Revelation 3:17-19 Because you say, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I counsel you to buy from Me gold purified by fire, so that you may be rich; and white clothing, so that you may be clothed, and so that the shame of your nakedness does not appear. And anoint your eyes with eye salve, so that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; therefore be zealous and repent.
Laodicea was known for its Temple dedicated to Asklepios, worshiped as the god of medicine, and associated with a renowned medical school. Most historians believe that the school developed a medicine known as Phrygian power which was used to produce eye salve.
The people of Laodicea prided themselves on their wealth, their extensive textile industry which produced black wool, and their eye salve. The Lord rebuked them exactly according to the details of their prosperity. His rebuke directed toward their wealth: “buy gold refined in the fire” so that they could be spiritually rich...toward their black wool industry: buy "white clothes” for covering their spiritual nakedness...and finally, toward their eye salve: to exchange the healing of physical eyes, for true spiritual vision. It is amazing to discover the historical details of Laodicea's condition in connection with the specificity of God's prophetic words to them.
God's love for the Laodicean church was expressed as a detailed exposure of their sins and a sincere invitation to repentance. He firmly rebuked them according to their true spiritual condition of self-sufficiency, blindness, and pride, and encouraged them in the specific ways they would understand and be able to respond. He encouraged them to return, to be refined, to be spiritually clothed, and to be anointed in a way to truly see. It's clear that He anticipated some genuine repentance, declaring His promise to every overcomer...a place with Him on His throne!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]In the Olivet discourse recorded in Matthew 24, Yeshua prophesied that “… nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” The word “nation” in Greek is the word “ethnos”, from which we get the English word “ethnic”. All of this polarization and ethnic warfare which the media feed upon and incite is the work of the enemy as he stirs up the sinful nature of men.
A new driver for an interstate trucking company was having a difficult time. He found the long cross-country trips extremely tiring. The older driver who traveled with him, however, seemed to thrive on those long trips. He always seemed to look as fresh at the end of the ride as he did at the beginning.
Several hundred years before Jesus was born, a plague broke out in Athens, Greece. In an effort to stop the plague and appease the ‘gods’, the Athenians sought counsel from a wise man named Epimenides from the island of Crete.
There’s nothing we can do to earn God’s love, however if we want to experience His blessings we need to observe the qualifications that He’s given us in His Word. Psalm 112 details a whole list of blessings, but the key to receiving them is verse 1.
Looking at the relationship between “love and affection” (“chiba” in Hebrew) and “obligation” (“chova” in Hebrew), we find another closely related word, “chaver”, one of the Hebrew words for “friend”. Friends are people with whom we share love and affection and also a sense of obligation. Our God and Father wants us to be His friends, to share love and affection with Him and to carry the sense of responsibility and obligation which friendship requires.
We are called to be servants, are we not? Well, what does a servant do? He (or she) carries out the will of his master. A servant doesn’t tell his master what to do — he performs whatever tasks the master requests of him. A servant doesn’t choose what days or times it’s most convenient to serve his master. A servant’s function is simply to follow and obey his master’s instructions. A servant does not develop a vision for the master either. The master is the one with the vision — and he wants his servants to be ready and available to carry out that vision and bring it to fruition.
As we press in closer to the Lord and His calling on our lives, the enemy becomes more and more fierce, throwing all kinds of darts of fear and doubt our way. But as beloved children of God, we can trust the Lord to defend us! God has an invisible army all around, ready to protect us in our times of need. When the battle intensifies, when the enemy seems to be attacking from every side, when it seems all too great for our eyes, know that the Lord has placed His protection all around you! We may not see it — but we must walk by faith!