2014 New Year Challenge and The Seven Churches

I’ve challenged myself for the New Year - to judge myself and to see where I stand spiritually and what it is I need to do to live my life more pleasing and walk closer to God than ever before. So I’m studying the seven churches found in Revelation. Good place to start I thought. I invite you to explore God’s word with me and challenge yourself to see where you stand with God as well. I personally, can think of nothing I’d rather do in 2014 than walk closer to my Lord and please him better than I did in 2013.

While studying, I came across a simple map that put the location of these churches in perspective visually. As the seven churches, being literal first century Christian churches in the Roman province of Asia, existed along what appears could have been a Roman mail route. Jesus Christ instructs His servant, John, to write what he sees and send the letters to the seven churches. What we are about to study are words directly from Jesus Christ to the churches. We will see each city where a specific church congregation dwelt had its own unique features, some of which offered tests and temptations to those who were believers.  Jesus speaks to each congregation in terms that they can understand.

 

I believe, as many other do as well, that these literal seven churches characterizes the temptations, trials and challenges in each church congregation and Christian individuals from the first century all the way to today. The term “churches” refer to the actual congregation of people or community of believers not the literal building or buildings where the people met. As mentioned, the characteristics of each of these seven churches are found today in Christ believing New Testament congregations and Christian individuals in one way or another. For this reason, it is where I’ve chosen to study to judge where I presently stand and where I need to improve or grow as we enter a New Year.

It will be interesting to see which of these seven church/churches we have patterned our behavior after. We will study two short chapters in Revelation (chapters 2 and 3) and judge for ourselves to determine what Christ would say to each of us. This will help us to know what action Christ expects us to take as our New Year begins so that we can please God with our lives and walk closer with Him.  I have to admit I am a bit excited about these studies and yet fearful at the same time.  Honest self-evaluations can be a hard thing.