Read Revelation 2:1 + Acts 19:17-20 in your personal Bible or at the link provided.
Review
1. Who is the letter in Revelation addressed to, and who is it from?
2. Whose name was honored in Ephesus?
3. What was the effect of the message about the Lord?
Reflect
Revelation begins with Jesus instructing the author, John, to write letters to seven churches, including Ephesus. Jesus refers to Himself as the “one who holds the seven stars in his right hand” and who “walks among the seven gold lampstands.” In apocalyptic literature, the number seven represents wholeness or completeness. Holding seven stars in one hand demonstrates God’s authority and power. As we see in Acts 19, Ephesus experienced that power firsthand, and it spread widely.
In order to experience God’s power, we have to be willing to receive it. The gospel had a powerful effect on the Ephesians, and it can have a powerful effect on us today too. The question is, are we ready to receive it, or are we asleep? When we experience God’s power, we’ll want to honor His name, repent of our sins, continue spreading the Good News, and let Him use us to seek and save the lost.
Wherever you’ve fallen asleep in life, let God shake you out of your complacency. Lift your eyes to who He is, and wake up to a greater purpose. He invites you now to receive.
Respond
• Have you received God’s power and experienced it firsthand? If you have, who could you share it with? If you haven’t, who models it well that you could ask for advice?
• What things or priorities in your life are most likely to keep you “asleep” to God’s power? Do you have trusted people around you to hold you accountable when necessary?
• How might God be calling you to join Him in His greater purpose today? What can you do to listen for His invitation?
Pray through these questions, and write down what God is prompting you to do next. Share with a friend, and take a step to apply it.