“For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent.” Revelation 3:17-19

Veruca Salt, one of the not-so-sweet characters in Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was notorious for demanding whatever she wanted. Her clueless parents didn’t know what to do, especially when they couldn’t comply. The result? A foot-stomping, arms-flailing, out-of-control tantrum.

Most of us have probably learned to control our tantrums, but our inner desires sometimes still get the best of us. We crave what we want until we get it—or get mad and depressed if we don’t. Yet, often what we think we really want is not actually a need at all. What we really are after is peace, security, and a deep-down sense of joy, purpose, and meaning in life. But with our eyes fixed on the next best thing, we miss the fact that what we really need is a deeper relationship with Jesus. Everything else is at best temporary and sometimes, quite frankly, not all that good for us.

This is why Jesus is so bothered with the Laodicean believers in Revelation 3:14-21. They thought they had gotten all they needed, but, in reality, they had forgotten their real need for Jesus. Could Jesus be a little annoyed with us for the same reason? Could it be that we are so consumed by the clutter of stuff and the clamor of our desires that we barely hear Jesus knocking?

Toward the end of His comments to the Laodiceans, Jesus says, “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 him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20) I love the fact that Jesus, though offended by our sense of flagrant independence, still wants us! He still longs for the intimate fellowship that occurred around the dinner tables of the ancient world. And don’t think you are off the hook just because you think that the knocking on the door metaphor is about non-Christians accepting Christ. Don’t miss the point! Jesus is talking to us in this text—specifically, to those of us who no longer feel the need to sing the old song, “I need Thee, O I need Thee, every hour I need Thee!”

If our needs today are all about physical treasures and temporal pleasures, we’ll assume that we’re fine without Jesus. But Jesus tells us that we’re not. And so He knocks and invites you to open the door of your heart to Him and to know that what you really need is deeper fellowship with Him. When we know that we can count on it, He will be sure that we have what our hearts truly long for.

Begin your journey today by asking the Lord to reveal the real needs of your heart and give you ears to hear Him knocking.

What “needs” have you been pursuing lately? (Some of the thoughts in this devotion were taken from a devotion by Joe Stowell, Strength for the Journey, website.)

Pastor Dave

“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36

Each State in the United States has a motto — some states have several. Pennsylvania has been knows as the “Keystone State” — the “You’ve Got a Friend In Pennsylvania” state — and the “Pa.state.gov” state. Missouri is the “Show Me” State. New Hampshire is the “Live Free or Die” state. As I have thought about this motto, it seemed to me that there are a lot of people in our country today who adhere to this motto — especially since the election of the most recent POTUS. For some strange reason, we feel that personal freedom is a birthright. “I am proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free”… the song goes. And it’s that hunger that fires up the celebration of our own independence and the crowning of “me” as final authority. But not all hunger is good hunger. Our hunger to be free is why we end up down so many dead-end streets, lonely and disappointed.

Think for a minute about people who are addicted to things like drugs or alcohol. If you asked how they ended up in bondage to their desires, they would tell you that it started as a need to be free to do whatever they wanted to do. Don’t miss the point: If all we have is the right to be free, then our thirst for freedom may end up making us slaves. A life guided by the “I’ll-do-whatever-I-want-to-do” formula inevitably ends up not being free at all. Left to ourselves, we make a lot of lame choices that end up leaving us in the chains of regret, guilt, brokenness, and bondage. But that doesn’t mean we’re not supposed to be free. The great news is that G-d wants us to be free. It’s just a matter of how and where we can find true freedom.

Becoming free starts with deleting the thought that you and I are born to be free. The reality is that we are born sinners already slaves to sin.

Paul says “…if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” So we need to get it right. We were born slaves of sin. In order to be free, we need someone to overthrow the regime that enslaves us.

That’s exactly why Jesus came. He came to set us—the captives—free! Jesus Himself said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”. He taught us that freedom is not an inherent right of birth after all but rather the result of obeying the truth: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

In one sense, we are born to be free—free to live the “Christ-like Life”. When we forgive, as He has taught us, we are free from the bondage of bitterness and free to move into the future instead of being stuck in the past. When we manage our relationships according to G-d’s Word, we are free from the regrets and brokenness that comes from using others instead of serving others.

There is a great hymn that proclaims, “My chains fell off, my heart was free! I rose, went forth, and followed Thee!” Jesus died to set you free. Those who follow Him are free indeed!

In what ways do you feel enslaved today? Describe how it feels to be a slave to your sin. Can you identify some specific emotions, fears, or actions that have you in bondage? How do those things keep you from experiencing a life of genuine freedom in Christ?

Take time this week to read through Romans chapters 6–8. Ask the Lord to use this passage to bring freedom and release from the things that bind you.

(Some of the thoughts in this devotion were taken from a devotion by Joe Stowell, Strength for the Journey, website.)

Pastor Dave