Prayer – Lord Jesus, help me to understand God’s message
to You and to all the world.
Write this letter to the angel of the church in
Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right
hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands: I know all the things
you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don't
tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are
apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently
suffered for me without quitting. But I have this complaint against you. You
don't love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen!
Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don't repent, I will
come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. But this is
in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do. Anyone
with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to
the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of
life in the paradise of God. Revelation 2:1-7
Meditate. Consider God’s message in this passage.
Get out your maps and find Ephesus. It was the capital of
the Roman providence Asia during the time of Caesar Augustus, and one of the
cities that Paul visited and established a church during his third missionary journey.
Ephesus is in present day Turkey where you can still go to see ancient
ruins. At the time of Paul, it was on the Aegean Sea, but the land has filled
in now so that it is no longer a sea port. I wish I could say I’ve been there…but
I haven’t. You may want to put it on your bucket list.
Note that in John’s message he speaks of perseverance,
endurance, or patient suffering. Suffering for the Lord’s sake. Very commendable,
yet this same church is admonished for leaving their first love—assumed to be
Jesus. That would seem to be an intentional act—not losing, but leaving. Very
sad action and poor decision to have chosen. That seems to contradict their action
of disliking the Nicolaitans who promoted following Balaam, instead of Jesus. At
any rate, Jesus threatened that if they didn’t shape up and repent, He would remove
their lampstand—their standing as one of the churches. That is not good.
The church at Ephesus had a choice to make…just as each of
us do… to use our ears to hear and follow Jesus’ teachings and thus be allowed
to eat of the tree of life—and have eternal life, or not. The choice is ours.
Do you have ears to listen to Jesus’ message as spoken by the Holy Spirit?
Verse of Salvation ~ [The Lord speaks to Israel
through the prophet Isaiah.] "Listen to me, my people. Hear me, Israel,
for my law will be proclaimed, and my justice will become a light to the
nations. My mercy and justice are coming soon. My salvation is on the way.
My strong arm will bring justice to the nations. All distant lands will look to
me and wait in hope for my powerful arm. Look up to the skies above, and gaze
down on the earth below. For the skies will disappear like smoke, and the earth
will wear out like a piece of clothing. The people of the earth will die like
flies, but my salvation lasts forever. My righteous rule will never end!”
Isaiah 51:4-6 (Underlined for
emphasis._
Friday’s Feast at the King’s Table
What do wild birds eat?
These geese have gone fishing!
They are God's creation, too. God provides for them...and He will provide for you.
© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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