by Steve McCranie | Jun 26, 2019
Unfortunately, in our walk with the Lord, Chaucer’s ancient adage proves true: Familiarity Breeds Contempt. It breeds contempt in the form of apathy, laziness, indifference, lack of honor or respect and, finally, of misplaced love. It seems to be the curse of Western Christianity that wants for nothing save the things that matter.
What can we do when we find our relationship with the Lord boring at best? What happens when, to quote the classic song by the Righteous Brothers, “we’ve lost that lovin’ feelin'”? What happens then?
How can we recapture what we have a hard time even remembering? We find the answer in the Lord’s letter to His church in Ephesus.
Familiarity Breeds Contempt
The church at Ephesus, when John penned the Revelation, was only one generation removed from the life of the Lord. They were a hard-working bunch of committed believers who had a resume and doctrinal purity that would be the envy of almost any church today.
“I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary” – Revelation 2:2-3.
In fact, they worked for the Lord to the point of sheer exhaustion.
“I know your works (the results of employment, duty, business, something to be done), your labor (to toil to the point of exhaustion, the labor which demands the whole strength of a man exerted to the utmost to accomplish the task), your patience (to remain under, to bear up under), and that you cannot bear (support, stand) those who are evil (bad, worthless, wicked, vicious, harmful, bad in heart, conduct, and character). And you have tested (tried, to prove either good or bad) those who say (affirm, proclaim) they are apostles (messengers, sent ones) and are not, and have found (by examination, search, or inquiry) them liars (false); and you have persevered (to bear up under patiently) and have patience (to endure, to remain under), and have labored (to be fatigued, worn out, weary, faint) for (what) My name’s sake and have not become weary (faint from constant work).”
I get tired just reading all that they did. But, like the church today, they had missed the most important part of their relationship with Jesus. The relationship!
“Nevertheless (in spite of all this) I (Jesus) have this against you, that you have left (to forsake, quit, abandon, desert) your first love ( agapē)” – Revelation 2:4.
Sobering words. The Lord said He is “against” them… even after all the good they had done. How could that be? And what can they do to right their sinking ship?
It may seem simple, but it is hard to remember the right things. Sometimes it is painfully hard.
“Remember (to call to mind, to keep on remembering) therefore from where (why, how) you have fallen (to fall off or from, to fall away, to fail, to be without effect, in vain); repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place— unless you repent” – Revelation 2:5.
Do You Remember?
It may seem simple, but it is hard to remember the right things. Sometimes it is painfully hard. Consider the following questions to help begin the process of remembering:
What does it mean to remember?
Take a moment and remember your first few weeks as a new creation in Christ.
What were you like?
Back then, how would you feel about yourself now?
Did you make any promises to the Lord that you would not even think of making today?
Did you keep whatever promises you made to Him?
Has your relationship with Him cooled over time?
If so, did it happen gradually, like a slow leak?
Or did it happen all at once?
What do you remember about that time?
There is so much more to remember. To find out about the forgotten discipline of remembering, keep listening.
The following is a study on Revelation 2:2-3.
To download the slides to this message, click – HERE
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by Steve McCranie | Jun 17, 2019
There comes a time in each of our spiritual lives when the Lord brings to us His divine interruption that always comes with a choice. And that choice, other than obedience, seems to focus on our willingness to let Him move us into an area that we are totally unfamiliar with. Or will we choose to remain where we feel safe and comfortable? The choice is either to follow Him into the deep or remain in the kiddie pool holding fast to our water wings. And as always, the choice becomes a matter of faith, of trust.
After all, we sing songs about Him being a “good, good Father.” Do we really mean it? Or is that just for church?
The question or choice is simply this:
Are you in? Or are you out?
If you look at the major faith personalities in the Bible, you will find every one of them had to ask themselves the same question. Every one of them was faced with a choice that comes with a set of troubling questions: “Do I continue in the course that seems right to me? Or do I trust I actually heard from the Lord and go in a direction totally unfamiliar to anything I’ve ever done or known? How much faith do I really have?”
We call these moments Divine Interruptions.
In this message, we’ll look at these interruptions from the vantage point of:
David
Paul
Mary
Matthew
James and John and Peter and Andrew
Moses
And finally, Hosea.
A Personal Note
And I will share with you the divine interruption I received this week while preparing for this message from Jude. In fact, in the weeks to follow I will share more about the changes the Lord has brought in my life regarding what His will is for me and this ministry. And I rejoice in that. Why? Because He has simply answered a prayer I have prayed for almost two years in a most profound way.
But we’ll talk more about that at a later time.
The following is a study on Jude 1:1-3.
To download the slides to this message, click – HERE
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by Steve McCranie | Dec 27, 2018
The following are a few 2019 Bible Reading Plans from various sources. Make a commitment today to faithfully read the Scriptures more next year than you did this last year.
