Page 14 - Living Light 91

Monday December 8 - Jesus, head of the church!
“...the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks
among the seven golden lampstands...” Revelation 2:1
This is clearly Jesus who speaks, but who or what are the seven stars and lampstands? Revelation 1:20 tells us that the stars are the angels of the church and the lampstands are the churches. ‘Angel’ can also be translated ‘messenger’, and many commentators understand that this refers to the leader or pastor of the church. Perhaps it is also the angelic being who is watching over each church. However we interpret this, Jesus is obviously personally involved in the life and growth of each church. He holds the authority and he walks among us.
The picture here is of a garden (the Persian-origin word ‘paradise’ in verse 7 means ‘garden of delights’); Jesus does the work of planning and planting the garden and then enjoys walking around it to see how things are going.
I now have some time to devote to our small garden and I delight over every flower that blooms, wonder at the growth of plants and vegetables, and weed out and deadhead so that our plants can thrive. I imagine Jesus walking around our church as we gather to worship, smiling at our successes, delighting in our work, and weeding out certain things that are hindering our growth. Together we can be a delight to him if we each become sensitive to his nurturing encouragement.
I look to you, Lord Jesus, as the head of our church. Please make me sensitive to your presence and voice as I worship you. Amen.
Tuesday December 9 - Serving the One
“I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance.” Revelation 2:2
She used to sit about four rows from the front of church, and if you had come in for the first time you might never have noticed her, because she was quite short and unassuming. But when she died unexpectedly, at the age of 81, there were many shocked and grieving people in our church. Gilly had never been married nor had her own children, much to her own doubtless grief. But she didn’t let that stop her from pouring love into children of all ages.
She regularly helped look after the babies in the church creche, not just on Sunday but during the week when the mums got together for Bible study. She was there for the older children, encouraging them with a smile and often a gift; she was even a member of the youth team, serving the teenagers weekly. She worked hard to ensure the next generations knew that Jesus loved them and she wouldn’t let anything stop her, not even the mysteries of teen culture! But her name was never in the headlines and many would have been forgiven for not knowing or acknowledging her. Jesus knew. He was the one she served by loving his children, and now he is the one applauding her service and worship.
Let Gilly’s example encourage us to keep going in serving the King of heaven, even if no one around notices or thanks us. Jesus sees you.
Jesus, please help me to keep going in service. It’s all for you, Lord. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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PRAYER FOR TODAY