REVELATION 3

To the Church in Sardis

• Sardis was a city of wealth and fame
• How God is revealed: He holds the seven spirits and seven stars
• vs. 1 God tells the church that they don't have an alive relationship with God. They are dead.
• vs. 2 WAKE UP! God does not find our deeds honoring when we are not "alive".
• vs. 3 God tells us to remember what we have learned and obey it, repent of our old ways.
• vs. 4-5 Jesus will come back someday so be ready, because only the ones who have followed vs. 3 will go with Him.
• vs. 6 He who has an ear let him hear (repeated at the end of every letter to the churches, must be pretty important!!)

To the Church in Philidelphia

• How God is revealed: Holy and True, holds the key of David: He is in the highest position of royal court who opens and closes doors for us (see Isiah 22:22).
• vs. 8 God is pleased when we follow even when we have little strength.
• vs. 9 God is very unpleased when we claim we are Christ followers and we aren't, it is a lie.
• vs. 10 By following God patiently we will be kept from the hour of wrath.

To the Church in Laodica

• Laodica was the wealthiest city of the seven John the Baptist wrote to.
• How God is revealed: faithful and true, ruler of creation.
• vs. 15-16 God sees we are lukewarm and not hot, He wants us to be one or the other.
• vs. 17 We think we are rich and don't need God, but we are wretched, pitiful, poor, blinded, and naked; we NEED God, God doesn't need us.
• vs. 19 God disciplines us because He loves us.
• vs. 20 God is waiting for us to come for Him, all we have to do is GO for Him. In this biblical time dining together meant true intimacy. God wants intimacy with us.
• vs. 21 When we accept God, we are called to be HOT, and we will have eternal life.

October 22---The Futility of Hoop-Jumping

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

If we had to earn our way into heaven, we would never make it there. Thankfully, God has designed us so that He will get the credit in our lives, not us. I can enjoy salvation because of what God has done, not because of anything I can do. We might be good, but we are not good enough, that's why God has come to save us. It amazes me that we serve such a gracious God that would come save our sorry butts, even though He had no reason to need us. I am who I am because of what God has done!

October 21---Take It Away, Jesus

This analogy is so good! I never thought of it in that sort of way. Pretty darn cool!

A GOOD Laffy Taffy Joke

Q: Which animal talks the most?

A: A Yak hahaha :)

October 20---The Wisdom of "Foolish" Words

As Christians, we have high expectations of non-Christians. We should remember not to judge them because they are not living by the same standard as we are (God). We should do all we can to help them find this standard but until they do, we have no right to judge them for their ways. When sharing Christ with non-believers, they will not understand how we feel about Jesus Christ. Pray that God would change their heart so that they can see that they need the love of Jesus.

REVELATION 2

God choose the apostle John to write to these specific 7 churches because they encircled the main route of the circuit and He started with Ephesus and went in the following order clockwise .

To the Church in Ephesus

• How God is revealed: He holds the 7 stars and walks among the churches
• vs. 4 God is angry because the people have forgotten what clumsy spontaneous worship (What does worship look like in your life?)
• vs. 6 the Nicolaitains were teaching that spiritual liberty gave the right to idolatry and immorality. the Nicolaitains worshiped Baalam and fell under the rule of Queen Jezebel
• vs. 7 He who has ears let him hear. (this is repeated in every message that was given to the seven churches, that must mean that it is important.....Are you listening to God?) Paradise: Persian word for a pleasure garden; symbolizes God and believers being restored to the perfect fellowship that existed before sin entered the world.

To the Church in Smyrna

• How God is revealed: He is the first and the last and He died and came to life again
• vs. 8 God hates it when they say they are Christians and they do not follow, He would rather them not be Christians at all. Be Hot or Cold for God not lukewarm (hint: be HOOTTTTT!!) :)
• vs. 9 Do not be afraid, be faithful even to death and you will receive life

To the Church in Pergamum

• How God is revealed: He has the sharp double edged sword (divine judgement)
• vs. 12-17 God tell the people of their sin and tells them to REPENT (What sin is God showing you? How are you repenting of it?)

To the Church in Thyatira

• How God is revealed: With eyes of blazing fire and feet like burnished bronze
• vs. 18-28 God gave Jezebel time to repent and she refused, so she will be put to death. God searches hearts and minds!!! That's pretty amazing! God is pleased with us following His will.

October 19th---Turn to the One Who Understands

Jesus not only knows about the loneliness of rejection, but he's also the answer to it.

Hebrews 4:15

Side note:

366 times "DO NOT FEAR" is said in the bible. I think it must be pretty important, God doesn't want us to fear, but to trust in Him. It's pretty ironic that there are 365 days in a year, and God told us DO NOT FEAR once for each day and an extra time in case we forget. Trust God.

