Read March 17, 2023 – Our Daily Bread Devotional || ODB for Friday Message
READ FRIDAY ODB DEVOTIONAL, OUR DAILY BREAD 17TH MARCH 2023 WRITTEN BY MIKE WITTMER (OUR DAILY BREAD MINISTRIES)
TOPIC: We’re Not Alone
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Deuteronomy 30-31; Mark 15:1-25
KEY VERSE: 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
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Revelation 3:14–22
INSIGHT FOR TODAY
The letter to Laodicea (Revelation 3:14–22) is the only one to the seven churches in Asia Minor (see chs. 2–3) with no praise at all for the church. Regardless, we find comfort amid God’s warnings. The reference to “salve to put on your eyes” (3:18) has relevance for Laodicea because the region was known for its medicines, including an eye salve. But the Laodiceans’ vision problem wasn’t physical but spiritual. Their wealth had given them the illusion of self-sufficiency (vv. 15–17), prompting what seems like a threat from God: “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline” (v. 19). Yet this signaled that God hadn’t abandoned the church. He loved them enough to correct them.
Our Daily Bread Devotional 17th March 2023 MESSAGE
In Fredric Brown’s short story thriller “Knock,” he wrote, “The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door.” Yikes! Who could that be, and what do they want? What mysterious being has come for him? The man is not alone.
Neither are we.
The church in Laodicea heard a knock on their door (Revelation 3:20). What supernatural Being had come for them? His name was Jesus, “the First and the Last . . . the Living One” (1:17–18). His eyes blazed like fire, and His face “like the sun shining in all its brilliance” (v. 16). When His best friend, John, caught a glimpse of His glory, he “fell at his feet as though dead” (v. 17). Faith in Christ begins with the fear of God.
We’re not alone, and this is also comforting. Jesus “is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3). Yet Christ uses His strength not to slay us but to love us. Hear His invitation, “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). Our faith begins with fear—Who is at the door?—and it ends in a welcome and strong embrace. Jesus promises to always stay with us, even if we’re the last person on earth. Thank God, we’re not alone.
REFLECT: Why can’t we separate Christ’s power from His love? Why are both vitally important?
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I welcome You into my heart and life.
Our Daily Bread Devotional March 17, 2023 || ODB for Friday Message . Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODB) is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including Our Daily Bread. our daily bread devotional for today audio our daily bread booklet.