Here I Am

Standing firm in faith can be hard to do in our society which values worth in terms of money and possessions, which phone you have, which car you have, whether you have a nice job and a nice home. And this can be especially hard for those like our CAP clients who feel that they are not part of this mainstream society, but have been left behind in the margins because they do not have these things. But having things, valuing possession and position can be hard for faith as well, leading to complacency and a love of comfort, the loss of valuing spiritual gifts above material.

Revelation 3: 14 - 22 (TLB)

“This message is from the one who stands firm, the faithful and true Witness of all that is or was or evermore shall be, the primeval source of God’s creation:

15 “I know you well—you are neither hot nor cold; I wish you were one or the other! 16 But since you are merely lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth!

17 “You say, ‘I am rich, with everything I want; I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that spiritually you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

18 “My advice to you is to buy pure gold from me, gold purified by fire—only then will you truly be rich. And to purchase from me white garments, clean and pure, so you won’t be naked and ashamed; and to get medicine from me to heal your eyes and give you back your sight. 19 I continually discipline and punish everyone I love; so I must punish you unless you turn from your indifference and become enthusiastic about the things of God.

20 “Look! I have been standing at the door, and I am constantly knocking. If anyone hears me calling him and opens the door, I will come in and fellowship with him and he with me. 21 I will let everyone who conquers sit beside me on my throne, just as I took my place with my Father on his throne when I had conquered. 22 Let those who can hear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”

In Revelation 3, the message to the church in Laodicea is a call against comfort and complacency. To take a stand in faith and not just going through the motions in a lukewarm fashion because they are in a position of material comfort. But instead, to know where true value lies - with spiritual gifts rather than material, and to recognise that all these gifts come from God and should be used in His service. The gold refined by the fire of God's love is of so much greater worth than material wealth. There is a cost to comfort and complacency, of spiritual poverty, which can only be relieved by turning away from indifference and embracing the gifts of God.

And this is a message of hope for those who are struggling as well, that Jesus stands at the door and knocks and will come in for fellowship with whoever hears and opens. And more, those who are firm in faith and the love of God are welcomed to a place with Jesus on His throne.

This is not something that we are called to do alone, but as the church, to work in the community of the church and wider society to create change by encouraging others to look at the world through the eyes of faith in faithful and true witness to the centre of God's creation which is Love. To use the gifts that we have from God, whether spiritual or material, to help change the world.

Prayer

Please pray for all our CAP clients and especially for those waiting for their first appointments, now booking into August. It can be a dark time, struggling with debt and associated problems but give thanks that they have reached out to CAP and that help is on the way.

Pray for our debt coaches and visit team, for the practical debt help that they bring into the homes of our clients, for their use of the gifts that they have from God to help make a difference in the lives of others.

Please pray for CAP head office as the systems and processes to move the client journey onwards continue to change and develop, that it may be a struggle at the moment to juggle multiple systems and cases but that the needs of the individual client will be put front and centre. For the resolution of backlogs that can cause frustration for staff, debt coaches and clients.

Pray for the CAP United conferences going on at the moment and for the Ely and District CAP team as they head to the Midlands and East conference next Wednesday, that this will be a chance to celebrate the work of CAP together, to grow in strength and share in faith and a chance to share concerns and grow together with representatives from head office and those from debt centres across the region.