Faith, repentance, diligence, endurance - these are some of the tools stored in the box of a conqueror. Tonight I taught on this subject to the group of teenagers I lead. Many of them face demons of a sort that I never thought of at that age. Before we jumped into Revelations we read from Hebrews 11. In the latter part of the chapter, descriptions are there of a people who were dressed in lowly clothing, tortured, stoned, and even sawn in two. It is this group of people who are called conquerors. This isn't our first image when we think of conquerors, I'd bet. Their faith, though, is commended and they are all a part of the great cloud of witnesses watching over us and cheering us on. It says that they conquered kingdoms.
These kids got it. They recognize the kingdoms that have been set up in their lives. There are kingdoms of money, fame, sex, anger, popularity, self-image, success, approval, drugs, television, porn, internet, sports, and the list goes on. All of this goes on daily. I see this every day in the classroom. Kingdoms rising and falling, but rarely do I see the victor turn out to be the oppressed student.
I pray that as adults we recognize the need for repentance. When the worn path of the easy way out, the lowered expectation, appears before us, we turn away and walk the narrow path. I hope that we see the necessity of faith. We can fight and try all day long, but in the end we fail if we do not trust in God. We need diligence in our following Christ. We are pressured in so many ways to take different roads, to try things we already know aren't of God. There is a certain stick-to-it-iveness that needs to exist. All of this relates to creating endurance: the ability to stay in for the long haul. This is no mile relay. This is more than even an Iditarod. This is life.
If we accept these things and teach them, our children will receive them. We look so often to messed up kids and blame them. It starts with us. If our children are to be saved, we must let Christ save us first. We must repent, trust Him, and remain in Him. Without Him we can do nothing.

What we are more than

I'm still in chapter 2, but there is a feast of knowledge. I feel I'm only nibbling the outer crust. There is a recurring set of words here that has snagged my attention: "The one who conquers..." In each letter, there is a challenge. These challenges aren't tests, though. They are a matter of life and death in a sense. If the challenge is met successfully you are considered a conqueror, and conquerors are promised gifts. The Ephesian church is encouraged to repent and return to the things they did in the beginning, to return to their first love. Conquering comes through repentance. A sort of paradox: giving something up to win a victory. Smyrna is given other instructions, though. These brothers and sisters are instructed to "be faithful unto death." If they succeed, the gift given is a crown of life. Conquering is done through faith.
These lessons seem so easy, so simple, so childish. We've heard these lessons our entire lives if we've been in church. Repent and remain faithful. This is the life of a disciple of Christ. It is my belief that there is more here than this, though. I plan to continue digging and searching. So I will write more on this. My goal is to get back to this blogging, journaling, devotional thing. I miss it, and I need to endure at something more than my job. Pray for me, pray with me, and may we all have eyes to see and ears to hear.

I am beginning a journey through the book of Revlelation. I am taking my sweet time, savoring the words and letting them seep into my spirit as much as I can. Being human, I will most likely fail some of the time, but that is neither here nor there at this moment. It is in chapter 2 that I began to wonder. This is the letter that is to be sent to the church in Ephesus. This church has quite a strong history. Patient endurance is a key characteristic for them. A small thing this is not. The ability to work and toil, discerning evil and turning away false teachers, is not easy. It is such a big deal that God repeats the endorsement again in verse 3. The but enters here. Despite the strength of their labors and works, despite their lake of growing weary, and despite their doing it all for His name's sake, they have lost the love they had at first.
This is where I began to wonder. What kind of people work so hard and seem to have it together, but have lost their initial love? I wonder if it is the fact that they have lowered their standards. I see this kind of attitude all around me. There is an appearance of religion and righteousness, but the standard seems based on something other than Jesus Christ. Being nice for the sake of ourselves is not Christlike. Praising louder and in a fashion befitting concerts isn't hitting the mark. The thing is, nothing we do hits the mark. That is what sin is: missing the mark. So, even though our heart may be in "the right place," we're aiming lower. I can be nice to those who are nice to me. I can love my enemy from a distance. I can give a tithe without an offering. The death we are called to becomes an unvied for object.
The thing they have lost is their love. Some translations say first love, others the love you had at first. Regardless, the high marks are lowered for the sake of looking good.
I see a lot of patriots, a lot of loyal alma maters, and a lot of charity-eers. They cheer for their teams, their country and their "lesser brethren." That is the easy part. Even I fall into this category of lame humanity. Personally, I want to see a change. I want to be different. My words should be salty and bright. My actions should resound with the glory of God. He wants to be my, our, first love. We find ways around it, though. I am sick of it myself.
God says that he will remove their lampstand if they do not repent. That means they lose their status as a church. They are no longer children of God, which means they never were. Funny how God can take a group of misguided humans and use them for His plans, and yet they remain aiming too low, and not only missing the mark, but missing the point and God in the process.
So this is my wondering. What are your thoughts? The letter has this line in it, a challenge to us: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Let's do it.