THURSDAY, JULY 15

Scripture: Matthew 10:8, Revelation 2:1-5

Jesus was very Priestly in Matthew 10:8 when He sent the twelve ahead of Him and commanded them to: “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”  Once resurrected, Jesus added a Kingly crown in Revelation 2:4,5 and instead of anointing individuals to specifically do His work, He warned the church at Ephesus and said, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”  In the gospels as a Priest Jesus anointed disciples and sent them forward.  After He was resurrected and became the Judge of all the Earth He said to the church at Ephesus, ‘If you don’t repent and return to your first love, I will take your anointing away’.  Priests pray for people and kings make judgments and draw boundaries of righteousness and give individuals the opportunity to choose.  If they choose to continue to flaunt those boundaries then the justice due their works is manifested.  That is the job of a King.  A King is called to do justice.  Jesus was a Priest in the gospels, but in the book of Revelation He is a King.  In order to understand what it means to represent Him as a King, we need to spend time with Him in Revelation.