Day 3: The Counsel of Jesus
"You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see" (Revelation 3:17-18).
Our Father, You have shown us in Your word the danger and folly of training our focus on this transient world: Do not love the world or anything in the world…The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:15,17).
The Lord Jesus gives us the clear warning, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20).
The Lord's reproof to the Laodicean believers (Revelation 3:17-18) provides a strong message that places the entire church on guard against a worldly focus. Reveal in us all the ways we harbor the same attitudes. Show us our areas of smugness, self-satisfaction, and self-sufficiency.
Father, help us to take seriously the correction and the counsel of the Lord Jesus. Keep us from spiritual arrogance and complacency. Keep us from the deadly pride that prevents us from understanding our desperate need of Your mercy and grace. We are blind apart from Your vision, naked apart from Your covering, destitute apart from Your providence.
Forgive us for filling our lives with the treasures of this world, thinking we "have acquired wealth and do not need a thing." Forgive us for trying to "gain the whole world" and endangering our souls in the process (Mark 8:36). Forgive us for turning the gifts you graciously provide into instruments of selfishness and idols of the heart.
Thank You Lord, that You are able to fill the empty spaces we try to stuff with acquisitions. Thank You for providing salve for our "long" eyes and satisfaction for our thirsty souls (Isaiah 55:1-2). Heal lukewarm hearts. Heal hearts of stone. Heal blind eyes. Be our vision. Be our wisdom.
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