New Beginnings

Revelation 22

Jesus is coming back. This is the next chapter in the story. Sometimes it seems like a fairy tale that people once believed in ignorance but just has never happened. Some of us are afraid because we haven't gotten to know Him yet and we're afraid of the day He comes back. Some of us just aren't sure He is big enough to be God. 

Hopefully, if you've been reading the Bible and honestly praying about what you've read, you have found that He is a real, living God who has the ability and the desire to give us a new life that doesn't end. He is the source of the river of living water and He makes the fruit on the tree of life grow all year round. He wants to give us everything He has, if we are willin to let go of everything we have. It doesn't seem like a fair trade, but that just goes to show how much He loves us.

Lord Jesus, we want to trade everything we've got for what You have to offer. Give us courage and faith when we start to wonder if You are able to do what You've promised. Come into our hearts and make Your love a reality that everyone around us can see today. Amen.

The Capital of the Universe

Revelation 21

Finally what God has told us He wanted, what He was looking forward to has come true. We will be His people and He will be our God. God is moving the capital of the universe here, to the very place where sin ruled, rebelled against God, and put Jesus to death. But now sin has been defeated forever. All those who chose to hold on to sin rather than God have been destroyed along with Satan, their leader. 

Imagine this city. This is what it means to be in the presence of God. Some say this is a description of a physical city we will live in and others say it is a description of God's people who make up the city. Either way this is a beautiful place. A place where there is no darkness. A place where there is no temple because this city is His dwelling place. This is what God wants for us eternally. 

Lord Jesus, we want to move to this city You are building. We want to live in the light of Your love and truth forever, where there is no doubt or deceit ever again. Recreate our hearts so we are natural citizens of this recreated earth without sin. Amen.

The Book Reading

Revelation 20

I have a book that has everything you have ever done written in it. Even the stuff you've done alone in the dark of night when nobody else was watching. I have sent invitations to everyone you know to come to the book reading, including you. In fact, I am inviting you to sit right up front where everyone can see you during this reading. 

How do you feel about now? Would you like a chance to edit the book before it is read? Is there something you are afraid will change people's opinion about you? This was one of my struggles. There are things I have done with a heart that would make the devil proud. The thought of all my friends and family discovering just how rotten and ugly I really am scared me.

However, I was reminded of a truth that I sometimes have a hard time remembering. When God forgives our sins, He throws them into the sea of forgetfulness. It is erased from the book. When He opens the book to read the accounts of the forgiven, it will read, "See the account of Jesus Christ for details. Forgiven in full."

Lord Jesus, we ask for Your forgiveness today. We still find ourselves doing things we are ashamed of, that we don't want read in public. More than that, we don't want to be separated from You and Your life of love. We want to be with You forever. Amen.

Showdown

Revelation 19

Now it is time to see who is the real McCoy and who is posing. For all these years, Satan has been challenging God’s position and authority as the ultimate ruler of the universe. He has accused Him of not being fair and just. He has accused God of not being loving or caring for His people. The beast and his prophet have made their claims to the people and have raised an army to fight against God.

On the other hand, Jesus has prepared a wedding feast for those who have followed Him and love Him. These are the people who have had all their lives cleaned by Jesus and His blood. They have chosen to recognize God for who He is and to embrace Him as ultimate ruler of their lives as well.

Now Jesus must defend His kingdom from Satan and his followers who would destroy it. Satan’s army will be killed and he will be thrown into a burning lake of sulfur along with his false prophet. His victory will be complete. Any question about God’s authority, power or justice will be answered. And His people will forever live to worship Him.

Lord Jesus, we want to be Your people today. We want to have all the ugly stuff we’ve done washed away by Your blood and to put on the pure, clean clothes You have to offer. We recognize that You are God and we embrace You as lord of our hearts and lives today. We want to live forever to worship You, starting now. Amen.

