Knock, Knock … Who’s There?

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Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you any jokes, but I am going to tell you a story.

I don’t like to answer the door. Without getting into the reasons why, let’s just say, if you are coming over, text me … I don’t like to answer the phone either.

But God has been showing me that I need to open doors, not keep them closed. Once when I did answer the door, it was a teenager and his father collecting food for a food shelf. I grabbed some items from my pantry and as they were leaving, they thanked me for answering the door. Even though there were lights on and dinner tables set, no one else on my street had opened the door. They were about to sit down to dinner, but none took the opportunity to feed someone else in need.

In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says:

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person and they with me.”

So this verse, Revelation 3:20, is the key verse in the lesson I speak on about how we can have faith. The implication of this verse is that Jesus stands at the door of each person’s life and knocks. When we hear Him and choose to open door of our lives to Him, we enter into a relationship with Jesus. The non-believer begins a new life of salvation in Christ.

Now, this verse is about relationships. And it’s true that when we invite Jesus into our lives, we are saved through a relationship with Him. Romans 10:9-13 says:

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.’ For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'”

But Revelation 3:20 is not as much about salvation as it is about repentance.

In chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation, Jesus is writing letters to the various churches in Asia. This particular verse is found in a letter to the church in Laodicea. Jesus has written this to the church, to believers.

So if these people already know Jesus, have already invited them into their lives and have begun a relationship with Him, why is He standing at a closed door knocking?

The church in Laodicea had everything a city and its people could ask for. There were in essence, healthy, wealthy and wise. And yet, the church was lukewarm to the things of God. In other words, they had become distracted by the things of the world, they had become self-sufficient, self-confident, and they had shut the door on Jesus. They were no longer depending on Him for their needs, no longer inviting Him into their lives, and no longer responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in their every day activities. They were caught up in their own desires and activities, not really seeing a need for God’s work in their lives.

But, God doesn’t just work in our lives, He also works through our lives. They had everything they could want and maybe they wanted to keep it that way. Maybe letting Jesus in would have called for them to give up some of what they had, some of what they wanted: the convenience of a comfortable life. All the while their brothers and sisters in Philadelphia, a church just a short distance away, was in great need.

In Revelation, Jesus is preparing His church for His return. And in this verse, He is calling them to repent for the kingdom of God is not only near, it’s here, and it’s coming. There is still time to invite Him back into their lives.

Lately, we’ve been singing “Even So Come” during our worship time at my church. Part of the chorus says, “Like a bride – Waiting for her groom – We’ll be a church – Ready for You.”

So I have a few questions for you:

Have you answered the knock of Jesus in your life? Do you ignore His knock or have to ask “Who’s there?” OR Do you recognize His voice and respond to Him?  Do you depend on Him to provide or do you look to yourself and your abilities to meet your every need? Do you eagerly anticipate the promptings of the Holy Spirit in your daily activities? Do you go out of your way to sacrifice in order to be obedient to the call and love of Jesus in your life?

Church, Jesus gives us an opportunity even as believers to repent and grow in our relationship with Him. He gives us an opportunity not only as individuals, but as a church community to respond to His voice, a voice with which we should be quite familiar.

Jesus is coming soon. He is knocking at the door. Will we find ourselves wrapped up in our own lives or as a church, will we be found ready and repentant, eager to open the door?

Something to Consider…

If you’ve heard the knock of Jesus in your life, but have not yet responded, seriously consider opening the door. See for yourself what He has to say. This isn’t a decision anyone else can make for you. Not even Jesus will force Himself on you. But if He’s knocking, He wants to have a relationship with you.

If you have already invited Jesus into your life, but are distant from Him; if you tune Him out because you don’t think you really need to depend on Him in your day-to-day activities, reconsider His invitation to you. He has shown you His love. He has chosen you to be His representative in this world. He has given you the opportunity to open your life to His knock every day. It’s not too late to repent and begin again by growing in your relationship with Him.

Why I Don’t Like Fast Food Restaurants

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“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary,who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!'” Luke 10:38-40

My husband, daughter and I were out to eat the other week at a fast food restaurant. We were almost done with our meal and my husband could tell I was a bit dissatisfied. As I wrinkled my nose, he knew my issue. He said it before I could. “You don’t like how fast everything is going and wish we had talked more.”

YES! Of course I do. That’s why I go out to eat!

I don’t go out to eat to get out of cooking. I love to cook. I love the event of cooking and serving my family a meal they will enjoy.

I go out to eat to spend time with my family: intentional, uninterrupted, undistracted time connecting with those I care about. We are going different directions all day, maybe all night and once in a while we have time to be together. The last thing I want to do is rush through any of it.

