Photo by Ardiss Hutaff on Unsplash
In Revelation 3: 7-13, John encourages the church in Philadelphia to keep following Jesus.
John reminds the followers of Jesus that God is faithful no matter what you are going through.
In verse 7, he tells them, “What God opens, no one can close; and what He closes, no one can open.” That encourages us, as followers of Jesus, that our Lord is in control of everything that touches our lives. God has a plan for our lives, and if we keep following Him, He will lead us to where He wants us to go.
In verse 8, God says, “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close.” When God opens a door for us, we need to walk through it. That is why it is so important to know His voice, His leading, and His Word so that we follow Him. Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice and follow Me.”
In verse 8 – “You have little strength, yet you obeyed My word, and did not deny Me.” In our culture today, the followers of Jesus may feel that they have little strength, but we must continue to obey God’s Word and not deny Him in this culture. Are we weak? Then, we need to renew our strength in the Lord daily.
What will be the result? Verse 10 – “Because you have obeyed My command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. I am coming soon.”
Lord, help me not to get weary, throw in the towel, and stop following You! Empower me with your Spirit to keep following Jesus in my daily life! Lord, equip me to remain faithful to You and to obey Your Word no matter what is going on in the world because You are coming again!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Ronald Squibb has been the International Christian Church (ICC) Lead Senior Pastor at Staten Island, New York, since 2011. He draws many experiences from his over 40 years as a pastor and significant emotional life experiences.
His new book, Following the Journey with Jesus, which he co-authored with Daniel McNaughton, was recently published and is getting rave reviews. His daily devotional appears in this publication.
