“I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead.  Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God. 

I'd be lying if I said that He hadn't gotten my undivided attention at that moment.  

Can you relate? Has there been a time in your life when you were kept so busy in ministering to others that it was adversely impacting your relationship with Him?

• Your study time was to benefit others through your teaching.
• Your prayer time had become mechanical. Running down a list of requests for others or your own personal needs you could foresee coming ahead for that day or week. 
• Your date book was full with notations of phone calls to make and so forth, and when your phone did ring you feared you'd forgotten someone or something.
• You fell into bed at night and were out as soon as your head hit the pillow. 
• There was never anytime to sit silently before the Lord and listen even for five minutes. 

 Did you know that the way the Lord presents Himself to each of the churches is a clue as to what the underlining problem is within each of them? Here He calls Himself, "him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars." These symbols were identified for us in the first chapter of Revelation. The "seven spirits" are a symbol of the Holy Spirit in His fullness. 

Therefore, what the church at Sardis and I desperately needed was God's Spirit operating and back in charge.  

We need to be walking in the Spirit, and to remember that Jesus is Lord of His church. It is never left up to us to run the church, and minister in our own strength.

Somehow both the church at Sardis and I had forgotten that along the way. Which should lead us to wonder, what do we do when that happens? He tells us in the very next verses,

  Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief.

4 “Yet there are some in the church in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with evil. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.

Simple as that! Turn around and go back to The Lord, surrender once more and allow Him to take over.  Don't you just love how simple The Lord makes things?  Everything changes in one act of obedience. We can set it all back into His hands and find rest, refreshment and the renewal our soul had been longing for. 

One more thing I must tell you before I close, for this speaks volumes of our Lord's heart I believe. It's found in Revelation 3:5, 

White garments are a sign of being redeemed, being saved by the grace of God. Our Lord is so very rich in mercy and lovingkindness, beloved.  He promises us once more all will be forgiven and forgotten. When we fall short, whether by accident or on purpose we only need to turn (repent) to right our relationship with Him once more. 

Know wonder He is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.(Is 9:6)

Blessings, 

sue