Face To FaithSample

How would you like to receive this letter from Jesus? The church in Thyatira did long ago, and there is much we should learn from it.

It starts out well enough, with Jesus commenting on the good things they are doing—works, love, service, faith, and patience—all things that we need to have as part of our lives. But Jesus didn’t stop there. He went on to condemn the church for their rotten root system. He said, “The leaves and the fruit look really good, but they are rotten because your root system is rotten.”

The problem was that they tolerated a woman who exalted her own words above the
words of God. The church already knew the standard. They knew how to live for God, and it showed in the good things they did. Their private life, however, was filthy with things that had nothing to do with God.

I want you to realize that God does not just give us laws arbitrarily. He has reasons for them! In this case, God is jealous for His church. Sex is an act that consummates a covenant, uniting two people’s flesh as one. Food sacrificed to idols was similar in that these offerings were a sign of a bond between the false god and the person. You can still see this today in countries all over the world.

God was jealous for His church, that they would be faithful. This woman Jezebel, like the Old Testament Jezebel who opposed the prophet Elijah, taught and seduced God’s people to undermine His Word and break faith to their covenant with Him.

It no longer mattered that they had all kinds of good works because their hearts were not faithful to God. Jesus told them that the fruit of those kinds of works would die.

So how is your heart? Are you fudging on God’s Word? “Well, it’s okay. I only do it once in a while,” you say. Or maybe it’s, “I’m not really addicted to porn. Besides, it doesn’t affect me.”

Let’s get serious. God sees your heart and your mind, and He will only reward the faithful.

Prayer
Lord Jesus,
I repent for compromising in my heart. Please forgive me! I choose to reject the things that don’t line up with Your Word. Thank You for helping me to be free!
Amen