I know… (Revelation 2:2, 3, 9, 13; 3:1, 8, 15)
Ken Jennings is perhaps the most famous contestant from the game show Jeopardy. He won 74 consecutive games and earned more than $3.5 million from all his appearances. He eventually wrote the book Braniac about being a trivia “know it all.”
Jennings and imitators like him don’t really “know it all.” They have considerable knowledge about a limited scope of information, but they really only know a small part of a small part of everything that is possibly known. In fact, there’s only one “know it all,” and His name is Jesus.
In His seven messages to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus reveals that He really does know it all. Here is some of what He shares that He knows:
This is by no means an exhaustive list of a mere manager or consultant who has come in and done a targeted evaluation. These are the insightful comments of the Lord God who knows every detail of every detail. He knows the first-hand, intimate experiential knowledge of every aspect of these churches. He knows their works, their motives for those works, the effects of those works, and the opposition and obstacles to those works. More than knowing the church’s works, He also knows the churches…their heart, their faith, their hopes, their fears, their frustrations, their needs, their resources, and their destinies.
What an encouragement it is to us to know that God knows our church. He knows our history and our future. He knows our efforts and our motives behind them. He knows our needs and He knows our opportunities. Praise God that Jesus is our know-it all!
He knows it all.
PRAYER STARTER
Help me cast my worries to You, who knows the answers to every question, and also the answers to the questions I don’t even know to ask.
(I wrote this devotional as part of Scottsdale Bible’s book Renew: Daily Devotionals for our 50th Year)
(adapted from Two are Better than One, by David Mains & Steve Bell
Write: The words of… (Revelation 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7,14)
Even in this electronic age of digital communication, it is still a noteworthy event to open up the mailbox and see a letter in it.
With most personal communication now being handled by social networks or email, about the only items showing up in your mailbox are official, authoritative letters demanding your attention. Sometimes that mail is good, such as news of your child being named to the Dean’s List. Sometimes the mail is bad, like when your HOA wants you to know your new fence is in violation of code.
Whether the news is good, bad, or somewhere in between, it’s typical to check the name and title of the person sending the message. Doing so confirms the authenticity of the message and the authority of the messenger.
The same is true with Jesus in His messages to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3:
To the Ephesian church, He is the judge of churches.
To the Smyrnean church, He is the timeless God who was resurrected from martyrdom.
To the Pergamos church, He is the eternal word of Truth.
To the Thyatirean church, He is the Son of God, the judge of every person.
To the Sardisian church, He is the caretaker of the church and the judge of every human work.
To the Philadelphian church, He is the holy, loving, sovereign God.
To the Laodicean church, He is the chief authority, the faithful and true witness.
To every church, Jesus clearly identifies Himself to them in a way that is relevant to the message that follows. He does this so they will know He is uniquely authorized to speak truth into their lives and meet their needs.
To the church today, Jesus remains uniquely authorized to speak to us. He alone is our judge, our timeless God, our caretaker and chief authority. He is faithful and true. He is Jesus and He is Lord God Almighty!
PRAYER STARTER
I thank You that You are God Almighty, over all, faithful and true, with all authority and power.
(This is a devotional that I wrote as part of Scottsdale Bible’s book Renew: Daily Devotionals for our 50th Year)
(adapted from Two are Better than One, by David Mains & Steve Bell)