After all, the mantra “no pain, no gain” also applies to spiritual disciplines.
Genesis Through Revelation Bible Reading Plan
Read through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation with daily readings of three to four chapters. From www.heartlight.org.
Download: PDF
52 Week Bible Reading Plan
Read through the Bible in a year with daily readings from the Epistles, the Law, History, Psalms, Poetry (Job, Proverbs, etc.), Prophecy, and the Gospels. From www.bible-reading.com.
Download: PDF
Chronological Bible Reading Plan
Read through the Bible in chronological order. This is one of my favorites. From www.esv.org.
Duration: One year | Download: PDF
Historical Bible Reading Plan
The Old Testament readings are much like the order found in Israel’s Hebrew Bible and the New Testament readings are in the order in which the books were written. From www.blueletterbible.org.
Download: PDF
Robert Murray M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
This is the classic M’Cheyne Bible reading calendar that will let you read the New Testament and Psalms twice and the Old Testament once. From www.edginet.org.
Download: PDF
5 Day Bible Reading Program
Read through the Bible in a year with readings five days a week. From www.BibleClassMaterial.com.
Download: PDF
And a special thanks to Ligonier ministries for the reminder.
by Steve McCranie | Oct 31, 2017
The Lord said some rather horrific things about the church at Thyatira. In fact, His words to this sinning church should strike fear in all of us who have leadership positions in our own church. Consider the following:
“Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works” (Revelation 2:20-23).
The Sin of Thyatira
So what was the sin of Thyatira? Was it Jezebel, or the teaching of Jezebel that led God’s people into sin? Or was it the sin itself? Was it the sexual immorality and idolatry the church freely embraced?
No, as sobering as it sounds, the sin in Thyatira was not Jezebel. It was the church, and the leadership of the church, that allowed the teaching of Jezebel into the church. They were asleep at the wheel. There was no watchman on the wall. No guard at the gate of the church. No protective shepherd watching over the sheep. Nothing.
So what does this say about our leadership today that allows all sorts of sin and false teaching into the church just to give the appearance of growth or vitality or acceptance by the culture? What does it say about the prosperity gospel or multi-campus mega-churches or rock concerts disguised as worship experiences? Where do we fit into all of this?
If you are concerned about how this letter to Thyatira applies to the church of today, then keep listening.
The following is a study on the Lord’s letter to the church at Thyatira in Revelation 2:18-29.
To download the slides for this message, click – HERE
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by Steve McCranie | Oct 30, 2017
Faith is not free. In fact, faith costs everyone associated with it something. No, I’m not talking about saving faith or salvation. But even then, salvation has a cost. It costs Christ His life and the Father His only Son. And it costs each of us who embrace saving faith the one thing we hold most dear. Us. Salvation costs each of us who we are.
But the faith we are talking about is the Hebrews 11 kind of faith. It’s the faith defined as the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb. 11:1). It’s the faith that made the notable men of the Scripture, notable. And it’s the faith that helps us answer the why questions in life.
The Why Questions
Why does God allow bad things to happen to people who love Him?
Why does God allow innocent babies to die?
Why does God allow drug addiction and abortion and rape and child abuse and starvation and disease?
Why, oh why, oh why?
Get the point? But having the faith to trust God’s answer to these questions will cost you something. Why? Because it costs Abraham and Noah and Jacob and Moses and many, many others what it will cost you to know the truth. Are you willing to understand the cost of faith? Do you want to know the answer to the most troubling questions in the Christian life? If so, then keep listening.
The following is a study on the cost of faith.
To download the slides to this message, click – HERE
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by Steve McCranie | Oct 25, 2017
In our Lord’s seven letters to His seven churches, He says both good and bad things about three of the churches (Ephesus, Pergamos, and Thyatira). Two churches have only good things said about them (Smyrna and Philadelphia) and two have only bad (Sardis and Laodicea). And when we look at how these seven letters lay out for us church history in advance, we would assume the church that represents the Medieval church, the church of the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church, would have only bad things said about it.
But that’s not what happens. In fact, incredulously, the Lord says some pretty good things about the church at Thyatira, which represents the Catholic church (along with some pretty bad things too). For example:
“I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first” – Revelation 2:19.
Note this is the first time the Lord commends a church for their love (agapē). Love? How can He say that about a church known for corruption, false doctrine and the Inquisition? And then He says the church that represents the Catholic church is actually getting better. After all, our Lord says, “I know your works” and “the last are more than the first.” Really? How can that be?
How can the Lord have anything good to say about a church filled with so much corruption and have nothing good to say about the church (Sardis) that shed their own blood to remove themselves from that corruption? How is that possible? Is there something we’re missing?
I think so. To find out more, keep listening.
The following is a study on the Lord’s letter to the church at Thyatira in Revelation 2:18-29.
To download the slides for this message, click – HERE
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