Day 19

August 25

Frank Hertkorn

Revelation 3:20 NIV

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

This verse is told by John thru a vision and is directed at the church of Laodicea. The church is Christian, but Christ Himself has been locked out. Rather than turn His back on them, He knocks, seeking someone to acknowledge the church’s need and open the door. If they would repent, Jesus would come in and take His rightful place in the church. 

The lukewarm deeds of the Laodiceans were not in keeping with true salvation. Lukewarm deeds, those done without joy, without love, and without the fire of the Spirit, do harm to the people watching or receiving. The lukewarm are those who claim to know God but live as though He doesn’t exist. They may go to church but their inner state is one of self-righteous complacency. 

Jesus seeking admittance to the church! It’s disquieting to think of Jesus standing outside of the church and knocking, but that’s the position He was in. The Laodicean church had shut the door on the Head of the church; they were smug in their prosperity, but Jesus was left standing in the cold. He was an outsider to the hearts of the entire congregation.

I have spoken often of me putting Jesus in my back pocket while I lived the life I want. With Jesus in my back pocket, I can live and do as I wish knowing I will be forgiven. However, this also reminds me of Jesus telling us in Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” This is another disquieting statement. Here we may be rationalizing that we are right with Jesus when in reality Jesus is still in our back pocket. 

God has placed me in a ministry that I never could have imagined. I have seen severely disabled children ride horses. I have comforted a family when their son suffered seizures. I have taken older gentlemen with brain trauma for an afternoon to give family and caretakers a break. I hold a Stepping Stones class at CtK to give families an hour of worry-free time with God. (shameless plug we could use help at 11:00 a.m.) Halfway thru, about 5 years, I started realizing that God was smiling on me and giving me more responsibility. 

Open the door! Jesus is knocking for you. Show Jesus your deeds are done WITH joy, WITH love, and WITH the fire of the Spirit! Keep Jesus out of your back pocket and in front of you leading the way.  

Prayer: Father, how wonderful you are. We look to you for guidance and love ALL of the time. Jesus we are truly blessed and loved to know that you care enough for us to knock and wait for us to answer. Help us to hear your knock, Lord. Help us to reach for the door knob and answer with faith, humility and servitude. Amen.