The AMI QT Blogs from June 5-11 are provided by Tina Hsu. Tina, a graduate of Talbot School of Theology (M.Div.) has just returned from E. Asia, where she served as a missionary for two years. Currently, she serves at Church of Southland and Kairos International University.
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS FOR TODAY
“God’s Reward for the Faithful”
Revelation 3:4-6
“But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him heart what the Spirit says to the churches.”
One way that my family lavishes me with love is through gifts. They buy me good gifts, such as name brand handbags and nice jewelry. However, I have resolved that it is not worth it for them to gift me in this way because I am terrible at keeping nice accessories free from stains, blemishes, and tears. In my eyes, I am not worthy of such valuable products because I don’t go out of my way to steward them well. Today’s devotional talks about stewarding a much greater gift, our spiritual identity in Christ.
The Spirit is commending a few people of the church at Sardis for their faithfulness in remaining holy to the Lord. They have not “soiled their garments,” meaning they have not joined themselves to the fleshly pursuits of the world after having been united with Christ. Because their eternal walk with the Lord is of utmost value to them, they have remained pure—stewarding their relationship with God in an honorable way.
The imagery of the garment represents a person’s spiritual state. Prior to faith, every person figuratively wears “filthy garments,” which refers to life ruled by darkness and sin. When the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us fully, God places the righteousness of Christ upon us. Thus, we become newly clothed with a pure garment, representing our new identity in Christ.
The majority of believers in Sardis had “soiled their garments” by returning to an ungodly lifestyle, while clothed with religiosity. The Spirit now points to these people to call them back. He is giving everyone a call to repent and says, “He who overcomes” will again be clothed in white and will have full fellowship in God’s presence in this life and the life to come.
The garment of Christ’s righteousness is God’s most valuable gift to us. By His grace and love, He considered us worthy to receive this undeserving gift. How will we in return wear our garments in a manner worthy of God’s honor? How will we remain pure and unblemished so that we are ready to walk in white when the Lord returns?
Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank You for the gift of new life. Thank You that You have clothed me with Your righteousness. Lord, the battle to remain holy and faithful is beyond my own strength and ability. I pray that You will grant me the strength to be an overcomer. Help me to increase in my love, adoration, and obedience to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Deuteronomy 34
LUNCH BREAK STUDY
Read Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, ‘I ever knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.’”
Questions to Consider
- What is Jesus’ warning to those who claim to be His disciples?
- According to Jesus, how will some people assume that they are in good standing with the Lord?
- How does this passage encourage you to examine your walk with the Lord?
Notes
- Everyone in Jesus’ audience at that time were among those who heard His teachings. Jesus is saying only those who hear His teachings and do them will enter the kingdom of heaven. Merely hearing does not reflect a genuine Master-follower relationship. Verse 21 is parallel to the parable right after this passage: “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Mt. 7:24).
- Some people will believe that their religious acts and powers performed in Jesus’ name equate to their position in the kingdom of God. This does not necessarily mean they are in relationship with Jesus and actively doing the will of the Father.
- Personal response.
EVENING REFLECTION
Philippians 1:27: “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ…”
Our manner of life is a testimony of our faith in Jesus Christ. Let’s reflect on how we can honor God in our lives this week.
There is a well-known saying, “It’s not about how you start, it’s all about how you finish.” The Lord gave the church at Sardis a spiritual diagnosis of their church body. He gave them the frightening truth that they have a reputation of being a lively church, but they are actually a dying church. They started with fervor and passion for the Lord, but they fell into a deep spiritual slumber, no longer awake to God’s voice. For this reason, God specifically said to them, “…for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.” Those who study this passage will naturally ask, “What did these believers not complete?” One possibility is that it wasn’t like they did not fulfill a ministry or calling that the Lord specifically gave this church, but a more likely situation is that they “backslid” and became secular again in their beliefs and lifestyle. In this way, they did not finish the course of living holy to the Lord until His second coming. They were no longer living as the “pure bride” that Jesus Christ shed His blood for. This is not a church dwindling in number or failing at sustaining the “programs” of a church—from the outside they are “alive.” Yet this is a church dying in their spiritual fervor and walk with the Lord.
In today’s passage we come across a Roman centurion who pleads to Jesus to heal his servant. While there are dozens of stories in the New Testament of Jesus healing the sick, this story comes as a bit of a shock due to Jesus’s reaction. As Jesus begins to walk to the servant’s home, the centurion stops Jesus and says that he is not worthy of the Lord to come to his house, but by His words alone Jesus can heal his servant (v.8). It states that Jesus marveled at this response and proceeds to declare that there is no man in Israel with greater faith than the centurion.
