Did you ever wake up with something running through your head?
Okay, it happens too often that I wake up with a song running through my head (usually something annoying) but every once in a while it's something else...
So when I woke up this morning I was thinking about Jesus saying:
20 Here 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 that person, and they with me.
About four years ago I talked about this verse in light of a difficult question on suicide. I stand by what I had to say there, if you want to check it out.
I was thinking this morning, though, more about the context of the verse. Jesus addresses the lukewarm - neither hot nor cold. There's some cool historical stuff that I've found in commentaries - like in the area there were hot springs and cold springs and the water was brought to Laodicea from some distance on an aqueduct. Now if the source was either hot or cold probably wouldn't matter since it would travel for miles...and become lukewarm.
And there's lots of details like that - and I think they're really cool (heh, no pun intended) but hardly the point. The people are lackluster in their faith and Jesus makes the connection really, really clear. It's because they have too much stuff. Verse 17:
You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’
We've been talking about money the past couple weeks at Otterbein Church**** - not a popular topic to preach on, or to sit through, yet Jesus talked about money and stuff probably more than any other single topic (you can debate that if you want - he talked about it a LOT though). How easy it is to be content with our stuff and not be stretched and challenged by God. How easy it is for us to solve all of our own problems and not rely on God's provision. That's what lukewarm is to me. I believe in God, but I'll live like I don't, thank you very much. No wonder Jesus made the camel through a needle's eye joke about rich people...
So...I don't know why I was thinking about that verse when I woke up...but it's pretty clear that it's still a lesson I need to learn. You can't serve God and money...
**** That's a link to our sermons page - oldest sermons are at the top, newest are at the bottom - as of 6:15 AM on Wednesday, January 18th, the first two of four Money Matters sermons are posted)
So when I woke up this morning I was thinking about Jesus saying:
20 Here 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 that person, and they with me.
About four years ago I talked about this verse in light of a difficult question on suicide. I stand by what I had to say there, if you want to check it out.
I was thinking this morning, though, more about the context of the verse. Jesus addresses the lukewarm - neither hot nor cold. There's some cool historical stuff that I've found in commentaries - like in the area there were hot springs and cold springs and the water was brought to Laodicea from some distance on an aqueduct. Now if the source was either hot or cold probably wouldn't matter since it would travel for miles...and become lukewarm.
And there's lots of details like that - and I think they're really cool (heh, no pun intended) but hardly the point. The people are lackluster in their faith and Jesus makes the connection really, really clear. It's because they have too much stuff. Verse 17:
You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’
We've been talking about money the past couple weeks at Otterbein Church**** - not a popular topic to preach on, or to sit through, yet Jesus talked about money and stuff probably more than any other single topic (you can debate that if you want - he talked about it a LOT though). How easy it is to be content with our stuff and not be stretched and challenged by God. How easy it is for us to solve all of our own problems and not rely on God's provision. That's what lukewarm is to me. I believe in God, but I'll live like I don't, thank you very much. No wonder Jesus made the camel through a needle's eye joke about rich people...
So...I don't know why I was thinking about that verse when I woke up...but it's pretty clear that it's still a lesson I need to learn. You can't serve God and money...
**** That's a link to our sermons page - oldest sermons are at the top, newest are at the bottom - as of 6:15 AM on Wednesday, January 18th, the first two of four Money Matters sermons are posted)
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