October 15th---Working Your Way through the Pain

The Stages of Greif:

1. DENIAL Unwilling to believe that something so terrible could happen to you.

2. ANGER You become angry at God for "doing" such a thing, and take it out on others.

3. BARGAINING You try to make a deal with God that you will do anything to change what has happened.

4. DEPRESSION Bad feelings towards the circumstance.

5. ACCEPTANCE Accepting reality and deal with it constructively.

God brings us all grief, to strengthen our relationship with Him. Remember the next time God brings you into a situation you don't want to be in that He is testing you and He wants you to become closer to Him through the situation. When you recognize you're in a time you don't want to be in, or you're unhappy, ask yourself "What does God want to teach me through this?"

James 1:2-4

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Steadfastness- firm in purpose, strong in faith, attachment to God

October 12th---More than Enough Love to Go Around: Part 2

What sacrafice did you make for your relationship with God today?

How did you spend time with God today other than reading today's devotional?

Do you feel God's presence when you spend time with God?

October 8th

What did God do in your life today?

October 7th---Is the Holy Bible Holey?

The Holly Bible is Whole!

October 6th---More Love than You Can Handle

He loves you because He is love to the very core of His being.

October 5th---Specially Equipped

There is somewhere our abilities can be put to use. We each have a unique ability to serve God in a unique way. The Holy Spirit has a way he wants to express the love of God through you. It's your spiritual gift. It's okay to not know what your gift is right now, because God will reveal it to you, if you wish to serve Him with it. Your gift makes you significant not only to God but to each other.

YOU ARE A VITAL PART OF GOD'S PLAN.

NO ONE ELSE CAN DO WHAT GOD HAS PLANNED FOR YOU TO DO!

October 4th---After God Made You, He Broke the Mold

If there's only one you out of all those billions and billions of people, why would you want to be like someone else. God has created you to be you.

GOD DOESN'T MAKE JUNK!

October 3rd---Do the Math

HAHAHA! I love the title of this one!

Sometimes evangalism can seem overwhelming can't it.

God has a master plan of rescuing this world. He tells us to do so by discipling. When we bring someone to Christ, we teach them to bring someone to Christ, and then they will teach them. It is a chain reaction of discipleship. Saving this world is practical with God.

October 2nd---Commissioned 110 Percent

Lord has called us to a lifestyle. We are called to rescue people from the darkness. This seems like a huge responsibility. Luckily we're not in it alone. We have God's help. By staying close to God, He will teach us how to do His work. The holy spirit will fill us and give us hearts for serving. Serving, and sharing the gospel is worship to God.

We are privileged to join God in his mission to save this world. Do you ever feel as though you aren't good enough to do God's work? I do. Remember the holy spirit will be with us and make us adequate to do the work. As we rely on God to do His work, we will always be a winner. Doing God's work doesn't mean saving every person we talk to. If you share Christ and they reject you are still a winner. In our "God stories" somewhere, sometime, somebody shared Christ with us and we didn't accept it at that time. If you share Christ and you don't seem to get to a person, I'm sure that you did. You've planted a seed for God to harvest. No matter what happens when you share Christ you are still a winner. Don't let the devil lie to you and tell you that sharing is scary and impossible.

Being a disciple isn't a job, it's a lifestyle. We never get to retire. We are in it until the end (death or rapture). Why do you think it's important to share Christ? Anyone who does not know God will spend eternity in hell. We do not want our loved ones to be sent to such a place, we want the best for them, and so out of love we share Christ with them.

Discussion Questions:

Do you have a list of people you are praying for? If not start one today! Pray for them at least once a day. God will do amazing things through prayer.

Are you building relationships, and relating to others, so they may see Christ in your life?

Are you prepared to share the Gospel to someone who would ask you about it?

Are you helpful to other Christians? Christians need support from other Christians.

Pray that God would give you opportunities to share with others.

October 1st---A Lifetime Commitment

It's sweet to think that we are called to a duty that will last forever. Not only does it last a lifetime, but the impact it has will last eternity. We can do as much service, and good deeds as we want but if we are not doing it for Christ, it will not last for eternity. Everything we do should be for God. Doing our job as a Christian, we should be spreading Christ wherever we are, it can be at volleyball, cafe, accounting class, at home, or even in homeless shelters. It is our job to be on call for Christ 24/7. This doesn't mean we have to be perfect at it! (That's why we have Jesus.) It's an amazing feeling to know that I was created to do God's work. He choose me to spread his word! What an honor! Ask God how you can improve on spreading His love, and take action!

Discussion Questions:

Are there things in your life you are devoting your time to that aren't for Christ?

How can you fix that?

Did you wear your rain boots today?