Welcome to Day 24. for one of our short powerful devotions from the 31 Bible Verses About Practicing The Presence Of God. This short devotional is based on Revelation 3:20.
Read Revelation 3:20.
Holman Hunt’s The Light of the World
Have you seen The Light Of The World painting by Holmon Hunt?
I first came across it while participating in the Alpha Course by Nicky Gumble. It changed the whole course of my life. I had been seeking to know more of God but I was stuck. I asked many church ministers was there more of God to know. They told me I was looking for heaven on earth and that was not possible.
But God is so good! I found a book by A.W.Tozer that spoke about the Holy Spirit and I realized that was what I was missing. I needed to know more about the Holy Spirit and know Him in the same way as the disciples of Jesus had come to know Him at Pentecost. It was during this time that I was invited to take part in the Alpha Course and my life has been forever changed.
A fun fact about me......one evening during the course a wonderful clergyman called Sandy Miller prayed with a young gentleman from our church to find a wife. At the same time, I was praying for God's perfect husband for me. Guess what happened??
I married that man and now we are involved in church ministry!
Jesus knocking on the door
O.K back to Revelation 3:20 and the Light Of The World picture - Jesus is knocking on the door.
The painting depicts a Biblical scene, in which Jesus says "Behold, I stand at the door and knock". Hunt painted the door as an ancient and overgrown door with no external handle. The Pre-Raphelite artist created three versions of this image. The original (completed in 1853) is displayed in the chapel at Keble College, Oxford. A smaller pastel version (completed in 1856) hangs in Manchester City Art Gallery. The most famous and largest version (completed in 1904) hangs in St Paul’s Cathedral in London. The door in this painting doesn’t appear to have a handle on the outside. Hunt explained in his book Pre-Raphaelitism and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood that this was deliberate. The handle is on the inside and can only be opened from that end. This is to represent that Jesus gives us a choice to open the door and to let Him in.
Jesus knocking at the door
What does it mean, that Jesus is knocking at the door?
I have always loved Revelation 3:20 and I heard it many times during my teen years but it would have been used in reference to Jesus knocking on the door of your heart, the door of an unbeliever's heart. It was used as an evangelistic tool. But that is not the correct meaning in the context of this bible verse.
Revelation 3:20 meaning
To be fair it is true that God is calling all of us to know Him but the context of Revelation 3:20 is that it is been spoken to the church of Laodicea. The people in this church were Christians already but they lacked a passion for God. They had grown lukewarm.
Revelation 3:20 is part of a longer passage. It forms part of John’s vision of a message sent to the church of Laodicea in 3:14-22.
John had a vision of Jesus speaking to seven different churches starting in Revelation chapter 2 and ending in Revelation chapter 3. These churches are the church in Ephesus (2:1-7), Smyrna (2:8-11), Pergamum (2:12-17), Thyatira (2:18-29), Sardis (3:1-6), Philadelphia (3:7-13), and Laodicea (3:14-22).
All of these churches are imperfect but the Christians in the church of Laodicea were been warned about their spiritual temperature which was classed as 'lukewarm'.
Revelation 3:15-16.
Join me below for a short devotional about Jesus knocking on the door of your heart and join me for prayer too at the bottom of this post.
This is The Light Of The World painting by Holmon Hunt. Pin it to your Bible study board on Pinterest to save for later.
Jesus Is Knocking At The Door
Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart.
Will you open the door to Him?
What is your spiritual temperature?
Are you full of passion with a yearning desire to spend time renewing your mind through reading the Bible and listening prayer?
Do you long to practice the presence of God throughout your day just like Brother Lawerence did? You can read all about that HERE.
Jesus knocks at the door
This is The Light Of The World painting by Holmon Hunt. I love this portrait of Jesus.
Did you notice that the door in this painting doesn’t appear to have a handle on the outside?
This was deliberate. The handle is on the inside and can only be opened from that end. This is to represent that Jesus gives us a choice to open the door and to let Him in.
Jesus is seeking you. He longs to spend time with you, to dine with you but He is a gentleman.
You have to choose to respond to the invitation that He extends to you. Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart. He is asking you to trust in Him and to open the door.
Invite Jesus into the middle of all that concerns you. Do you know Jesus as your healer?
Iatros is the Hebrew name of God meaning Physician. Jesus is the great physician.
Do you know God as Immanuel? Immanuel means, "God with us." It is one of the most comforting and encouraging names or titles of God. Welcome God into all your struggles and challenges.
God is knocking on the door of your heart right now. He is reaching out to you wherever you are and in whatever is happening in your life right now. You don't have to be perfect. In fact, you and I can never, ever be perfect enough to come into the Holy presence of God. That is why God sent Jesus to pay the price for our sin through His death on the cross, just so that we can come and dine in His Holy presence and so that He can come into our messy lives and shine His light on them, to make a beautiful tapestry out of our messy lives.
To help you go deeper into what God is saying to you through our bible verse today, download our free guided prayer journal to help you sit still and seek God's presence. You will find it in our Resource Library.
Today's devotional is based on Revelation 3:20 which is from our Practicing The Presence Of God: 31 Presence Of God Scriptures Plan. You will find a free printable PDF of 31 scriptures about God's presence in the Resource Library. It has a bible reading plan, guided prayer, and gratitude journal. Download this free printable or grab a notebook and answer the following questions.
What is God saying to you through this verse?
What burdens do you need to surrender to God and trust Him with?
Write out your prayer request.
What are you grateful for today? Count your blessings!
Write out the scripture verse, it helps you to memorize the scripture and store up God's truth in your heart.
Then in the last section of the prayer journal, there is space to record what God is speaking to you through our bible verse today, Revelation 3:20.
Jesus stands at the door and knocks - invite Him in Scripture Prayer
We are called to pray without ceasing. That means we can talk with God at any time and in any place. This is a great way to practice the presence of God. Praying scripture is a powerful way to pray so join me in praying Revelation 3:20.
Father thank you for Your invitation to come to dine in Your presence. Forgive me for not opening the door sooner. I need Your presence in my life. Come and transform the messy parts of my life into the beautiful tapestry that you have planned. Help me to stay close to you. Don't let me stray far from Your presence. Amen.
Related Resources:
You will find Practicing The Presence Of God: 31 Presence Of God Scriptures HERE. It will have the list of 31 Bible verses that we are using for 31 days that our short powerful daily devotionals are based on.
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xx Karen.