Strengthen The Things That Remain

And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.  2  Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. 3  Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. 4  Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. 5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. 6  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”  Revelation 3.1-6

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”

When I read this, I think, Lord I believe; help Thou my unbelief. And then I pray, Lord, will You strengthen the things that remain?  Will You clear away whatever isn’t pleasing to You?  Will You make my responses, my works perfect before You?  I know Your strength is made perfect in my weakness.  Will You clean my garments, make them white and make them worthy?

I can say with confidence, with surety and with great joy that the Lord, indeed, strengthens the things that remain.  He does, indeed, redeem the time, and He restores the years the locusts have eaten. And He does, indeed, turn a heart of stone into a heart of flesh.  [cp_quote style=”quote_left_dark”]He does, indeed, demonstrate His love toward us and, yes, He does, indeed, give sight to the blind, rest to the weary, faith to the feeble, and strength to the weak.[/cp_quote]

I can say this because of who He is, what I have seen and what He has done.   I have prayed these prayers and have set all these sorts of things at His feet and I have confessed over again the failings that have brought me low, the regrets that have leveled me.  I’ve walked the roads I share with you–my writings are pictures of my days, slices of my life and I share them with you as a way of connecting and hopefully, prayerfully, and sincerely I write so that you will be encouraged in your own walk—strengthened in your own life as you journey with the Lord.

As I’ve stood still in the Hand of the Potter — surely not saying, why hast Thou made me thus? — but saying, make me Thine, Lord, make me Thine!  Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to Thee!  I have seen there are — things that remain — yes, there are many things the Lord has done in and through me that remain and so, I ask again: Lord, will You strengthen the things that remain and skim off the dross that I might be fit for the Master’s use?  I pray it will be the same with you today… that He will strengthen the things that remain and fit you for the Master’s use.