Philadelphia. Thirty miles southeast of Sardis, the town was founded in 189ad by two brothers who grew up very closely together. It reminds me of the great relationship I still have with my own brother. I'm thankful to have such. These guys were close to each other and did a lot of good together. The town had many streets and buildings named after them. It is still known as the "city of brotherly love". The true meaning remains real, even today, as cultural perversions have twisted the original definition. I encourage you to seek out that one friend, whether inside the family or out, and invest in each other's lives for strength, encouragement, accountability, and spiritual support. I pray our spouses will see the need and benefit of maintaining such relationships, even as we dare not neglect inviting and engaging in our own marital adventure! Don't leave your wives behind, guys. She deserves your time and attention. Let's be careful to not be so much about reaching our own goals to the point where hers are sacrificed.
These are the words from Him who is holy and true. This is a letter from Jesus, our Lord and Savior. May the Spirit open our ears to hear what He wants to say. When a Jewish rabbi chose his students, he was literally implying that he believed they could become like him over time. This same implication is our true reality today. Through the miracle of the Holy Spirit producing these fruits, we are capable of also being holy and true. Holiness means being set apart or separated from the world's carnality and dark influences. It means being attached to God and everything devoted to and associated with Him. It can mean "absolute perfection". Whoa! How can that be possible for a sinful, selfish being like me? It means benefitting and participating in an absolutely perfect, right relationship with God, only because of His perfect grace, provision, love, and forgiveness. He is the One that makes us right in relationship with Him. We have the responsibility to cooperate and live by His Word.
Holiness produces beauty-from the inside out. Tell this to your children. Remind your spouse about this truth. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned, we've been obsessed about outward beauty and our bodies. Young people have more confusion about their sexuality than ever before. There is way too much judging and comparing of bodies, leading to more and more insecurities and inappropriate things. It is holiness that truly matters. Living a holy life is a beautiful thing, even if it's not admonished and marketed as such in American media. Walk with God, like we used to in the Garden of Eden. Be holy and love Him.
True means not false. It's being real and genuine and right. It means having all the expected or necessary qualities of a specific type of person. I pray that at the end of the day, the Lord may give me the same type of compliments He gave Philadelphia. "You have kept my word and have not denied my name."
Jesus is holy and true. That's solid and trustworthy. That's good. He also holds the Key of David. That means He's completely, undoubtedly, absolutely in charge and in control as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Remember that in whatever stormy situation you may find yourself. Remember what He looks like in glory today, from Revelation 1. That's who's got this thing in His hands.
He also has keys to lock or unlock certain doors. (He's also the actual factual Door, by the way.) Now, these doors are manifold. I believe He opens the scriptures up to us for understanding and the Holy Spirit helps us with the practical application. I also believe He opens doors of opportunity in ministries, vocations, goals, purposes, giftings, satisfactions, and fulfillments. He is the One who is the source of such great things in life. What about your dreams and goals? How's that going? What about your cooperation and support of your spouse's? I think I've been too much about my own goals, personally. I hope to catch her up and draw her into a more exciting adventure than laundry, cooking, cleaning, and taxiing Shrubs around town, though that is adventure in itself!
We need to be watchful of ministry opportunities. This might be telling others about Jesus, sharing the gospel story, helping out a stranger, or whatever other opportunity the Spirit allows. One of my most grievous times involved me willfully avoiding an opportunity presented to me by the Lord. I've never again felt such deep grieving from missing such a divine appointment. May I not be too busy, rushing around about my business, so as to not be 'inconvenienced', on my tight schedule, as to miss what the Lord has planned for me. These are the good works He planned for us to do after He saved us.
We have a little strength. We can do some things on our own, but there's too much living without the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. We need to get back in touch with the reality of His presence by the miracle of the Holy Spirit. Open up His word and let Him speak to you. Let Him help you understand the mysteries of the bible for application in your life today. Believe in it as being a reality to practice. Practice depending on Him through the day. Listen to His voice and nudging of thoughts for direction and perspective.
