What is faith? In this specific case, what is Christian faith? People have lots of ideas about that. Some think faith is blind. Others may think the reasoning behind Christian faith is circular logic. Others believe Christian faith is the truth.
We move on to the fourth of the seven letters in Revelation. This time, the letter to the corrupt church in Thyatira. Jesus has good things to say about the church in Thyatira. Some bad things as well. So once again, part of the examination will be about the relationship, if any, between the good and bad statements.
The letter to the corrupt church in Thyatira – Revelation More
We move on to the second of the seven letters in Revelation. This time the letter to the persecuted church in Smyrna. Jesus has good things to say about the church in Smyrna. It’s a bit harder to determine whether there’s any bad news in here – at least the kind of bad news that the church in Ephesus received. There were certainly warnings. But whether things would actually turn out “badly” was dependent on how well the people in that church listened to and carried out what Jesus said.
The letter to the persecuted church in Smyrna in Revelation More
The Bible tells us that God says “vengeance is mine”. But even Christians are people. And people tend to want to get our own revenge. So it leaves us with a bit of a problem. Sometimes a huge problem. If we don’t trust God to get the revenge He claims as His own, then do we even trust God to save us? And if not God, then who will save us?
Psalm 7 – If we don’t trust God then who will save us? More
Don’t relentlessly collaborate as a “thing” for successful people seems to be at odds with being a successful Christian. After all, what about church? Bible study? Small groups? Christian community? Aren’t those all important things for a Christian? In fact, these Christian community meetings are so important, the author of Hebrews wrote about it in a passage the NIV titles A Call to Persevere.
But ultimately, for a Christian the key to success is knowing the difference between someone who can help us lead the kind of life taught by Jesus and led by the Holy Spirit, and someone who leads a life taught from the ideas of man rather than God.
Don’t settle for less, #07: Don’t relentlessly collaborate More
