Day 359, or December the 25th. Be sure to listen
and hear. Our thoughts today come from Revelation
chapter 2, verse 7. Whoever has ears, let them
hear what the Spirit says to the churches. First,
the big picture surrounding this verse. The book
of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus to John.
and is a unified writing about the end times,
and not simply a collection of separate visions.
It is the only book in the New Testament dedicated
to prophetic events. Unlike most books in the
Bible, it tells us who wrote it, where he was,
and when it was written. It was John who was
on the island of Patmos on the Lord's Day. This
Greek island is beautiful and lies just off the
coast of Turkey. I remember visiting it and reading
the book of Revelation as I sat on the beach
near our hotel that was called Paradise. I am
transported there again every time I read it.
The first three chapters of this book are filled
with seven messages to seven churches in Asia
Minor, which is today's Western Turkey, where
many of us go on holiday these days to get almost
guaranteed sunshine. Sadly, the sunshine of those
early church fellowships has long since dimmed,
and there is little physical evidence of their
existence today, although we know their locations.
And now, our action step for today. If you started
listening to this on January 1st, and you've
faithfully followed each day, let me wish you
a happy Christmas. At first glance, Revelation
and Christ's Nativity may not be linked, but
think again. At Christmas, we remember the first
coming of Jesus, and in Revelation, we anticipate
his second coming. All seven churches mentioned
in Revelation are given the same postscript,
and this is our verse for today. We are all encouraged
to listen and hear. For Jews, listening and hearing
are different things. Listening is taking in
information that results in no action. Hearing
is taking in information that leads to life change
as you practice what you hear. Let's be people
who not only listen to God, but also hear what
he says and act on it.