Thought for November 28, 2023

•  1660: A group of thinkers gather to hear a lecture by Christopher Wren. They agree to meet weekly and a year later are recognized as the Royal Society, the first scientific society. See more about this group below.
• 1775: Continental Navy created.
• 1895: First American car race--Chicago to Evanston--55 miles with an average speed of 7 MPH
• 1932: First radio appearance by Groucho Marx
• 1948: "Hopalong Cassidy" premiers on TV
• Born: John Bunyan, William Blake, Berry Gordy, Ed Harris, Jon Stewart
• Died: Washington Irving, Jeremiah Rankin, James Naismith, Enrico Fermi, Rosalind Russell, Garry Moore, Leslie Nielsen

Jeremiah Rankin wrote the hymn, "God Be With You' after learning "good-bye" meant "God be with you." "God be with you till we meet again. By His counsel guide, uphold you. With His sheep securely fold you. God be with you til we meet again."

The Thinkers who formed the Royal Society were mostly Christian. Christopher Wren designed St. Paul's Cathedral and was an astronomer, anatomist, meteorologist, and surveyor. Thomas Willis was a pioneer in studying the brain and discovered the "Circle of Willis" a circle of arteries at the base of the brain. He is credited with coining the term "neurology." Robert Boyle was the first modern chemist and author of Boyle's Law which describes the inverse relationship between the pressure and volume of gas. He funded many projects to translate the Bible into various languages. He left funds in his will to endow a series of lectures to defend Christianity against "notorious infidels, namely atheists, deists, pagans, Jews, and Muslims."

Thought:

Looking at the longest of the seven letters to the churches today--Thyatira--in Revelation 2:18-29. Interesting that the longest letter is written to the smallest city. Thyatira was a small city on the Circuit Road about 20 miles from Pergamum. It really just held a small arsenal and was the first line of defense for protecting the major city. The city was controlled by the trade guilds and was the home town of Lydia. We thinks some of Paul's followers preached here while Paul was in Ephesus. The letter is from the "Son of God." This is the only use of that term in Revelation, although John uses it 15 of the 32 times it appears in the New Testament [His gospel and letters]. Go back and read Psalm 2 this morning, particularly 2:7-9, most of which is quoted in Revelation 2:27. Jesus is described as having feet of bronze, perhaps a reference back to Daniel 10:6

Now what does the Son of God say to me and the church at Thyatira today?

• Jesus knows our deeds, or love, our faith, our service and our endurance. As we said yesterday, this is awesome--the Jesus who loves me and died for me knows what I am doing, saying. He knows my attitude. And He knows when I am having a tough day, yet holding fast. And make sure and note that unlike Ephesus who had left their first love, Jesus sees that all of these good qualities are increasing in the church at Thyatira. Makes me wonder if I am increasing in my deeds, love, service, faith and endurance. Or am I slipping back, standing still? Our's is a living faith that should be growing as we mature. 
• The church at Pergamum had a doctrine problem. Here the problem is tolerance. WOW! is this timely or what! Apparently, the church was compromising and participating in the activities of the trade guilds. Need the job, or the customer, or the acceptance,  Don't rock the boat, just get along. This likely involved acts of immorality, eating with the guilds at feasts with food sacrificed to idols, etc. Notice that Jesus associates this with Jezebel who introduced baal worship into Israel as Ahab's queen. Reading this makes me want to examine my life carefully to see where the compromises are sneaking in. This is important because 2:23 reminds me that the One with eyes like a flame [2:18] searches my mind and heart to see what I am thinking and feeling. 
• Jesus urges/commands us to hold fast despite people who say be tolerant. Notice the contrast--they have increasing love, faith, deeds and service--in the face of the world this requires increasing endurance. 
• Jesus makes a promise to those that overcome--when He comes to rule, we will be with Him. And we will have the Morning Star. Take a look at Revelation 22:16--Jesus is the bright and morning star. What a promise--we have Jesus. A few weeks ago, we sang in chruch--"Give me Jesus--you can have all this world, give me Jesus."

Blessings

Larry