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Wake Up!

            These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.  Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. (Revelation 3:1-3)

 

            The  “seven spirits” is also translated “sevenfold spirit.” Seven is often used to express perfection. Anything we might say about that would be conjecture, so let’s move on to what is plainer. Jesus knew the deeds of the church in Sardis, just as He knows our deeds and the deeds of our churches. Apparently, Sardis was a church of some reputation, but they were resting on their laurels, sitting back and coasting.

            How often are we like Sardis? Jesus’ advice to them might be a good place to begin every morning or at least every week.

            Wake up! Be conscious, aware, and capable of responding.

            Strengthen what remains and is about to die. Perform triage on and in your life. Address the things that are doing you harm.

            Finish what is undone.

            Remember what you have received and heard.

            Hold fast to what you have received and heard.

            Repent.

            These are steps to a self-assessment. They can also be set forth as a series of questions we can take to God in our prayers. Is there an area in which we as sleeping? What needs to be strengthened or revived? What is undone? What have I received and heard? What am I doing about it, or what should I be doing about it? What have I received that I am letting slip away? How do I need to repent?

            Keep in mind that repentance isn’t always sitting in sackcloth and ashes, wailing about horribly wrong we were. It may not involve emotions at all. Re means “again.” Pent involves what goes through your mind. It means “thinking again” or changing your mind.

            What would happen if you paid attention to yourself for 30 minutes per week, effectively doing what (in the business world) a SWOT analysis, looking at your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats – seeing where you stand and considering where you want to stand by the end of the week?

  

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