Daily Reading: Revelation 2
I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. (Revelation 2.2-3)
Devotional Thought: Jesus said, “I know…” to the church in Ephesus. Consider what he knows about you by what he said to them...
Your works. What freedom is ours when we understand this! We do not need to put on any airs with God. There is nothing that we do, say, or even think that remains a secret to God. So we may as well be open and honest with him!
Your toil. God sees the effort we put forth. Even when others may judge us as inadequate or inferior, God knows when we are doing our best. We can work in anonymity when we remember that God is keeping our time sheets!
Your endurance. In this world, there is much that works against our faith. A culture of moral decadence, peer pressure, political correctness, rejection and persecution, the constant call of the flesh to materialism and pleasure, disappointments, sickness and sorrow – all these things put our faith to the test. God understands what we experience, and he honors us for persevering in trial.
Your discernment. You have tested those who claim to be apostles. The Lord sees our desire to remain doctrinally, morally, and spiritually sound. There are many “isms” in the world today that sound so good on the surface. These claims of truth need to be examined and accepted or rejected based on what the Bible says.
Your faithfulness. Life wears us down. Work tires us out. Disappointments drain our resolve. Swimming upstream saps our energy. Yet, as we wait upon him, our strength is renewed. Praise his name!
May our great God and Savior Jesus Christ know these things about you today!
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that you know me. Help me to know you better so that I might become more and more like you. Amen.
Psalm of the Day: Psalm 103:6-14
6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
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