Day 11
Wednesday, December 7
Clay Hancock
Jesus hates it when we worship anything other than him; he makes this abundantly clear in Revelation 2:20. Not only does Jesus convict the church of Thyatira of tolerating a false prophet, Jezebel, but he also convicts them of following her misleading and immoral teachings about sex and false sacrifices. Take another look at verse 20, but this time, replace the name “Jezebel” with hookup culture, pornography, erotic novels, or risqué fashion trends—the list goes on. A simple scroll through Facebook or TikTok could give us the viewing pleasure of something that would have been considered “pornographic” 70 years ago. What is Jezebel using to teach you falsities about sex? Today, we consider these casual, sexually stimulating experiences as the norm; I know because I am a victim of this culture.
Yes, while this may be a rather harsh description of today’s reality, Jesus tells us a surefire way to avoid the permeating effect of sexual immorality: we must “repent of her works” to escape God’s just punishment (Rev 2:22). During this Advent season, think about the first coming of Jesus in a manger amongst the livestock. This was Jesus’ first coming, and he tells us that despite the discouraging and demoralizing presence of Jezebel’s teaching, we can and should carry on in the Lord’s way until our king arrives on earth for the second time—God works through those who overcome (Rev 2:26). Jesus’ first coming was done in quiet humility in order to die and suffer for our sins, but his second coming will be proclaimed in power and glory in order to gather us for his eternal reign. In response to his sacrifice and forthcoming reign, I would encourage you to turn away from whatever is teaching you to worship anything other than God. By God’s grace, we must repent.
Clay is an undergraduate violin student at the New England Conservatory. Clay lives in the Wilson House and leads the NEC Christian Fellowship and enjoys exploring the outdoors.