Today’s Bible Verse

Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works to be complete in the sight of my God!

Revelation 3:2 (ESV)

Strengthen What Remains

These words were spoken to the church in Sardis in a time of great stagnation and mediocracy; a time in which the church had opened the door to compromise, tolerance, and complacency.  Spiritually, the church had fallen into a deep slumber, and like God did through Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones, He was once again trying to resuscitate and breathe life into His people.   

God sent this message to a church that had lost its vitality and was unaware of its lifelessness, but yet God desired for his people to break small and be awakened to life—and not just awakened to live an average, lukewarm, fenced-in-life, but to SEIZE and enter into that wide-open, spacious, marvelous life that Jesus came to give (John 10:10, 2 Cor 6:11-13, MSG).

But could the church in Sardis break small, be awakened and restored to life? Surely, the light of the church had not been completely extinguished.  What was God’s message for this church?  What is His message to us today? When Nehemiah heard about the ruined wall of Jerusalem, he wept.  Yet, he rebuilt the walls of the city by using the remnants of the wall he had left and by strengthening those who remained (Neh 1:3-4, 2:17-20).

What do you do when you’ve suffered a great loss?  When you’ve lost sight of your purpose?  When your joy or your faith isn’t what it used to be?  

You wake up from your slumber, arise to the voice of God, turn your attention to what you have left, and begin the faith process of strengthening that which remains.  

I don’t know what the enemy attempted to do to you in 2020, but I do know that he didn’t complete the job.  Like the walls of Jerusalem, he left it unfinished. But God has declared that He has not found your works to be complete.  There is still time left to rebuild.  There is still more life left in you yet.  Now, all you have to do is awaken from your place of slumber, take an inventory of what you have left, and trust God to strengthen that which still remains within you. (Marques Farmer)

Seize the Moment

Be honest with yourself. Have you fallen into a lull?  Are you going through the motions, not realizing that you are sleepwalking through what has the potential to be your best and most fruitful years with God?  Take some time to consider the answers to these questions.

Set Your Life

Now, consider the church in Sardis.  Are there any areas in your walk of faith where you’ve noticed a decline?  Is there something in your life that needs revival?  Pray and ask these questions of the Lord.  Write down what you received from God in prayer.

Today’s Declaration

Heavenly Father, today I choose to live an expansive life in You! I declare that I am FULL of life, and on this day I have been strengthened and awakened and come alive again in Christ Jesus.  I declare that there will always be life in me because there is eternal life in You.  

Today’s Bible Reading

• Old Testament: Leviticus 5-7; Psalms 39
• New Testament: Matthew 17:14-27; Acts 24