Wake up!
`To the angel of the church in Sardis write: `This is the message from the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know what you are doing; I know that you have the reputation of being alive, even though you are dead! So wake up, and strengthen what you still have before it dies completely. For I find that what you have done is not yet perfect in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you were taught and what you heard; obey it and turn from your sins. If you do not wake up, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not even know the time when I will come.’ (verses 1-3)
Read Revelation 3:1-6
`I can’t pinpoint the day I stopped loving him’, said Trish. ‘It was only when Tony came along that I realised I didn’t care about Brian any more.’ Love rarely dies with one quick blow. Most often it dies by degrees. Little niceties are neglected. Romantic getaways are postponed until a more suitable time. Housework, yard work and office work become more important than making a marriage work. And little by little, without fuss or bother, love slowly dies.
Our love for God can die too. Without fuss or bother. Quietly, ever so slowly, it slips away. We can use excuses like; I’m too busy to pray today, I can’t worship this week, I’ll catch up on my Bible reading when I have less on my plate.
Can we really afford to neglect our relationship with our Lord? As today’s bible readings says, ‘Wake up, and strengthen what you still have before it dies completely.’
Father God, I confess that I have not loved you as I should. Forgive me, Father, because of your son, Jesus Christ, and help me start again. Amen.
Devotion by Linda Macqueen in “God’s Promises for each day” (LCA, Openbook Publishers, 1999)
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