Saturday, March 31, 2007

March 30 - Voice at the Door

Today's Reading:
O.T. - Psalm 27 - 30
N.T. - Revelation 3

Focus Verses: Revelation 3:17-20
17You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

Insight:
It is so sad and so dangerous to be blind to one's own need. It is so easy to fall under the delusion of self-sufficiency that comes from comfort and possessions. Jesus is calling all lukewarm and half-hearted Christians to be earnest and repent. He stands at the door of our heart and knocks. If we will be responsive to him, he will come in and live with us. He will guide us to truth and refine us. He will give us the true riches of righteousness.

Response and Action:
I need to recognize my sin and need for Christ. I need to see the pitiful blindness and darkness of being deceived and lulled into half-heartedness by comfort and possessions. I need to hear Jesus' voice and open the door of my heart to receive his full counsel and the refining grace only he can give.

Lord Jesus, forgive me for any lukewarm and halfhearted attitudes you find in me. Give me a responsive heart and tune my ears to hear your voice. Thank you for the promise that you will live with me if I will open the door to you. Lead, teach, transform, shape, and strengthen me, that I might delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of God. Amen.

Proverbs: 30:5
"Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him."

Resources:
The Voice of Jesus: Discernment, Prayer, and the Witness of the Spirit
by Gordon T. Smith