To the angel of the church at ...... write....

I don't know how I missed it.  I've read the passages over and over many times, but I never got it. 

The letters to the churches in the book of Revelation aren't written to churches.  They are written to individuals. 

I had to sit and let that sink in when I noticed it.   Those letters with admonitions and declarations like...

" you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead" 

"you have left your first love"

"I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of My God"

"you have a little power, and have kept My word and have not denied My name"


 aren't written to a group of people like I'd always thought.  They're written to living, breathing individuals, who were the leaders of their churches.   

You have to understand that I've always used these letters as a clue as to what a church should be like, or what I should look for in a church (and I'm sure they have value for that) but never like they were written primarily to a person.  If you say "lukewarm" I think of a church, a denomination and therefore by extension, a person.  It's the opposite that's true.  "Lukewarm" referred primarily to a man and by extension to the church.  It was the individual lukewarm people that made the Lukewarm church.

Those letters read a whole new way.  
 

You're never tempted to do what you're supposed to.....

   I'm pretty sure that this is one of those statements made by "Captain Obvious" as he bounds into the room determined to solve everything with just one more ridiculously obvious observation....


 But can I just say anyhow.... NO ONE is ever tempted to do what they're supposed to.

Getting ahold of this is life changing.

I will never be tempted to get off facebook and mop my floor, or read to a toddler.

I will never be tempted to get up early and spend extra time in prayer.

I will never be tempted to be quiet and still, and let my husband lead.

I think you get my drift.....

whether it's how you spend your time,
how you deal with difficulties in your marriage,
how you treat your children,
what you do with your money,
your devotional life,

You'll never be tempted to do what you're supposed to do.


  Whether or not I want to do something is absolutely no measure of whether or not it's a good idea.   And frankly,  whether or not I even think something is a good idea is no measure to use.   The Bible says the heart is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things, and my heart gives me daily proof.  

Choose wisely my friends, according to what the Word says and not according to what you want or don't want to do, remembering you're never tempted to do what you're supposed to.

  Eph. 5:15-16 "Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time because the days are evil."

A Mighty Anvil?

So why  A Mighty Anvil ?  Just in case you ever wondered about the title of this blog, I thought I'd share.  

About 10 years ago I was praying in church about what the Lord really wanted from me, and what direction He wanted me to pursue.  It was kind of a crisis time.  I really needed guidance and clear purpose.  His still small voice whispered "Forge a mighty anvil".  huh?

  The voice was persistent, and the words were emphatic; but I didn't understand.

   It probably didn't help that I had no idea what an anvil did.   I looked into it.   An anvil is a heavy steel or iron block that a blacksmith uses to hammer the molten metal against and change its form.  Still no "aha" moment. 

  It was my husband's insight that finally helped me see the point.  Every individual is an anvil.  People should be impacted for Jesus by knowing you.

   Beyond that, the anvil was the family. When God brings people in contact with you and your family, they should be impacted, changed, molded more for Him by that encounter. 

     Forging a family..... takes work.  In our culture today it's hard to know where to begin, where to focus, what's really important.  But the work is vital with eternal consequence. 


  The title challenges me and reminds me.  




 
 

 

a quote....

 By conviction, I'm not a very political person, but I couldn't resist sharing this quote.

  "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive.  It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies.  The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."    C.S. Lewis