I am so excited to announce that my new book is now published! I have been working quite hard to get it out before Christmas (which I did, but it probably wouldn’t ship on time for Christmas though). You can read about the book on my Books page. It is available in paperback as well as in ebook format. Here’s a preview from the first chapter:

​A Very Laodicean Problem

The wind blew, tugging at his hair. The humid, salty air filled his nostrils. Everywhere he looked from his look-out point was water. John was on the island of Patmos. He was not there on vacation. He was there because of the Gospel; he was there because of Jesus. Specifically, he was there because he would not keep quiet about Jesus. Obviously, not everyone enjoyed his passion for Jesus—he was on a prison island. It is likely that some thought his passion for Jesus was a danger to society. Little did they know, whoever they were, that imprisoning John on a remote island would not be enough to stop his influence—God was not finished using him. No, Jesus had something greater in mind.

One day, while John was worshipping, he was taken into vision. What unfolded before him would greatly impact mankind. The first scene John experienced was of seven golden lamp stands and a man standing in the middle of them. The one standing before him looked familiar, one like the son of man, and yet different—more magnificent and triumphant. Then it hit him: he was standing before Jesus, his Jesus. How his heart must have leapt! He had been imprisoned on that island because of his love for Jesus. The worship session came to a climax as he fell at Jesus’ feet. Being in the presence of Jesus again filled him with awe, wonder, and fear. But Jesus touched his shoulder and encouraged him, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (Revelation 1:17, 18).

John was then instructed to write down everything he would hear and see, both things that were happening in his day and the things that would happen later. He obeyed. The result of his writings comes to us as the book of Revelation. You may have heard of it; you may even be familiar with it. To many, it is a scary and confusing book—mainly due to the symbolic nature of the book as well as its dark portrait of things to come. According to John, though, it was not merely a book about the future—not just a revelation of last-day events—it is the revelation of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:1). You see, for John everything was about Jesus. To each of the disciples in John’s day, Jesus was everything. Sadly, this is no longer true among professed Christians. Many things have taken Jesus’ place as first priority in our lives. Only when modern Christians share the disciples’ passion for Jesus will we truly be a remnant of the early church. Jesus was everything to the early church, but things changed.

John was shown many things in his visions. He saw beasts and plagues and battles—each scary in their own way. But the scariest scenes must have been the changes he would see in the followers of Christ. These changes are first revealed in the letters to the Seven Churches (Revelation 2 and 3). Whether you view these letters to be a timeline description of Christianity or a general description of Christianity in any age, you cannot miss the changes they describe. Although these letters reveal people who remain faithful to Jesus, they also show an increasingly compromised church that is spiritually lacking. One letter, specifically, reveals a serious spiritual problem that would plague Christianity: the letter to the church in Laodicea.

Laodicea’s letter stands out among the others for an unfortunate reason: in the letter, Jesus has nothing good to say about them. In every other letter, even when there was compromise or error to correct, Jesus said something positive about those who were still faithful in the church. He commended Ephesus for their toil and patience and for not putting up with evil (Revelation 2:2). Even Pergamum, the church that dwelt “where Satan’s throne is” and was full of evil, Jesus praised some of them for holding onto His name and not losing faith (Revelation 2:13). Yet, there is not one good thing coming from Laodicea–nothing that earns praise from Jesus.

Instead, their condition is graphically described: “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit [lit. vomit] you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15, 16). Basically, their “Christianity” made God want to gag. Wow. Of course, when was the last time you were thirsty and felt that a big glass of lukewarm, stagnant pond water would hit the spot? I’m guessing never. Their condition doesn’t start off well. Sadly, He wasn’t finished. He added, “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17). God is describing His people—members of His church—and they have a problem, a very big problem.