FBC Daily Devotions

“I KNOW…”  

Read Revelation 2:2-3.

God doesn’t take vacations. He doesn’t need to. God never has to get back on track. He is never distracted. God never has His eyes off of us. He not only sees everything, He knows everything. So when Jesus tells the Ephesian church that He knows their deeds, toil, perseverance, endurance, and steadfastness in the truth, He doesn’t just see it, He knows every little detail, every little thought, every action and reaction, every hearts’ pains and joys, every difficulty endured to remain holy and pure.

The Ephesian church was apparently a very strong one. Committed to the truth and determined to ensure its continuance for the sake of Christ, they worked hard to live rightly and holy, making sure that those after them would do the same. They purged evil from their midst; they probably went to great lengths to remain doctrinally pure. God knew how hard they worked, and He commended them for it.

Removing evil and maintaining doctrinal purity – matters that are not popular in today’s churches. Under the umbrella of tolerance, evil (or sin) and lax doctrine seems to be tolerated in an attempt to be more “loving” and “gracious”. I’m all for more love and grace. There can never be enough love and grace extended by our community of Christian faith. But tolerating evil or sin or careless doctrine without calling for a stop or at least an improvement is not at all what God intended. Again, I’m all for more love and grace, but that cannot come at the expense of love for God. In fact, Scripture teaches that love for God is more important than anything or anyone else. And so while it may be difficult to live up to the Ephesians in their zeal for holiness and purity of doctrine, it is commended by God, and as such should be pursued. We mustn’t be ashamed of these because ultimately God knows what we must endure in that commitment. God knows, and that’s the most important thing.

So then, how is your commitment to personal and doctrinal purity? Is it swayed by the world or anchored to God, who knows all things?