Seven Churches in Asia

In chapters 2 and 3 of the book of Revelations, there are letters to seven churches in Asia Minor, which is modern day Turkey.

The letters seem to follow a pattern:

• The salutation is a description of Jesus. It describes his position, character, and role, to the  church being addressed.
• The body is a description of the church, its situation, its character, its successes, and its failures.
• It closes with a promise to the overcomer. Meaning, if the church deals effectively with it situation -- it grows, enhances the successes, and corrects the failures -- Jesus gives these churches a promise of how God will look at them, and interact with them.

Some people think each church represents an age of the church. That is, the situation of this particular church is a description of the universal church in a particular era. I recognize that this could be a possibility. But I could not say at this time, that this is true.

But it does seem that these churches are types of churches. These churches have characteristics that current day churches have. And God feels the same about these current churches, as he did those seven churches. And his assessment, and his promises, are the same then, and now.

So, of course, the next little series will be about these churches, where we will highlight the pattern I discussed above in each church.

Zaccheus

Zaccheus was the chief tax collector for the Romans. Which means he was hated, and despised, by the Jews. He was a traitor, and a collaborator, with the oppressive Roman conquerors.

Apparently, he was spiritually curious also. He heard Jesus was traveling through his town. He wanted to see, and hear, Jesus. So, he went to where Jesus was. But, because he was really short, he could not see anything. So, he climbed a tree. Really, maintaining a dignified posture in front of everyone.

Jesus, of course, maintained his popularity ... he invited himself to Zaccheus' house for dinner. The process of giving, and accepting, hospitality was demonstration of acceptance, understanding, and approval. In other words, Jesus was saying that the traitor, Bacchus, was an OK guy. God saw him, and approved of him. Which was not what the ordinary Jew, or Jewish leaders, would think. They would condemn, scorn, and ignore Zaccheus. Certainly not have a meal with him.

At that meal, Zaccheus listened to Jesus, and his disciples, talk, and saw them interact with each other, him, and his staff. And Bacchus, a very rich man, announced that he was going to repay those he cheated -- four times what he took -- and then half of what was left to the poor.

Pretend MicroSoft overcharged $50 on each of its products. Then, imagine Bill Gates giving $200 for each product -- Windows, Word, Excel -- to those who have these products. Then, taking half of the rest of his money, and giving it to Compassion. Or some other charity.

When someone hears the gospel, and it clicks, there is an upheaval in the person's heart. A revolutionary change takes place in the heart. And as all behavior comes from the heart, there are revolutionary changes in behavior. Behavior demonstrates changes in the heart. The Bible calls these changes fruit. When someone gives allegiance to Jesus, there is fruit. And not just any fruit. The Bible lists the fruit of the Spirit. Fruit as the result of the Spirit living, and acting through, a person.

We see this fruit in Bacchus. And Jesus says that salvation came to Zaccheus' house, confirming the reality of the Spirit in Zaccheus' life. And Jesus confirms that such change was his mission from the Father.

Citizens of God's Kingdom - 4

The fourth passage involves a rich, young ruler. He asks Jesus how a person can attain to God's kingdom. Jesus told him to obey what God said. And he responded that he did obey what God said.

Jesus told him there was one more thing: give what he had to the poor, and follow Jesus. And the man was unable to do this. His possessions controlled his life.

Basically, there should be only one thing that controls us. And this young gentleman was controlled by his image, and his lifestyle.

Jesus' basic message was: there is only one person, who is worth our personal allegiance. Today, we see many things that people give their allegiance to. Politics. So, cial issues. Cultural pursuits. These things may not be necessarily wrong in themselves. God may even want his family to pursue these things on his behalf. But these things need to be given the right priority, the right attention, and the right value. 

There are people who have studied God's word -- and that's good -- and grabbed onto certain truths. Conclusions have been drawn. Extrapolations made. And systems built.

I do not think that someone believing, that a particular system is the correct system, is wrong, or dishonoring God. We are urged to walk by faith, and our convictions. But this will mean that in God's family, there will be some disagreement. Trouble comes when people from one system disobey God in regards people from another system.

Jesus said the most important command is to love God. And we love God by keeping his commands. The next most important command is to love people. To obey the first command, we need to obey the second command.

Disagreeing about systems is one thing. To lack patience, kindness, and to hold someone in low regard, because of that disagreement, disobeys, and dishonors, God. Jesus loved, and died, for those people, as much as he did for people in systems, we agree with. The Holy Spirit is working to teach, and transform, all of his family. And God is working to achieve one understanding, and one perspective, of who he is, and who he needs us to be.

So, we need to grasp onto some things tightly, and loosely on others. Or we run the risk of being like the rich, young ruler. Holding onto things we should not be holding onto.

Citizens of God's Kingdom - 3

The third passage is when people bring their children to Jesus. The disciples rebuke those families. And Jesus said to not stop the children from coming. Children are like those who enter God's kingdom.

What is the difference between adults and children, that makes children more acceptable in God's kingdom.

