Wake-up call

Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, . . . for I have not found your works perfect before God. – Revelation 3:2

On February 26, 1993, a powerful bomb exploded in the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing six people and injuring more than a thousand. It sparked an aggressive investigation with many arrests. But few law enforcement authorities recognized it as part of an international terrorist plot. When the Trade Center towers were destroyed by terrorists in 2001, police commissioner Raymond Kelly looked back on the first attack and said, "It should have been a wake-up call for America."

The Lord told the church at Sardis that although they had a reputation for being spiritually alive, they were dead. He told them to wake up: "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent" (Revelation 3:2-3).

The call to every believer is to be vigilant toward the Lord rather than lax and indifferent. If the fire has gone out in our hearts, He pleads with us to stir the embers into flame again.

Ask yourself: Has there been a wake-up call in my life recently that I’ve missed? Is God trying to tell me something? Will I answer His wake-up call today? – David C. McCasland

Lord, grant to us a holy zeal

That burns within our heart;

A zeal like Yours for truth and right

From which we’ll not depart. – Dennis De Haan

READ: Revelation 3:1-6

To keep your heart from growing cold, stay on fire for God.

The Bible in one year:

• Judges 9-10

• Luke 5:17-39