Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet, 11 saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

       It would have been daunting for the pastors of the seven churches in Asia to receive a personal letter or scroll from God Himself. God had instructed the Apostle John to write what God wanted to say personally to the leaders of the seven assemblies in Asia. I’m speculating here, but had Pastor Polycarp of Smyrna checked his mailbox and found a letter from his mentor, John the beloved. He may have said, “Oh, how nice a letter from John. I wonder what good news he has for me because we, as a congregation, have been going through some hard times.” Surprise of surprises, when Pastor found out the letter was dictated to him by God and had some hard things to read. Rev. 2:10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will experience affliction for ten days. Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. Ouch! The bills in the mail that morning would have seemed easier to deal with than hearing that major suffering was on its way.

      After receiving his letter, I’m sure that the pastor of the church of Sardis would have had the opportunity to be offended by the direct statement God made about the attitude, complacency and blaséness going on in his assembly. Rev. 3:1b Thus says the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. 2 Be alert and strengthen what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before my God. The opportunity to repent was given to this assembly, and hopefully, the members of that church responded to the call God had placed upon them.

      What have we been doing with the sixty-six letters which have been written by God and directed to us? The reason for these letters is made clear by the Apostle Paul. 2Tim. 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. We were given the Bible, which is a collection of God’s letters, so that we may be equipped for every good work that the Kingdom of God is involved with. The Word of God will reprove, correct, and instruct us in the ways of righteousness. The judgment of God that directs our lives is a continual need for living in righteousness. We are judged by the standard of God’s word, and the only way to fulfil His word is by having God the Son living in our hearts.

      This is what makes the letters of God personal and individually relational. Through Christ, we can have a real and personal understanding of God’s heart and His desire to have us know Him. Jesus, the Lord of glory, resides within us and, through the Holy Spirit, makes the will of God the Father come alive in the deepest part of our being. The fullness of the Godhead is at work within us so that we may be complete in Him. Col. 2:9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

      What would it mean to you if you answered the doorbell or the knocking sound at the front door of your home, and Jesus handed you a letter from God the Father? After you picked yourself off the floor, with trembling hands, you would take the letter with the most amount of respect you have ever extended in your life, and would most likely caress the letter before you even thought of how you would open it. Where is that respect for the sixty-six letters that you now have in multiple translations, and have been paid for with the blood of history’s martyrs? Where is the awe of knowing God the Father has written to us His letters of love, instruction, and guidance to make sure we manifest the goodness of Christ and live with Him throughout eternity? Rev. 22:14 Blessed, happy, prosperous, to be admired are those who wash their robes in the blood of Christ by believing and trusting in Him—the righteous who do His commandments, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.

      I do not know if the pastors who were leading the seven churches John had written to understood the significance of the instructional letters they received. They most likely didn’t realize that we today would still be reading their letters and following the same instructions they were handed? What does this say to our hearts when God asks us to follow His commandments? Will our obedience matter to the Christians in our future? We are the result of many people’s prayers who, through the centuries, had a vision of accumulating the words of God so that we could live with and in the truth and freedom God’s Word promises. There was a hope that we would have the freedom to read and study what God is saying to His creation and bring the kingdom of God to earth. The exhortation ( The Great Commission) to go forth and share the Gospel is still in force. Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

      As we read the letters God has written to us, may we gain an understanding of the importance of God’s salvation plan and become washed in the power and righteousness God has given us through Christ. Let us not be ashamed to share the love we have gleaned from God’s goodness towards us. God’s letters are for everyone.