Yesterday, I sat with a bunch of friends of mine and we were studying the book of Revelation. Specifically we were looking at the letter to the church at Sardis in chapter 3:1-6.

As we discussed this church that Jesus described as looking alive but actually was spiritually dead, we came across a couple of verses in Ephesians 5 that stuck with me the rest of the day…

…for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said,

“Awake, O sleeper,
rise up from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. (NLT)

For me, what stood out most from this passage was the words “Make the most of every opportunity.” I guess you could say that convicted me. I must confess that I am a “Recovering Pharisee.” What does that mean?

Well, for me, it means that I had been living my life much like the church at Sardis. I did all the right things and said all the right things. But deep in my heart, my core beliefs did not reflect what I said in public.

I was alive to those who saw me in public, but to those who I let into my inner circle – they knew better. I was dead or at least not as alive as I could be.

The idea of making the most of every opportunity is something that I live out in many places but for some reason not in my spiritual relationships…

As I reflected on this yesterday and this morning, I really began to understand that God expects us to do our best with everything He gives us to do. Not just what I do 40 hours a week, but when I get home with my family, when I volunteer at church, when I am acting on stage, and most of all when I relate with Him and others about Him.

We need to be making the most of EVERY opportunity from the moment we wake up in the morning to the time we go to sleep at night. And our basis for this should be love, love for God, and a love uniquely given to the individual we are interacting with.

What do you think?

“In order to reach people that no one is reaching, you will have to do things that no one is doing. But in order to do things that no one is doing, you can’t do what everyone else is doing.”

(Via churchrelevance.com: A Toolbox with All Hammers. Thanks for sharing Kent!)

One of the things I have been struggling and studying through has to do with this idea of loving your neighbors like you love yourself.

I have heard this many times but this time the words, “Like you love yourself” really stood out to me. It seems to me as I ponder this that You need to

1. take care of yourself
2. so that you can serve others and
3. by serving others you are loving them and
4. by loving them you are expressing love toward God

Before this I always looked at this passage as I need to love my neighbor. I never really considered the second half of the verse and what that meant.

So my goal should be to keep myself in good shape so I then can be guided by the Holy Spirit to really love my neighbor in whatever way I am called to. In doing that, I am showing God honor and bring Him glory which is what He is calling me towards…

What do you think?