will spew you out of My mouth!” Hey everybody! Listen up!!!
Let’s take time to meditate on 3:17-19. Imagine that we were there with John. We see Jesus in all His glory. We look into “His eyes like a flame of fire!” We hear “His voice as the sound of many waters!” (Revelation 1:14-18). John fell at the feet of Jesus as if he were dead! Let’s judge the temperature and purity of our experience with God by our reaction to Jesus’ Words!!!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, I find myself overcome by my emotions. All I can pray, as I heard on a recent 100 Huntley Street telecast, is, “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!!!” Amen!!!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
John 6:37b is the verse of the Bible I’ve quoted more than any other throughout my life. That’s because Jesus said, “Then one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out!” That’s the verse an elderly man gave me as I stood at the front of the Glebe Collegiate Auditorium in Canada’s capital city of Ottawa. I had been angry at God since my mother’s death when I was 12. Now I was 16, and finally I had responded to an invitation to follow Jesus. A truly “hot” evangelist named Jack Wrytzen gave the invitation. One of my jobs for five months prior to that night was to deliver the audio tape of Jack preaching from Times Square, New York City, to CHOV radio each week. My boss for my part time job, Syd Healey, owner of the Chrysler dealership, paid the radio time and the tapes were mailed to him for radio coverage of the upper Ottawa Valley. Syd had always done this himself prior to this. No doubt he knew that by delivering these tapes, I would make it a point to listen to the preacher. I did! I was ready to get right with God the night that I heard the preacher from the Word of Life radio broadcast in person.
The other verse I think I’ve quoted often over the 64 years since that time is Revelation 3:20. Jesus said, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him, and dine with him and he with Me.” As one who has sought to lead people to Jesus through the years, I now say to everyone who reads this, “Come, come to Jesus now.” He’s knocking on your heart’s door. Please, please, don’t turn Him away. The key to unlock the door is in your hand. It’s a simple prayer that Jesus gave us. Please say with me right now, “Lord God, be merciful to me, for I’m a sinner. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Come in today. Come in to stay. Come in to my heart Lord Jesus!” It’s really important that you tell someone that you have unlocked your heart’s door and invited Jesus in. A good way to do this is to call one of our Crossroads/100 Huntley Street prayer partners at 1-866-273-4444. A caring, non-judgmental person will answer the phone. If you get a busy signal, try again. You can also confess Jesus in an e-mail to ministry@crossroads.ca. One way or another, you must not keep the wonderful news of your decision to yourself.
Yours for making our decision for Jesus known. Jesus said, “If you confess Me before men, I will confess your name before My Father in Heaven” (read Luke 12:8-9),
David
The rebuilding of ancient Laodicia has been going on for years. Jesus promised the people of Laodicea, “To him (the person) that overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne” (Revelation 3:21a).
Wondering if my blog post has a glitch? I got two days the same – I went back to original posts and I missed this yesterday:
“PHILADELPHIA
Suggested Reading: Revelation 3:7-13
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
There is not much to see from the ancient city of Philadelphia. The site is now covered over by the modern city of Alasehir (“city of Allah” or God), in Turkey. The only extant remains are the old acropolis, ruins of a 7th century AD church called St. John, an un-excavated theatre, and a length of the city walls and gate from the Byzantine era. In this photo, you can see the large piers (pillars) of a Byzantine basilica, the church of St. John.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verse: Revelation 3:12
He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the Name of My God, and the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of Heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new Name.
