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I’m in love with this wall of keys. Just look at all the shapes and sizes. Imagine all the doors, dressers, and secret boxes they would have opened in their day.

Think about all the treasures they secured.

But locked doors aren’t always a good thing. Sometimes it’s better to let the right person come through the door. For that we must have the right key.

I was reminded of Revelation 3:14-22, where Jesus is standing outside the doors of the church in Laodicea.

He is knocking.

But no one is answering.

They don’t even realize he is there, because they don’t think they really need him.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me (Revelation 3:20).

I’d like to call attention that this verse is often used for evangelism, but as John MacArthur points out, “This verse has been used in countless tracts and evangelistic messages to depict Christ’s knocking on the door of the sinner’s heart, it is broader than that. The door on which Christ is knocking is not the door to a single human heart, but to the Laodicean church. Christ was outside this apostate church and wanted to come in—something that could only happen if the people repented.” (Click here for more information.)

Do you want to be Weary by Wednesday? Forget how much you need Jesus every day.

The members of the Church of Laodicea were luke-warm, and Jesus was fixing to spit them out of his mouth, like you would a gulp of water from a bottle that had been sitting in the car for a while. They didn’t think they were sinners any longer. They were good. They had everything they needed. They were depending on themselves rather than on Jesus.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary says, “We have one cause of this indifference and inconsistency in religion assigned, and that is self-conceitedness or self-delusion. They thought they were very well already, and therefore they were very indifferent whether they grew better or no: Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, etc., Rev. 3:17. (Click here for full text.)

The members of this church forgot that they were sinners saved by grace. They settled in on the saved part and forgot the sinner part. They didn’t feel the need to dig in and grow. They didn’t feel a need to confront on-going issues with sin in their lives. Because life was good, they weren’t experiencing any hardships, they just kept going along with the status quo.

I’d really like to say that I am not guilty of this, but I can’t. Sometimes it takes a whole wall of keys to prick my conscience and remind me that, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent (Revelations 3:19).”

Am I being complacent? Am I, as Henry says, “being self-delusional,” and believing I am good and have no sin? Is Jesus outside the door waiting for me to get earnest and repent, so he can come in and sup with me?

The good news is that every believer has the opportunity to be victorious over sin, just as Jesus was victorious. As long as we understand that it isn’t something we can muster up on our own, we have the key to unlock and open the door. We must, as verses 17 and 18 tell us, buy it from Jesus. He has what we need and we simply need to trade in our pride, self-sufficiency, and self-delusions to get it.

As we work through the process of healing from our abusive pasts, we need to stay clear of victim traps. Yes we need to break free of our abuser’s verbal and emotional assaults on us. Yes we need to re-program our thinking and self-talk so that we value ourselves for who God has created us to be and has said we are. Where we need to be cautious is in wrongly believing that we do not have things to repent of as we walk every day with Jesus. We do not walk the path of healing alone…Jesus is with us every step of the way. Keep the keys handy your dinner guest is ready.

Thanks for sharing your Wednesday with me. I am praying for each of you.