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Do you remember the last time you spit out a food or beverage item? It happens. Sometimes it is an involuntary reaction, sometimes whatever the stuff was, it was revolting! We are going to study the last of the seven letters this week, the letter to Laodicea. Jesus is the Amen; the Faithful and True Witness and He diagnosed the unhealthy state of that church and the reasons for their sorry condition. He even said He would “spit them out of His mouth!” That’s bad. When the One who is Infinite love and goodness says He wants to spit some people out of His mouth, He must have some serious issues with them.

One of our older hymns asks the question, “Have we trials and temptations, is there trouble anywhere?” Umm, yes! The answer doesn’t require a lot of thought. Trials come in many forms and often discourage us. Temptations are sneaky and deceive us into thinking that life can be found through means that are actually harmful. This life is fraught with both trials and temptations, and they are often coming at us at the same time.

When someone is looking at an old house that they are thinking about remodeling, they will sometimes say, “Well it doesn’t look like much now, but it has good bones.” Not being an expert at home renovation, I understand that phrase to mean that the foundation and basic structure is sound. If the foundation is bad or the walls are rotten or full of termites, more thorough renovation will be needed. I’ve walked through several homes that people have been remodeling that required ripping everything out but the framing. It’s a messy business. Over the centuries, Christianity has been painted, wall-papered and redecorated by denominations and culture.

We are emerging from a hard winter. Driving has been treacherous. There have been numerous massive accidents sometimes referred to as “pileups.” Many people were all trying to get somewhere and their paths converged due to ice, snow, fog or a combination of all of it. Palm Sunday could be called a pileup. Soldiers, pilgrims, religious leaders, disciples and Jesus all converged in Jerusalem on the same day.

Some of you will recognize that phrase from The Princess Bride when Miracle Max diagnoses Westley’s condition. He goes on to say that “mostly dead is slightly alive.” Slightly alive is how Jesus diagnosed the church at Sardis. They had a reputation of being alive, but they were actually dead—mostly dead. That they were slightly alive is indicated by the instructions that Jesus gave the people who had not yet succumbed entirely to a false sense of reality.