- araratchurch
- Jul 23, 2024
- 3 min read
““Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation: “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.”
Revelation 3:14-19 NLT
There is a saying that goes, “There is none so blind as he who will not see.” The meaning here is that the one who has been given the opportunity to see the truth, but will not accept that truth, has blinded themselves.
Indeed, our Lord addressed this concept when His disciples asked Him why He spoke in parables.
“His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand. This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’ “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.”
Matthew 13:10-16 NLT
Again, when people are given the opportunity to see the truth, and choose not to see it, they become blinded.
The parable Jesus had given before the disciples asked their question, was that of the sower. In this parable we see that the state of the soil (referencing the human heart), determined the viability of the seed (His word).
The parable of the sower illustrates the different degrees and causes of hardness of heart, ultimately showing that if the Word will not be received and protected, it will not grow.
In our opening scripture we see Jesus, speaking to John on the Isle of Patmos, referencing the church at Laodicea. We see that Jesus notes that they are blind to their actual condition.
Now, they have not been blinded by forces beyond their control, but have—because of their lukewarm spiritual state—become blind to their actual condition.
We may wonder why someone cannot see what we see. Perhaps we can see that their life is headed in the direction of destruction, yet they don’t seem to see what is obvious to us. How are they missing what we see clearly?
Child of God, “blindness” means something. When a person has become self-blinded, you can try to reason with them all you want. Indeed, knock yourself out if you’re so inclined. But given the scenario of dealing with someone who is spiritually blind, we should understand that only the Lord can open their eyes to their potentially desperate situation. Our part is to pray that their eyes will be opened while also asking the Lord if there is anything He wants us to say or do to encourage them in that process. Arguing with someone who is blind about what they are not seeing, is generally a waste of time.
Obviously, we are not here advocating that a person not be warned who is in immediate danger. We are speaking of spiritual blindness wherein a person has been given the opportunity to see the truth, but has chosen to be blind.
Finally, our first order of business should be to make sure that we are not the one who will not see.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Jul 22, 2024
- 3 min read
““I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear [to hear] them now. But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth [full and complete truth]. For He will not speak on His own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father—the message regarding the Son], and He will disclose to you what is to come [in the future].”
John 16:12-13 AMP
People can be ready and willing to weigh in on all sorts of things. However, a hastily spoken word, can be very destructive.
We know that as followers of Christ, our speech should always be what is pleasing to the Lord. As such, we know that words must not be used as weapons. We must not lie. We must not mislead.
“Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”
Ephesians 4:29 NLT
“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”
Colossians 4:6 ESV
Words of truth should be the only words we speak. And words of truth may fall into the category of instruction and/or discipline. However, instruction and/or discipline must be spoken at the right time, and must be spoken out of the motivation of God’s love (agape).
“But speaking the truth in love [in all things—both our speech and our lives expressing His truth], let us grow up in all things into Him [following His example] who is the Head—Christ.”
Ephesians 4:15 AMP
Consider this scenario: Someone (with whom you have a relationship) is distraught because their spouse has left them. In this hypothetical scenario, you have observed some of the very dysfunctional ways this person has dealt with that spouse. So, the spouse finally getting enough of the treatment and leaving, comes as no surprise to you. But you are now being faced with someone completely torn apart, and they are sharing the contents of their broken heart with you.
Unless the Lord directly leads otherwise, this would not be the time to share with this person that you’re not surprised their spouse did what they did. In this moment, what that person needs is hope and comfort and is probably incapable of receiving a word of correction.
Now, no matter what the circumstance, we don’t speak words that are not genuine or are insincere. For example, you shouldn’t say something like “I can’t believe they did this.”
However, there is plenty of truth in the word of God that would be appropriate at such a time to help the person—in this moment of despair—to regain their footing and access the comfort of the Lord. Words of instruction can be left until another time as the Holy Spirit directs. Only the Holy Spirit knows when the wounded heart is ready to hear it.
“Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”
Proverbs 16:24 NLT
In our opening scripture we see Jesus explaining to the disciples that there was more for them to know, but He knew they couldn’t receive it at that point in time.
Jesus then went on to explain to them that the Holy Spirit would lead them into the additional truth they needed to know.
It’s also important to note that Paul, speaking to people who did have the Holy Spirit, still could not speak to them concerning certain things because of their spiritual immaturity.
“Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?”
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 NLT
Paul, knowing that the people could not hear more advanced spiritual instruction, continued to feed them with the milk of foundational truths.
The bottom line is that whether a person SHOULD be able to hear something or not, if they’re not prepared to hear what you have to say, even if it’s the truth, it can do more harm than good.
Friend, let’s listen to the Holy Spirit, letting Him control what we say, AND when we say it.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Jul 19, 2024
- 3 min read
“Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.” The disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!” They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died. And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.””
John 11:11-13, 15 NLT
A while back, the Lord gave me a message on the “Hope Rope.”
You see, because Jesus has already entered into the Holy of Holies, into the inner sanctuary of God, hope in Him assures us that we too, will one day follow Him into that glory.
Jesus is our Anchor. He is already there at the right hand of all power and authority, holding our place for us. Our hope in Him, connects us like a rope, to His finished work.
“God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 6:17-20 NLT
Holding on to the hope rope, enables us to walk through whatever we must, as we follow after Jesus.
Now, I know denial when I see it. People who seek to “make it through the night,” so to speak, by doing things to divert their attention from their present situation, are using denial as a strategy for survival. Sadly, it’s ultimately a strategy for despair.
Having hope in what God has promised through Jesus Christ, is not denial. Far from it, our hope is based on what faith has already “seen.”
“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”
Hebrews 11:1 NLT
As we see in our opening scripture, when Jesus’ friend, Lazarus, died, Jesus initially told the disciples that Lazarus was “sleeping.” Then He plainly told them that Lazarus was dead.
However, Jesus’ first statement about Lazarus being asleep, was not initial denial of the fact that Lazarus was dead. Indeed, that statement was based on the fact that Jesus knew that He is the resurrection and the life. And as such, Lazarus would be raised!
Child of God, our hope is in Christ. By faith, we believe that we will follow Him all the way into the glory of God. Just as He was sure of His ability as being God, we must be sure of His ability in us. That is to say, we believe we will receive all that God has promised. After all, He has given us His precious Holy Spirit Who will keep our hope renewed, day after day.
Denial brings no permanent relief. Eventually, reality will permeate the smoke and mirrors, and we will be left staring down the barrel of the very thing we feared.
Hope is a permanent solution for navigating this weary land. As we hold on to that rope connecting us to what Christ has already done, we can stay the course until we walk into the glory awaiting.
Christ has already won the victory for us, becoming the Way for us to be where He is. But until then, hope is our rest NOW. And, it will sustain us all the way home.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!