NCarolinian

"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of...

                    The church in Sardis reminds me of Sodom and Gomorrah. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah had fatal flaws but God found two handfuls of people within worthy of saving from its demise. "To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name o...

                    Christ Jesus is portrayed as the personally involved Judge in this letter to the believers in Thyatira. The description of Jesus in the beginning of this letter depicts Him as the ultimate judge - "Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze." Not only is Jesus the perfect and righteous Judge in all matters but in this letter and the previous letter to Pergamum, Christ states personal involvement to show He does not tolerate falsehood in His church and He is the one who searches hearts and minds (Rev. 2:23). "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who c...

"To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who ...

                    Christ dictated a letter to John for the believers in Smyrna, here is what Jesus said, "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:   These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.  Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death." (Revelation 2:8-11)           In this study of the second letter to the churches, Christ says Smyr...

                    Lessons are only valued if they are learned. I have heard it said many times that a mindset you need to succeed in life is one that can receive constructive criticism. However, Pastor Jimmy Evans has a different slant to this and challenges me to change my wording and view. "The difference between complaining and criticizing is the focus. Complaining focuses on me and criticizing focuses on my spouse. When I am complaining I say something like this:  'Karen, you said something to me this morning that bothered me and I would like to talk to you about it. I'm sure you didn't mean anything by it, but I would just like to tell you how I am feeling and talk it through.' That is a complaint. It doesn't attack or judge my spouse. It just tells them how I'm feeling and gives us an opportunity to clear the air in a positive environment.  But here is what criticism sounds like:  'Karen, this morning you...