Displaying the "colors" of God's glory

Photography is not my forte but, like all of us, seeing a good picture is very inspiring. I was wishing for a camera on a recent trip up and over one of the “mountains” here in Shenandoah Valley. The fall colors are at their peak in many places as they shout, “Glory!” The exterior green chlorophyll is being replaced by the various natural colors of the leaf.

What if God were to take a picture of your church? Would everyone find it very inspiring?

There are many different shapes and sizes to church buildings as there are the fall colors, but I am not speaking of the exterior. The church is YOU – those who have become a part of His family through believing and receiving Christ as their Savior.

So what would that spiritual snapshot of your church look like? In Revelation,chapters 2 and 3, God gives us a spiritual snapshot of some churches. As we look at these churches may we respond to God’s exhortation to these churches and ask God to change our “colors” so that the fullness of His glory can be better displayed in our lives.

In each of these churches God’s picture includes a snapshot of:

• His Character
• A Commendation
• A Condemnation
• A Correction
• A Challenge

Ephesus: How’s your love life? A Passionate Church

Ephesus was the headquarters for evangelization in all of Asia Minor. In Acts, chapter 19, we see a vigorous church, giving up old practices and growing mightily in the word of the Lord.

Character

God displays His character as the Preserver-“holds seven stars in His hand” and a Watchman – walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands” (2:1)

Commendation

• There was a labor of love and patience.
• They did not endure those who were evil.
• They found and tried false apostles, laboring with persistence and endurance.
• They also hated the deeds of the Nicolaitanes. This was possibly the chief principle of the error of Balaam-an attempt to serve God at the same time to please His enemies. They lived lives of unrestrained indulgence, eating things sacrificed to idols and committing fornication/immorality, taking Christian liberty to the extreme.

Condemnation

The evangelistic Ephesian church had left (quit, forsake) their first love. They were just doing the orthodox routine. They had a lot of religious activity but no heart. As it says in Matthew 15:8, “…They honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”

Correction

They were to

• remember from where they had fallen
• repent
• repeat their first works- get back to loving the Lord God with all of their hearts and proclaiming the gospel abroad to a lost and sinful world. Paul’s prayer for them was, “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able …to know the love of Christ with all the fullness of God.”

Challenge

God’s challenge refers to eating from the tree of life which gives us the snapshot of a church with growth and vitality (Psalm 1).

Many of today’s churches display the same dismal picture – very busy with traditional programs but very little, if any, evangelism, resulting in little growth and spiritual life. Is it enough to just meet the physical need of someone without sharing the good news of eternal life with that one? NO!

Statistics show that 85% of all who are saved will trust Christ as Savior between the ages of 4-14. Children are not the church of the future-they are the church of today, the presence of the future. A church without an active, evangelistic children’s outreach is like that desert shrub – “inhabiting the parched places in the wilderness.” (Jer. 17:6)

How is your love life? Are showing off the beautiful colors of God's glory through your love for the Lord and a love for the lost? How can you reflect those colors?

1. Giving out a tract to someone. There is a very simple "Thank You" tract that can be given as you say thanks after completing a business transaction.
2. Getting involved in your children’s program at church or helping to create one.
3. Volunteer to be a part of a CEF® team conducting a Good News Club® at a school.

CEF of Shenandoah Valley has a new blog –cefshenandoahvalley.blogspot.com-

Find a Good News Club in your area or volunteer to start one. Display the awesome colors of God’s glory to the children!

Next: When the going gets tough...what do you do?