“Pillar,” according to Webster’s dictionary, is “a person or thing regarded as reliably providing support for something.” Webster also uses the words, “stalwart,” “champion,” “mainstay,” and “tower of strength.” Remember Jesus says, “I will MAKE HIM A PILLAR in the temple of My God” (key verse). He also said, “Follow Me and I WILL MAKE YOU A FISHER OF MEN” (Matthew 4:19), and “Behold, I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW” (Revelation 21:5). GREAT!!! Jesus is the MAKER! We just follow Him! It’s amazing that He asks us to help from time to time. What is “the key of David”? It’s always wise to let Scripture interpret Scripture, thus bypassing interpretations based on opinions. Read Isaiah 22:20-22. The key that opens and closes doors is to be like David, whom God calls, “A man after My own heart” (read Acts 13:21-23). Again comparing Scripture with Scripture, read Psalm 37:3-5. The key is to delight oneself in the Lord! Then we want only what He wants. We line our desires up with His desires. “Delight yourself also in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart!!” (Psalm 37:4) Also, Psalm 40:8, “I desire to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.” God’s Law, His Word, is being written in our hearts daily as we are faithful and consistent in reading every Word of the Bible. This is a good time to mention that, God willing, we’ll start our second read through the Bible on June 3rd, 2014. Let’s do it again with fresh bread coming out of the oven at 6 a.m. every morning.
Our key verse also tells us of names of honour that Jesus will put on the person who “overcomes” and who “perseveres.” The Lord says through the prophet, “Those who honour Me, I will honour” (1 Samuel 2:30). A smile on the face of Jesus would be more than we deserve, but this would be truly above and beyond, more than we could ask or even think!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord Jesus, Your people in Philadelphia had “a little strength.” You said, “They kept My Word, and have not denied My Name!” I pray that, by Your grace alone, I will share such a commendation when I stand before Your throne in Heaven at the judgment of believers. Here’s my fervent prayer. May I recognize the “open door” (3:8a) that You have set before me. May I walk with purpose through that door into Your perfect will for the rest of my life. In Your Name I pray, Lord Jesus. Amen!!!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I’m looking forward to Sunday when we begin the next 19 mornings with the teachings of Rev. Jim and Kathy Cantelon. Recently I read over their commentaries on Revelation chapters 4 – 22, from the Day Unto Day series published in he mid-nineties by Crossroads, and they are so very good. Jim and Kathy are founders of a great congregation in Jerusalem called “King of Kings.” I encourage all readers to tell others about our guest commentators. Details of their current ministry, Visionledd, is online.
God willing, I’ll continue to do the 100 Personal Words each day, and then we’ll conclude our two-year journey with my challenge from the final words of all four Gospels. I shared this plan a few days ago, but I think there are new readers each day. My beloved daughter-in-love (-law), Ann, is typing Jim and Kathy’s words into the blog for me. She’s at least three times faster than I am, and she doesn’t make mistakes. Thank You, Ann. Ann often does a blog. Some of her work can be found here.
In my study Bible, all the messages for all seven churches are printed in red letters. They are “PERSONAL WORDS” from Jesus, not just to the seven churches of the end of the first century, but to the churches of every age. If I think I see churches around me that could possibly fit into some of the commendations or the condemnations of Jesus, I”ll pray hard and ask God to make me all I should be. I must remember that Jesus is the Judge, not me. For that I’m most thankful. My part in the process is clearly stated in Revelation 3:11b, “Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown!”
Yours for receiving more personal words from Jesus and walking through doors He opens,
David
Another view of pillars in ancient Philadelphia. They are still standing in spite of severe earthquakes that have toppled everything around them.”
Thank you Anna for posting this. It was most helpful to me this morning. God bless you.
Yes, thanks Anna. May God bless each and every one of His children this morning. Lord, help each one to be fruitful and multiply, in Jesus’s great name, amen
From 2 Cor 1:19-20:
“For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between “Yes” and “No.” He is the one whom Silas, Timothy, and I preached to you, and as God’s ultimate “Yes,” he always does what he says. For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.”
Thank you for the correction. God Bless You.
Yesterday’s lesson was the wrong one.Click this link from 4 years ago and scroll down to May 10 for the correct May 9 teaching.God bless
https://100words.ca/2018/05/page/3/
…Scroll down to May 9th for the missed teaching…
Thanks so much for the correct post. God Bless You.
I was wondering!! Thanks for the correction. Maybe we needed to have this lesson imprinted on our hearts. Blessings all.