This passage is about being holy and true. It's about being real and genuine, as a believer and disciple of Jesus Christ. There's too many lies and deceptions in the world and in our hearts. There's too much looking the part and going through the motions. Let's be real about this, folks. In Joel 2:12-14, the Lord says to "rend your heart, not your garments, and return to Me". Fasting has as much to do about the focus of prayer on our Lord as anything. It's meant to draw us closer to Him. Oh, how I need improved focus in my prayer life! Anyone else struggle with their mind pinging from thought to thought? It's okay, just bring your focus back to Him. Keep going back to Him. Keep returning to Him, all day long. He is patient and slow to get angry. Those are other fruits the Holy Spirit can produce in your life. He loves us with an unending love. He wants us to be with Him in glory, but He wants us to experience right relationship with Him every day. He sent His Son, Jesus to prove it by dying on the cross, conquering death, paying the penalty for our sins, and arose from the grave to be alive as our Savior! That's Easter, baby! Sorry about you, Bunny, but I'm putting my eggs in another basket!
Philadelphia is the time period of evangelism. These are the true, genuine believers, not from any particular denomination, really following the Lord. They are loving God and loving His people. They are buying into His agenda. They are looking for opportunities to share their testimony and the good news of the Gospel story. They are all about grace. They are about living for God's glory, not theirs. They are finding true satisfaction in life, knowing they are participating in something much bigger than themselves and their own dreams and goals. They are planting spiritual seeds in other people. This is where you see His brilliant plan begin to unfold. He proves His amazing love and grace again in it. Verse 10 spells it out. He's going to take the body of believers out of the world. If you can imagine, that's when those seeds are going to sprout. It's going to make believers out of them, when they realize all the believers have been raptured! They will know that Jesus is holy and true! This is God's grace, even to those that didn't want to hear it while we were on Earth. He wants everyone to be with Him in heaven. He prayed for that in John 17. Sadly, many will still refuse that amazing offer of love and grace, but you can see how His plan makes sense to be effective. This is why our witness is so very important while we still have a chance. We need to be planting those seeds now. We also need to be watering them, continuing to check on them, and not letting them be neglected. Let's not lose any of them, if possible. If the Holy Spirit nudges you about someone, by all means, do something about it. Call, text, pray, go visit, whatever. Respond to His call! We need each other!
I'm still excited about the possibility of seeing strangers in heaven. From across the way, they may lock eyes with me and holler out in acknowledgement, "YOU! It's because of you that I'm here!" This could be our deepest enemies or people that have hurt us. I will point to Jesus, but be thankful He chose to use me. My hope is in God. He is their way to salvation. He is their "somehow". Somehow, perhaps by us praying and being the example and being a witness to them, they would someday know the Truth. Ah, can you imagine showing grace through prayer to those robbers that came to steal, kill, and destroy? Is there anyone else praying for them? Do it. Bring the power of love into your life to rock their world. Send the devil packing by showing grace, not vengeance. The Lord Jesus holds the Key of David, remember? Our lives are His. We can trust Him.
John Wesley got it. He was a prominent member of the Philadelphia movement. It's the time period of the evangelical church. He was an episcopal Anglican that came to America to reform the Indians. Did that go the way he thought? Nope. I don't think so. He went back to England, depressed and suicidal. His agenda didn't work. His idea failed. There he was, walking down the street, when he heard singing coming from inside a church building. It wasn't the rigid, fake, lifeless singing he was used to. He could tell this was genuine, passionate singing to Jesus. It beckoned him to come inside. The doors were open. He sat down. The preacher taught from the notes of Martin Luther on the book of Romans. Wesley noted, "my heart felt strangely warm". He got on his knees and repented of his own agendas and being fake. He was truly saved at that moment. He surrendered to Jesus and caught on to the Spirit's inspiration. He was born again. The date was 5/24/1738. "It's your birthday...it's your birthday...do the happy dance..." Happy Birthday, Leland. He got on his horse and rode over 350,000 miles, preaching and teaching the gospel story about Jesus and grace. He preached over 40,000 sermons. Other guys came out of this time period as well, establishing missions and doing great work in countries such as India and China.
Our enemies will know that God loves us. It's going to change their minds. They will know the truth about how things really are. Jesus promises us to make us pillars in the temple of God, solid and eternal, as foundational members. Our testimonies and witnesses are huge here on Earth. May our words confess Him before men. He promises to confess us as His before the Father. In fact, we are gifts to Jesus, given by the Father, for His sacrificial substitute of His life for ours. He will write on us the special names of Himself, God, and the city of God. We are His, indeed. Ah, that's just truly awesome and amazing. Who's would you want to be otherwise? This life is about bringing Him glory. Let's get on board our horse and ride!
