the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
Because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth (Revelation 3:16).
An aqueduct brought water to Laodicea. The water was cool and refreshing in the north, but by the time it reached Laodicea it was lukewarm. And you know what lukewarm water tastes like!
Yochanan (John) used this well-known situation to characterize the believers in Laodicea who were not super-active in the life of the Messiah, but who were also not altogether disinterested. The lukewarm taste in God's mouth regarding the state of these Jewish and Gentile believers was serious. God would spit them out of his mouth. The people were wealthy and claimed to have no needs, but from God's perspective they were poor. The Lord called them to repent.
In today's society, we are faced with the same temptations as were those Laodicean believers.We must therefore guard against the temptation of being unwilling to leave our "comfort zones," or becoming too busy to further the Kingdom of God on earth. We can learn a lesson from the Messiah, who said, "For where your wealth is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21). Let us reject lukewarmness and commit our whole lives to the Lord.
...seek to be poor in spirit—to be one who is fully dependent on God.
JR
The Voice of the Lord, Copyright © 1998 by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation, Inc. Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers, Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part of this article may be reproduced in print or on the web, or transmitted in any form, without the written permission of the publisher.
