Hold Fast Philadelphians!

This might be a headline in the Philadelphia newspaper when the Eagles are clinging to the final playoff spot in the NFL! However, that is not what Jesus had in mind when He commanded the Philadelphians to hold fast!


Above is a picture of an ancient fresco painted on the side of one of the ruins in Philadelphia, Turkey. I took the picture because a few of us were having trouble seeing what our tour guide was pointing at. Once I got what he was showing us I took the picture and then was able point out on my camera screen the painting. You can see a faint image of Jesus at the top center and a faint image of Mary in the lower left. (The white line at the top intersects the image of Jesus; the faint red at the bottom is the clothing of Mary and her arm is just above the red. She is facing to the right. You can see why it was difficult for us to see!)

As I reflected on our time at this site, and also the words of Jesus to the believers in Philadelphia, I realized that we need to hold fast to what we have too! Kind of like looking at this painting, once I understood what to look at, I got it! And once I got it, I could show others. A simple truth of life is that once you've got something, you've got it! Once I have a car, I have a car.

Jesus tells them to hold fast to what they have. We too need to hold fast to what we have been given. Now in terms of faith this needs a little explaining. I believe that once we have the gift of salvation that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, we cannot lose that salvation (see Romans 8:31-39; Ephesians 1, esp. verses 13-14; and Philippians 1:6 just to name a few).

However, we need to "hold fast" to our gift and not neglect it. Jesus commends the Philadelphians for keeping His word. The root word in the Greek for "keep" is teros and means "to attend carefully." Back to the car illustration—unfortunately this example doesn't work because it is possible for me to lose my car! But let's assume, that the car is like Christian salvation and it is not possible to lose. If I just leave that car in my driveway and don't "attend carefully" to it, then it will have little value. However, if we attend to the car, if we keep God's Word and attend to it carefully, then there is great value for ourselves and for others. And ultimately great glory is given to Jesus Christ!

One you get it, you get it. Once you have been saved from your sins, you have been saved! (And this Christmas remember that the reason Jesus was born was to save us from our sins--Matthew 1:21.) Hold fast to what you have been given. Attend carefully to the gift of faith and you too will persevere as the Philadelphians did!


"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars--I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. --Revelation 3:7-13

Indiffernce Leads To Ruin

Seven Churches, Seven Reflections. Reflection Three—Laodicea
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, `I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 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.

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Revelation 3:14:22)

Indifference Leads to Ruin
The ancient city of Laodicea now lies in ruins like many of the sites we visited. For the church of Laodicea these ruins remind me of the warning Jesus gave them. He said that their deeds were neither hot nor cold. They were indifferent. They could care less about things. They were merely lukewarm and indifferent to what was going on around them.

It is important to remember when reading this passage that it was written to believers. This is not a message telling non-believers to get off the fence and be for Christ or against Christ. Jesus says in verse 15 that he wishes they were either hot or cold. Hot water is great for a bath. Cold water is refreshing to drink. Lukewarm water has little use. The town of Laodicea was close to a hot spring that still flows today. They had an aqueduct to bring water to the town but by the time it got there it was lukewarm and wasn’t very satisfying.

So too was the faith of the Laodiceans and Jesus tells them to be useful. Jesus tells them to be earnest and repent (verse 19). Be earnest. Don’t be indifferent to Jesus. And since you are not earnest, repent—turn back to Jesus. Chaplain Woodson pointed out during our trip that repent is a great word. We so closely associate it with sin that it carries a shadow of disgrace. However, Jesus is telling the people to turn back to him. Repentance is a good thing! Quit being indifferent! Quit being lukewarm! Repent!

Which brings us to the other place where it is important to remember that this passage is written to believers. We often use verse 20 as an evangelistic tool to say that Jesus is standing at the door of your heart wanting to come in and save you. However, Jesus is not speaking to unbelievers. Jesus is telling a church, that has become so indifferent, that He is knocking at the door wanting them to repent. He wants them to turn back to Him. He doesn’t want them to continue to live a life of indifference but He wants them to turn back to Him. He wants them to open the door and fellowship with Him again. He wants them to be useful—to be hot or cold.


The current site of Laodicea lies in ruins. It serves as a picture of what happens when we are indifferent to God and the things that He cares about. It is a picture of what can become of our lives when we are indifferent to sin. It is a picture of what can happen if we don’t maintain our relationship with God. The good news is that if you are living a life of indifference, God wants you to repent—to turn back to Him so that your life will be one that is useful, not one that will end up in ruins.

Turkey Trip Reflection Two--Ephesus

I spent Thanksgiving in Turkey with a group from our chapel. Below is my second reflection on our experiences. Please scroll down to see my first reflection on Smryna.

"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:1-7)

Jesus told the church at Ephesus that he knows their deeds, hard work and perseverance. I can’t help but think about all the hard work and perseverance it has taken to excavate the ruins in this ancient city. It is a tedious process that requires painstaking attention to detail and a long-term commitment.


Library in Ephesus

We were fortunate to have one of the lead archeologists accompany us through the ruins. I asked him when they would begin excavating an area that was still underground. He replied, “The next generation, generation, generation!” They might not even begin excavating that area for another century! They had another area that has a permanent roof over it because the excavation of it will take decades to complete (and it had already been going for decades)!


One thing I noticed about this archeologist is that he still has a love for archeology. He is retired but still is passionate about the work. He would see a roof shingle on the ground and gather us all around to tell us about it. He found an ancient nail that he passed around to us. We were late to the bus and he still had to stop us and spend ten minutes explaining some stones that served as road markers.

His passion and love for the ruins at Ephesus remains. This wasn’t the case for the church at Ephesus. While commended for their hard work, they were condemned for forsaking their first love. Jesus says, “Remember the height form which you have fallen.” Approximately 35 years before this Paul wrote to the Ephesians and commended them for their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for all the saints (Eph. 1:15). In 35 years their love had grown cold.

While continuing to work hard and serve they had forgotten what they first experienced. Could this be said of you? Maybe you serve in many ways but your love for Jesus is cold. You need to return to your first love! Doing things, even good things, doesn’t replace loving God. The Pharisees were good at doing religious things. They weren’t so good at loving God and loving others.

If your love for God has grown cold, make it your goal to rekindle that love. How? Think about any good human relationship you have and how that love is fostered. I would say that the most important ingredient might be time. Spend some time with God today by reading your Bible, praying, or singing some worship songs to nourish your soul and your love for your savior. Be still and know that He is God!