A Cheap Imitation

Revelation 18

Babylon. The icon of all of man’s glory and achievements. A place where pleasure is king and anything a person wants is available for the right price. It was first started after the flood when people worked together to make a tower that reached heaven. Then God mixed up the languages and everybody went their separate ways. Now, the world has shrunk again. The language barrier has been broken. A person can ravel to any other part of the world within the same day. Communication around the world happens instantly. The problem? This is all for our own glory and pleasure.

In a way, we are trying to recreate heaven here on Earth. We are trying to eliminate all pain and suffering and death—the curse of sin. In the meantime, we do our best to make our time as pleasurable as possible without thought of the cost to anyone else. Our kingdom is all about loving ourselves as best we can. We are trying to recreate heaven here on Earth, but it always seems to fall short.

God’s kingdom is all about loving God and loving each other. The fact is, we cannot have heaven without God. It is His kingdom and He is the ultimate ruler over all of heaven and earth. The problem is we’ve convinced ourselves we can make our own heaven without God. Revelation shows us how this replica of ours will be destroyed in the end. As fallen people, we are infected with the terminal disease of sin and it affects everything we touch. It is only in receiving a life transfusion from Jesus that we find true life and will experience the true heaven that is not a cheap copy doomed for destruction.

Lord Jesus, we realize we have tried to replace You and Your kingdom here on Earth. We have lived to love and please ourselves without thought of You or anyone else. Forgive us for this sin. Take this life and trade it for Your life of love. Bring us to Your kingdom that is real and lasting. Where there really will be no more pain and suffering and death. All will be love, and we will have everything we really ever wanted—You. Amen.

More Questions Than Answers

Revelation 17

Revelation is a book shrouded in mystery. A mystery that many people smarter than I am have worked and studied to solve for years. Just like the rest of the Bible, extremely intelligent people who love God disagree on what it all means. I have avoided Revelation in years past because it is a book that often leaves me feeling completely lost. After all, what do these characters of the prostitute and the beast have to say about Jesus? This is, after all, The Revelation of Jesus Christ that we are reading. 

There are a couple of clues to help us figure this out in this chapter. It tells us horns on the beast represent kings and waters represent peoples and nations. But who do the prostitute and the beast represent? And if they are both against God, why do they seem to turn on each other in the end? 

Today I have more questions than answers. But there is one thing I am sure of: in the end Jesus wins. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. No matter how powerful a king or nation may seem, no matter how many of His people they kill on this Earth, He will not be defeated. Knowing who will win in the end makes it a lot easier to choose the winning side.

Holy Spirit, come and help us to understand the mysteries of this book. Help us to see what it tells us about Jesus and the message He is sending us today. Lord Jesus, we want to choose to be on Your side. We want to live with You forever in love and truth. Help us to be wise and to not be fooled by those who pretend to speak Your truth trying to take us away from You. Amen.

Conditions and Consequences

Revelation 16

 

The parents had a problem. Their son had taken to hitting and attacking his little sister when he didn't like what she was doing or he didn't get his way. Being responsible parents, they explained to the boy why beating his sister was wrong and what the future consequences would be when he chose to behave this way. It wasn't long before the consequences needed to be enforced. One might think this poor boy was facing the end of the world. How he cried and wailed. "It's not fair! You don't love me, you only care about her. I hate you!"

 

Reading Revelation paints a similar picture of those who choose to go against God and His ways. They've heard about their behavior and attitudes and how they are unacceptable with God. They've been warned about the consequences of choosing to continue down this road. Still, they point the finger at God, calling Him the bad guy and refuse to take responsibility for their choices and behavior.

 

The little sister in our little story probably thought her brother's punishment to be fair and just. She was probably crying to her parents about the kind of treatment she was getting and asking them to save her from it. These are the people God has rescued. Those who have been beat and abused by others because they chose to respond to God's love and accept His offer of a new, sinless life. We have all been told about our behavior and attitudes, the question is which sibling will we be? The one who listens and chooses to accept the change? Or the one who gets angry and takes it out in those goody two shoes?

