11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Yesterday, the great evangelist and preacher Billy Graham passed away at the age of 99. Over the course of decades, thousands around the world heard him boldly proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. Earlier in his life, he was quoted as saying, “Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.” Graham lived in this life with the hope of the next in mind. He also said, “The most thrilling thing about heaven is that Jesus Christ will be there. I will see Him face to face. Jesus Christ will meet us at the end of life’s journey.”

Billy Graham understood the hope of eternal life with Jesus Christ. This invigorated his earthly ministry. While Graham longed to be in the presence of God, he lived with a sense of purpose and urgency. He lived out these words from CS Lewis: “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.” In our passage in Revelation 3:11-13, we see the hope of the day when all will be made right. This new city, the new Jerusalem, brings great encouragement in the midst of life’s trial and difficulties.

As Christians, we need to be intentional about reflecting on the hope of the new. One day, we too will be in the presence of God. Our pain and difficulties on earth will not last forever. We have the assurance of spending eternity with Jesus. This wonderful truth encourages us and motivates us here and now on earth. We are in Christ and have a hopeful message for a world in need. As we live on earth, we remember that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). Today, take a moment to really consider this reality. Have a little fun making a “bucket list” for Heaven and praise God for the gift of salvation and the opportunity to spend eternity with Him.

By Billy Berglund  

1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.

The snooze button is one of my greatest enemies. My wife has a habit of hitting the button a good three or four times every morning. Perhaps you can relate. The loud beeping goes off every few minutes, just as I am falling off to sleep again. Some days, I just want to throw that alarm clock out the window. Every morning, that alarm goes off, telling us to “Wake up!”

Sometimes, we need a good wake up call in our lives. It is so easy to just go through the motions of our lives, outwardly appearing alive and thriving. However, our inward life may present a very different reality. In this letter to the church to Sardis, Jesus says though John, “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.” The church at Sardis was in a spiritual coma of sorts. Despite their reputation, they were actually asleep and about to die, in desperate need of being reawakened and made alive!

As you think about your own life, is your reputation different than your reality? If we are honest, reputation management is plain old exhausting. We may try to put on a face, to make ourselves look good on the outside, despite the fact that our inner life doesn’t match. Our reality may be far from the “perfect image” we try to present to others in person and through social media. This has great implications for our relationship with God. If we become consumed with outward acts, perhaps even good deeds, we can still miss the point.

There is a great danger to try and do things for God, and yet be far from Him in reality. As Peter Scazzero writes, “Work for God that is not nourished by a deep interior life with God will eventually be contaminated by other things such as ego, power, needing approval of and from others, and buying into the wrong ideas of success and the mistaken belief that we can’t fail.” Jesus had harsh words for those whose outward reputation did not match their inner reality. He said, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness” (Matthew 23:27-28).

Thankfully, there is a different way to live. We are called to live with God, abiding and remaining in Him (John 15), finding our identity in His incredible, unconditional love for us in Christ. We are called to be awakened to the reality that our lives have great meaning and purpose. Today, reflect on this call to wake up. Be honest before God, talking with Him about ways that your outer life and inner life may not line up. Ask him for help and thank Him for His steady love and pursuit of us. Reflect on these words from Scazzero, “We cannot give what we do not possess. Doing for God in a way that is proportionate to our being with God is the only pathway to a pure heart and seeing God (Matthew 5:8).”

By Billy Berglund  

Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

As a young man, I really admire men and women who have been walking with the Lord for many years. For some, it has been decades and decades of steady faithfulness. A few years ago, my grandfather passed away. I will always remember the celebration of his life at his funeral service. For over sixty years, he walked with the Lord, living in the way of Jesus with the heart of Jesus. As a result, he impacted many people’s lives. I remember walking away from that service very moved. As I have been here at South for three years, I have been fortunate to meet many of you who live the same way. So what’s the secret? How do we be faithful?

Here in Revelation 2:10, Jesus writes through John, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” This letter to the Church at Smyrna is a letter to hurting people. As Ryan mentioned Sunday in his sermon, Jesus doesn’t always remove the heat, but he does release the pressure. We have looked at how Jesus knows what we are going through and encourages us to not fear. Today, we find the encouragement to be faithful.

We find great hope in our lives when we have the proper perspective. In Christ, we have victory in the end. We can be sure and confident in this. Assurance is the engine for endurance. The reality is, future hope empowers daily faith. It is so easy for me to become consumed with my present situation and lose sight of the ultimate joy and hope I have in Christ. Our faithfulness should not be determined by our circumstances. As author Jon Bloom writes, “If the future joy Jesus promises is real and you believe him, there is no circumstance that can steal your thanksgiving.”

So what does this look like in our everyday lives? I really believe we are not called to just endure this life, but to truly thrive and find joy along the way. As I have met with older and wiser Christians over the years, I greatly admire their consistency. They have shown me that our habits can really change our lives. We are to be faithful through embracing the little things. Over time, we can actually change our mental pathways. In a way, it is like training before war, building habitual muscle memory. We cling to the security and identity we have in Christ as we live faithfully despite pain and difficulty. While this is far easier said than done, it is made possible through relying on the Spirit working in our lives, who helps us each and every moment along the way.

Today, take a few moments to reflect. First, think about all the ways that God has been faithful to you. Counting these blessings can help re-orient our perspective. Then, consider the areas of your life you are living faithfully. Are there any areas you could re-commit to being faithful? Close by bringing these reflections to God and ask Him for strength on the journey.

By Billy Berglund

28 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Growing up as an athlete, I was always focused on performance. My mood and feeling of self-worth was based on whether I could “perform” or “achieve” a certain level of outward success. I struggled with this mentality even into college. Even on days when I felt like a performed well, I felt a bit empty inside. At times, this carried over into my relationship with God. I became focused on “doing the right things,” yet my heart was often not in it. I could go through the motions, yet was missing whole-hearted devotion.

If we aren’t careful, we can become preoccupied with outward actions alone. As a result, our hearts grow cold. As Ryan said Sunday, we may dress the part, but miss the heart. We miss out on a life-giving, thriving relationship with Jesus. Instead, we focus on seeking praise instead of being known. We use performance to protect ourselves from pain or failure. We assume our self-worth is based on our ability to perform and produce. We may “do the right things” as we conform to a process, rather than embrace a relationship with a person.

Today, if you resonate with any of these feelings, as I do, be encouraged by Jesus’ words. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” While religion says perform and produce, Jesus says rest and abide. In Christ, we find true acceptance. We are truly known and fully loved. We can live from approval, rather than constantly seeking to live for approval. Our outward actions now overflow from our hearts. We are living in freedom, not to “appear righteous to others,” or to “win God’s affection,” but rather from a secure place of love. We are no longer duty-driven robots, but passionately loving people who know we are loved.

Over the past few years, God has really been working on my heart in this regard. I can still remember the first time I walked into South Fellowship, in August of 2015. At the end of the message, Pastor Ryan said these words, “God pursues relentlessly, loves always, and refuses to give up on you.” They have stuck with me ever since. Today, no matter where you find yourself, take some time to reflect on these words. God pursues you because you are worth pursuing. Ask God to forgive you of any sins which come to mind, to help you understand your security in Him rather than needing to constantly “perform,” and to rekindle your spiritual fire. 

By Billy Berglund