Children seem to be very open, and trusting. When told that a fat man, dressed in red, squeezes down the chimney, and leaves gifts in the house for everyone who lives there, they believe it. When told that a magic rabbit hides candy in the house on Easter morning, they believe it.

Children are not used to people cheating, lying, and deceiving others, so they accept what they hear. Especially if the people telling them have demonstrated love, and generosity, in other circumstances.

If we recognize God as loving, gracious, and merciful, wanting only to give us good things, then we should believe what he says. We should trust him.

It should be easy to trust him, because we understand his goodness, and it is not in his nature to lie, cheat, or deceive.

God is motivated primarily by two things: his holiness and his love. It is his holiness that motivates him to draw the line. And it is his love that motivates him to draw the line. He designed people, their hearts and their bodies. And part of that design is a code of conduct. If people follow God's way, they are better off, and more happy and fulfilled. And the world is better, and more happy. Let us trust like children, and experience God's best.

Citizen of God's Kingdom - 2

 The second passage is the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. In this passage, both men are in the temple praying. The Pharisee is thanking God that he has received God's acceptance, and blessing. He knows he has earned God's blessing, because of all the good, and religious, things he has done.

The Tax Collector is an employee of the Roman government. He collects taxes for the oppressors. So, he is viewed as an enemy, and a traitor, by Israel. So, he stands in the temple lamenting his sin,.

Jesus says it is the Tax Collector who is justified. The Pharisee is not justified, because he exalts himself. The Tax Collector is justified, because he is honest, sees his sin, and seeks forgiveness for it.

A citizen of God's kingdom recognizes that he has no good in himself. He approaches God in humility. He recognizes his need, and the need of all people. He recognizes that only Christ can meet his need, and the need of all people. So, he cannot say he is better than anyone.

He might be able to say he is better off. Not because he is better. But because there is a King, who is a Savior, who sought for the good of everybody, and some of us have actually received our benefits package from the King's government.

In other words, we are better, not because of our good, and religious, works. We are better because we recognized our need, and we recognized where we could go for help, and have that need met. And we sought out the King to receive his provision, and give him our allegiance.

Citizen of God's Kingdom - 1

There is a series of passages, where Jesus describes several traits that belong to a citizen of God's kingdom.

The first passage is the persistent widow. She is a woman with a serious legal issue. Because she is a widow. she does not have a family that will work on her behalf. And she cannot afford to hire an attorney. And the situation is serious enough that she goes to the judge handling the case every day to remind him of her side of the story, and why it would be unfair for him to decide on behalf of the other party.

The judge does not really care one way or the other. But he finally decides to make the decision on her behalf, because she is driving him crazy.

Jesus is not trying to point out that people are like the widow, and God is like the judge. God has a genuine love, and concern, for people. His heart is to do good for people. His heart is to listen openly, with an open heart, and complete attention. His heart is to give generously -- unless giving will harm the person.

A citizen of God's kingdom recognizes, and understands, God's heart. He recognizes the willingness to listen, to understand, and to give. So, he has no shame in opening his heart.

Because God's heart is open to listen, we can be confident of bringing the same issue over, and over, and over again. Indeed, we should be confident with God's willingness to listen, and desire to hear us, that we should be eager to bring the same request, over and over, until God speaks to us, and reveals this issue cannot be answered as we would like it to be.

But, we see God's patience, love, grace, and sensitivity. We can be confident that his heart is for us, and our best. We can be confident that our relationship is important to him. 

The Road To Life

There is a section of Scripture where Jesus says if we want to follow him, we need to hate our families, and our lives. Given that Jesus urges us to love God, and love people, this seems a little out of place.

Now, no one thinks Jesus meant actual hatred. The context concerns counting costs. He gives the comparison to building something, but not realizing how much money it will require. Or if a country is considering going to war, it needs to know how big of an army is needed.

Giving one's allegiance to Father, Son, and Spirit, is the first priority. Choices will need to be made. God still wants us to love, and honor, our families. God still wants us to care for our personal needs.

Pretend for a minute that we come from a family that does not know Jesus. We are the only person in our family, who follows Jesus. If we love our family, we want them to know, and follow, Jesus. So, love demands that we attempt to communicate the gospel to our family. What if they get mad? What if they say, "Don't talk about this anymore! If you do, you're not in the family anymore!" This choice, (to share or not to share), if we needed to make it, would in no way be easy. But the choice is between following Jesus and following our family. We would need to choose Jesus.

May no one ever need to make this decision. May every follower of Jesus's family see Jesus in us, and be amazed, and want Jesus for themselves.

Then, Jesus continues with a short parable about salt. Salt is necessary for life, especially in the Middle East in Jesus' time. It not only gave flavor to food, it acted as a preservative, enabling food to be saved for a longer time.

Following Jesus becomes salt to our families, friends, cities, nations, and culture. Those hard decisions bring life to our circles of existence. We are actually loving people by making those hard decisions to follow Jesus. Our lives are better for following Jesus. Their lives would be better for following Jesus.