He Reigns
Bible reading
18 ‘To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, “I will not impose any other burden on you, 25 except to hold on to what you have until I come.”
26 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations – 27 that one “will rule them with an iron sceptre and will dash them to pieces like pottery” – just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give that one the morning star. 29 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
– Revelation 2:18-29 NIVUK
Devotional
When people think about you, what do you suppose runs through their mind? What words would they use to describe you? How do you want them to describe you?
Jesus was thinking about the Church in Thyatira and He didn’t let them wonder what he was thinking, he told them! He gave them such praise about the things that they were doing. He was delighted with their love, their faith, their service and even their perseverance. He saw that what they were doing now, was more than they did at first! This church was growing and developing in their walk with Jesus. What a great report!
I would love to hear those things said about me! From everyone I know but especially from Jesus! To be known to have a growing and dynamic faith, to be known for my love and my love in action! I wish Jesus would have and could have stopped here. But he didn’t and he couldn’t. The church in Thyatira had a problem, a big one. They had begun to compromise. They thought that maybe it wouldn’t matter if they went to certain places and did certain things. In all other areas of their lives, they were doing great! Perhaps no one would notice that they tolerated one certain teaching that wasn’t exactly consistent with what Jesus had taught, it was just in one area! Would it really matter?
Yes, it really would! Yes, it really does. It does matter what we believe, and it is important how we live. Compromise always shows up in our lifestyle. It’s important to be consistent in what we are allowing our minds to think and what we allow to dwell in our hearts, because those two areas together will pave the way for how we live. And so that’s where Jesus is watching. He watches us exactly where we think no one can see – in our hearts and minds. Nothing escapes his attention and His judgement.
Today is a new day, a new opportunity to live an integrated life, to stay away from all compromise and follow Jesus. Start this day with the words of Paul in his letter to the Philippians: Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. And after you have thought about them, act on them! Then, as Jesus observes our hearts and minds which lead to our deeds, He will say, “well done, my good and faithful servant”.
– Connie Main Duarte
This devotional is part of a series that helps us navigate the texts of the book of Revelation with fresh eyes. A new devotional every Saturday.
These devotionals are available in Portuguese and in English.