Today, Saturday March 12
The Lord Still Loves You Revelation 3:19-22 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." ' "
The Church of Laodicea had become lukewarm. It had lost its vigor, its value, its vision, and it had lost it vesture. There is no divine commendation given to this church. Of course, the Laodiceans were busy commending themselves! They thought they were glorifying God, when in reality they were disgracing His name just as though they had been walking around naked.
This church was the foolish church, the apostate church and I believe it could very well represent the last church in the last days of church history just before the Lord Jesus returns!
The Lord closed this letter with three special statements that are an explanation, an exhortation and an invitation.
First, an explanation: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten" (Rev. 3:19a). This is both beautiful and amazing! Jesus still loved these lukewarm saints, even though their love for Him had grown cold. Even though they were making God sick He still cared for them. One of the devil’s biggest lies to us, is that God doesn’t love us anymore and that He has given up on us. He whispers this lie in our ear especially when we wake up to the reality of our true condition spiritually, and like Peter, are overwhelmed with our sin and denial of the Lord in our life.
We need to recognize this lie and remember God’s Word in Proverbs 3:11-12, “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.” In the New Testament we read in Hebrews 12:5-8, “And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives." If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.”
One of the great proofs and evidences of the genuineness of our faith, and that we have been “born again”, and are truly in the family of God, is that our heavenly Father chastens and disciplines us when we are disobedient and we sin against Him. It’s very clear in the above verses that often the afflictions, troubles and pain that comes into our life are because of the Father’s love. He is “rebuking” us to get us back into fellowship with Him. God permits churches to go through times of trial so that they might become what He wants them to become.
Again, we need to remember passages like Romans 8:35-39, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Is the Lord “rebuking” you today through His Word, or “chastening” you through tough circumstances in your life? It’s because He is your Father and He still loves you and nothing can ever separate you from His love that in Christ Jesus our Lord!
God bless!