Truth be told, I love fast food restaurants. I enjoy the food, the convenience and the price. If you want to win my heart, give me the perfectly prepared French fry and a thick, creamy ice cream treat.

So with all of this said, what’s the real point of this post? What does this have to do with my faith?

As I think about my dissatisfaction with our recent dining experience, I realize that it applies to how I spend time with God as well. Am I rushing at convenient times to get my quick fix of prayer or worship music just so I can check it off my list and get on to the next thing, the next distraction? Or do I take time to sit down with God and wait, savoring every minute with Him?

As I enter my time with Him, here are two things I want to consider in my time with Him.

1. Am I making an effort to unplug and rest?

Just like my family relationships, I need to take time to unplug from the world and settle into my time with God. If I approach God with a timer so I can easily check Him of a to-do list, I’ve missed the point of my time with Him. In Christ, I find rest.

Do you get run-down and weary from your busy schedule? Do you create space in your schedule to refocus your mind on Christ? The more time we spend distracted by the world, the less time we have to simply rest in the presence of God.

2. Am I making an effort to connect and invest?

So once I settle in God’s presence with the distractions of the world somewhere in the distance, I can let Him fill the places left by those distractions and offer me something of true value. He may bring to mind something He’s placed on my heart and He wants to encourage me to move forward in it. He may show me an area of struggle or sin in my life and He wants to help me get rid of it. He also wants to hear about my cares and concerns and comfort me through the challenges I’m facing. This all takes a bit of time.

Can it be done here and there throughout your day? Yes, God is always available and we are to be praying, in communication with God, without ceasing. But something happens when we take time to not just acknowledge a relationship but savor it. Do you feel like you’re an acquaintance of God or are you in a deeply committed relationship with Him? How do you know? Do you do all the talking or do you take time to listen? Do you simply agree with God or do you want to understand why it matters to Him? Do you like to see and hear about what He’s doing or do you want to participate in what He’s doing?

“’Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'” Luke 10:41-42

He can’t be a quick stop on the way to the next thing. He has to be the focus. He is the only One who matters.

That’s Not How It Works

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins… But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved… For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.^” Ephesians 2:1a, 4-5, 8-9

I love the commercial with the older woman who “posts” her events to her wall … not her Facebook wall, but the actual wall in her home. She puts up notes and pictures and has friends over to see them. When her friend calls her out on something, she unfriends her while she’s sitting in her living room.

This same friend is befuddled and tells her very clearly, “That’s not how it works. That’s not how any of this works.”

While many people do “get” how Facebook works, many people like to make up their own ideas about Jesus.

Here are a few ways people misunderstand how God works:

1. It doesn’t really matter what you believe as long as you are sincere.

God is the Sovereign Creator, Ruler of all. He either is or He isn’t. He can’t be for some and not others which means what He says goes for all people. Your sincere acknowledgement of Him is key in your relationship with Him.

2. You can pick and choose what you want to believe from the Bible.

The Bible is God’s inspired word, His testimony about Himself, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. You can’t pick and choose what you want to believe. If you told a story about your own life and someone said part of it wasn’t true, they’d be wrong and be calling you a liar or you would actually be a liar. Is God trustworthy or is He a liar? He can’t be both.

3. God sends people to hell.

Jesus came for all who need a Savior. God doesn’t send people to hell. We end up there based on our own choices and God actually makes it possible for you to be saved from the consequences of those choices. You have free will to choose not to go to hell. You don’t want to be a robot to God and God is clearly not a vending machine so the only thing left is a relationship which is found through faith in Jesus. We all sin and fall short. The only thing that keeps you from God is believing you don’t need Him.

What misconceptions have you heard from others and you think, “That’s not how it works.” Are you a good enough friend to tell them?

Maybe you’re the one with questions needing a help section on just what faith in Christ is all about. How does it work? Why does it matter?

The good news is that God is not only willing to communicate with you, He is very clear in His answers.

It often appears that we want a God with some wiggle room, but instead we have a God who is merciful in our failings. We want a God who dismisses our sin as simple choices of lifestyle or personalities. After all, He’s the one who created us this way. But instead, we have a God who asks us to participate in the life He’s given us according to His ways. He asks us to sacrifice our own ways for His. He creates us and then asks us to let Him transform us into a new creation through a second birth. We are born into sin. All of us. And every person has a transformation waiting for them if only they would come and let God work in their lives. And this work only comes through the grace offered in faith through Jesus Christ.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

This is how it works.

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