Scripture to Read: Revelation 2:2
As our Lord Jesus Christ speaks to the church at Ephesus, He tells them that he knows their deeds, their actions. We must never forget that God lives in us through His Holy Spirit, and He knows our deeds/actions that we live out each day. We have to continually examine our lives, what we choose to do, say, and think because our lives no longer belong to us. We must remember that we belong to our Lord Jesus Christ, and we are His bondservants (1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 Peter 2:16). Jesus also encourages the believers in Ephesus and tells them He has seen their hard work and how they have practiced patient endurance. We must also work hard in all that we do. We must remember that we serve our Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:17; Colossians 3:23-24) and not this world. No matter what we do, we must do it unto our Lord and not for any human. Our hope should be that our Lord would say that He recognizes our hard work and that we patiently endure no matter what we face. Our Lord also sees how the believers in Ephesus will not put up with evil. As believers, we should never put up with evil of any kind but should actively stand against all evil. Finally, our Lord recognized the believers in Ephesus for rightly examining those who claimed to be apostles and were not. We must be careful who we listen to as well because not everyone is who they claim to be.
Challenge & Application
1. What did our Lord teach you today about who you belong to, how you work, how to handle evil, and examining those who teach you?
2. How are you living and working each day to honor our Lord and how are you guarding against false teachers?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!