to the church in.....

There is so much to be learned from the seven letters to the churches found in the first few chapters of Revelation. Two weeks ago we set off to see what we could learn from these letters about our churches today, not to mention Gods personal encouragement and warnings. Last week we looked at two more churches, Smyrna and Pergamum, and although they were well known and very popular cities God sees past all that and gets straight to the matter. Ephesus left thier first love and Pergamum struggled with worldliness, but Smyrna didn't receive a repromand. Instead the Lord warned them of things to come. In the midst of things they were told it would get worse and that satan would send some to prison for 10 days. How encouraging, huh? Actually to be told by God that we are standing firm and to receive His encouragement is a great blessing. Pergamum on the other hand was facing persecution as well and in my estimation, pretty intense. Scripture makes it clear that satan "dwells" where those from Pergamum dwell. There is every reason to believe that satan made this his headquarters, at least for a time. This city struggled with worldliness, idolatry and adultry. Emperor worship was very popular and was punishable by death if refused. All in all it is an awesome study and my challenge is to consider what the letter written to our churches might say. I see the deeds, perseverance, BUT THIS I HAVE AGAINST YOU...... Till next time keep it simple and keep it central on Christ. Wishing you a great week and hope you are able to follow along. A special shout out to my buddies Josh and Darcy in North Dakota, miss you guys:-) till next time, keep it in the Word! P.M.