When Jesus sent the disciples to the other side of the sea, they encountered a great storm. Though Jesus was on a mountain praying and the disciples were a long distance from land, He saw them, He came to them, He got in their boat and He calmed the storm. Wherever you are today, Jesus sees you when nobody else does. He comes to all of us and for those willing to receive Him into the boat, He will calm your storm and save your life. 

When Jesus addressed the church in Laodicea, He gave no commendation. Upon assessing their deeds He rendered them lukewarm and warned that they would be spit out of His mouth. Their earthly prosperity had inoculated them to a dire spiritual condition. While they were wealthy on the outside, they were bankrupt on the inside. Like many today, the Laodiceans were blind to the pending judgment upon them. By His grace, Jesus beckoned to them to answer His knocking at their door and be truly clothed and enriched by His power alone. Is Jesus knocking on your life now?

In the letter to the church in Philadelphia, Jesus introduced Himself as the One who holds the key of David. It is He alone who opens and shuts the kingdom of heaven. He opens for those who have come to Him by faith and shuts to all others so that no one can open. He encouraged the believers in Philadelphia to persevere in what little power they had left against the synagogue of Satan. One day, there will come an hour of testing for all who dwell on the earth. Those who belong to Jesus by faith will be kept from undergoing the wrath of God. Is His Name written on your soul?

To the church in Sardis, Jesus observed that though they had a reputation for being alive, they were in fact, dead. Many churches may have great numbers, budgets, activities and reputation, yet they are spiritually dead. Jesus urgently called them to wake up and remember what they had once received and heard and repent of their spiritual lethargy. Jesus promised that He would confess the genuine believer before His Father in Heaven. Have you first confessed Jesus as Lord so as to be saved? 

When the Son of God sent His message to the church at Thyatira, He commended them for their deeds, love, faith, service, and perseverance. However, He warned that they had tolerated the influence of Jezebel, thereby bringing in idolatry and immorality. Many today are tolerating corrosive influences into their lives and doctrine. The Lord gave Jezebel time to repent, but she did not want to. God’s patience is presently allowing many people not to repent, and similarly, some don’t want to. Isaiah warns that there will come a day of reckoning for everyone who is proud, lofty, and lifted up. Are there things you need to repent of while God’s kindness allows you the time?

Jesus encouraged the church at Pergamum for their faithfulness under duress. Antipas had been killed, and many still refused to deny the Name of Jesus. However, their encouragement came with a warning about those who held to the false teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. Like many, alongside truth and faithfulness, they had allowed the leaven of heresy to creep in among them. The church today must heed the same warning as those in Pergamum and repent of all that strays from the mission of the gospel.

As Jesus addressed the church at Smyrna, He encouraged them not to fear the testing that their faith was about to undergo. They would be tested by tribulation, poverty, blasphemy and suffering. This time of testing would reveal the authenticity of their confession of Christ and result in the crown of life. Many people make bold assertions regarding their dedication to Christ, only to be exposed as a fraud under trial by fire. All Christ-followers will inevitably face a test of their faith. Will you be revealed as wheat or tare, sheep or goat, saved or lost?

When Jesus, as Lord of the church, rendered His assessment of the Ephesian believers, He commended them for their deeds, toil and perseverance. However, He had one major ought against them. They had left their first love. The Ephesians were once known for their love of God, the lost and each other. Now they had descended into empty ritual and pointless assembly. The Lord warned them to repent before He came to remove their lampstand out it’s place. Many believers and churches that were once a force for the kingdom have left their first love. We would do well to have an ear to hear and repent and return to what we were when we first came to know the Savior.

The life of the Christ follower begins with the Gospel but doesn't end there. Salvation is the beginning of a journey and a battle with the flesh that only God can help us win. As we struggle through life it is comforting to look to the Apostle Paul as an example in understanding this struggle. God does not promise our lives to be free from struggle, but instead promises that we are no longer slaves to the life we left behind.