Devotional for Thursday June 9, 2022
These were just some of the Lord's words to the youngest of the seven churches: "I am coming soon, hold fast what you have so that no one will take your crown." This church did not stand out for its economy, it was not among the largest congregations, but it had not denied the Word of the Lord. What is essential, as a certain thinker said, what is invisible to the eye: the weakest church in the presence of men was the strongest according to the One who can look beyond, according to the One who, like no one else, can see the heart. This is the result of God's message to the seven churches and of the experience of the Christian path: it is not wealth or the appearance of godliness or the number of congregations that must prevail in the end. As in the message to the churches of those times, we will all have something to change or eradicate, while some fortunate ones, like that church in Philadelphia showed diligence while retaining what God had given them. Not to lose heart, but to retain the teaching and testify of the grace of the Lord through the death of Lamb is the task of every Christian during all the days of his life.
Written by Yoandry Jiménez,
Translated by Maria Elena Cardona
Morning Revelations 3:7-13
7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Noon Psalm 68:1-10
1 Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
3 But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.
4 Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.
5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
6 God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
7 O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah:
8 The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary.
10 Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor.
Evening 2 Timothy 2:1-3
Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
Prayer Guide: [Cuba-Yaguajay] and [E.U. Diócesis Sur-Tampa]
This month's challenge is: Think before you judge or act.
Ask yourself at all times: how would I want to be treated if I were in that condition? Always remember Jesus' advice: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Judge not, and you will not be judged: condemn not, and you will not be condemned: forgive, and you will be forgiven."
Luke 6:36,37