Several years ago, while I was serving a one-year internship in Shanghai, I met a young college student who was enamored at the idea of living in America. She believed that the US had everything that China could not offer her, and her ultimate goal was to live and work in “the land of opportunity.” At the time, I let her know that America was not the perfect nation she imagined it to be, and that her hope should not be in this American ideal. Although nothing I said seemed to change her mind, in hindsight, I realized I couldn’t blame her for having such thoughts. This idea was precisely what brought America to be the nation that it is today—an immigrant nation filled with individuals who believed that the United States would provide the economic stability and educational resources they desired. This is precisely why my parents moved to the US as well. Despite the language barrier and their economic situation, their belief in a better life propelled them to leave everything they knew and everything that was comfortable in order to move to the land of opportunity.
The AMI QT blogs for June 1 and 2 are provided by Mei Lan Thallman. Mei Lan is originally from Taiwan and a graduate of Asbury College and Asbury Theological Seminary (M.A.) in Kentucky. She is the wife of Pastor Kirt, who serves at Grace Covenant Church (Philadelphia). They have two children, Nate and Naomi .
After becoming a Christian at age 17, the foundation of my faith was built through my college years at Asbury University. As important as the sound doctrine of faith I learned through chapel and Bible classes was, the life witnesses of countless Christian professors and missionaries, along with their wives and families, have left a profound influence upon my life. The longer I live, the deeper I treasure the legacy of faith I have received through the authenticity of their vibrant faith and faithfulness.
At our former church in Taiwan, Kathy, an oncology nurse, was trying to live out her new-found faith in her work place; she joined her hospital’s Christian fellowship and prayed before her meals. One day a co-worker doctor approached her with this question: “I know you became a Christian recently. I like Christians, but I have a difficult time accepting the teachings of your God. Why does your God ask Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, just to prove his allegiance to God? What kind of God does that?” As a new believer, my friend Kathy didn’t know how to answer this question, so she came to my husband and me for an answer.
Small children always seem to want to do what their parents are doing, following them into the kitchen or the yard; that’s why toy manufacturers make kitchen and tool play sets. My friends tell me that their toddlers will mimic cleaning up or beg to help out mom and dad in the kitchen counter—even if they’re not all that helpful.
My husband and I purchased a home about six months ago and, as it is about a hundred years old, there are certain quirks about it. Doors don’t always line up and close, floors are not quite level, corners are not quite right angles. That being said, there is a certain craftsmanship to it that doesn’t exist in newly built homes. Even when we wanted to replace the floor, we were told that it would be extremely difficult to match as they don’t make flooring of that size anymore. The walls are made of plaster and lathe, not drywall—a labor-intensive method to build homes that is not employed anymore. All that is to say, the credit does not belong to the house itself, but to the craftsmanship of the builders and the methods they used.
Today’s AMI QT Blog is written by Pastor David Son of Symphony Church, Boston.
When I was in college, I had a friend named Moe (not his real name). Moe was a large man: 6’3” and roughly 250 lbs. Although Moe was a member at my church, I didn’t like him very much. For one, he had a hot temper, which had gotten him into trouble at home and with the law several times in his past. But moreover, he always had too much to say. In my flesh, I was extremely annoyed by Moe because I saw in him these two glaring flaws, yet he continued to hang around the church (and me) so faithfully.
The AMI QT Devotionals from May 22-28 are written by Phillip Chen, college pastor intern at Church of Southland. Philip, a graduate of University of California, San Diego, is currently studying at Talbot School of Theology. He is married to Esther. 
One of the highest virtues of society these days is tolerance. A popular phrase “You do you” perpetuates this line of thinking: basically, this phrase means that you should do whatever you want to do, think however you want to think, and be whoever you want to be without fear of judgment. While I get the sentiment of this phrase, I also feel that it has spiraled out of control, particularly in our social landscape where tolerance is highly prized. Several months ago, a famous NBA player Kyrie Irving came out to say that he believed the earth was flat—what a shocking statement! The more shocking fact was that many came to his defense and said that if he believed it were true, then no one should be able to discredit his beliefs. Absolute truth has been discarded as something in the past, and relativism seems to be the popular belief that society holds to now.