 

Father God, we know You will do what is right in the end. Like a good parent You have told us about our behavior and attitudes, allowing us to choose which fate we will face. Help us to choose Your ways, to accept the change of life that You offer. We want real life with You in the end. Amen.

Justice Poured Out

Revelation 15

Justice. God is finally bringing justice to this world. He has watched all the ugliness of sin run its course and now it is time to bring it to an end. Revelation says that God's wrath is completed. What is he object of God's wrath? Some of the same things we are upset about. The things we've been asking God why He allows to happen and continue. The abuse of children. Hatred of people who are misunderstood. Wars that destroy families and nations. All the injustice of sin that boils our blood will bring God's wrath to completion.

Let's be clear here. God's wrath is directed at sin, not people. He loves people and has done everything He can to rescue them, short of forcing them. He sent Jesus to die for our sins and show us what He is really about in flesh and blood, where we could see Him in action. Still, there will be some who will refuse to let go of sin. God's heart breaks for them, but He allows them to choose. They will suffer the bowls of wrath God pours out on sin because they have chosen to stick with sin. 

Those who have chosen God are singing a song describing how God is just. They are not appalled that a God of love and justice will act like this because this is the answer to their prayers: The end of sin and its ugly consequences on innocent bystanders. 

Lord God, we want to see Your justice in this world. We want to see the end of sin and its ugliness. Continue to work in our lives to help us let go of the sin we secretly like. Thank You for waiting as long as possible for us to choose You rather than sin. Continue to persue those who are struggling to see Your love. Amen.

Marks and Hearts

Revelation 14

The mark of the beast. What images does that phrase bring to mind? Depictions of people who have 666 written on their foreheads and the back of their hands, perhaps. I once heard this mark would be a tattooed barcode that can be scanned. Maybe today they are saying QR code. But then Revelation says God's people will receive His seal in heir foreheads. I don't imagine anyone on Earth would be able to give a person that mark or seal.

But what if Revelation is not talking about an actual mark like a tattoo that people can see? Perhaps these marks represent a person's thought in actions, the choices they have made. For instance, in the end some people will reveal who they belong to by their actions--behavior that is clearly against God and His ways. This behavior goes right along with thinking that is not for God. 

God's people only have a mark in their forehead. That is to say that a person's actions do not necessarily reflect a person's choice. Jesus said that in the end some will say, "Lord, didn't we do the right things?" Some will look the part, but deep down have not given their hearts and minds to Him. God still praises His people for their behavior, but that is not what has saved them. In fact, it may be that their bad behavior has been washed clean. One thing is for sure, their hearts and minds are captivated with God and His ways. 

Lord Jesus, we want to be captivated by Your love today. We want our hearts and minds to bear Your seal in the end. Let Your love spill out on everyone we meet today. Amen.

The Devil: Smoke or Fire?

Revelation 13

"There is a demon in my house. He moves things around at night and sometimes talks to me." She was serious. I don't know what weirded me out more: her claim or that she didn't seem weirded out by her proclamation. I suggested she ask her pastor to come pray with her to get rid of the demon, but she replied, "No, that's ok. I kinda like him. At least he's friendly."

When it comes to the devil and demons, it seems people often fall into one of two dangerous camps. They either take them too seriously or not seriously enough. Some see the devil behind everything from Christmas to church music while others like to have him in their movies or even join a religion worshipping him. Then there are those who believe the devil is the boogeyman made up to keep us all in line or a cultural icon that some can't seem to outgrow.

The devil is real, and he wants to keep us from God. However, it is important to remember that the devil was created by God and He is much more powerful than the devil. We have nothing to fear of the devil as long as we are holding on to God. Our biggest danger is falling away from God. And that is what the devil is working overtime to make happen. 

Lord Jesus, help us to keep our eyes on You. Sometimes the devil looks more powerful than anything else in the world, but we know You are stronger. Help us not to be distracted by anything that would take us away from You, whether it looks harmless or not. Amen.

War!

Revelation 12

 

War in heaven. If God is perfect and loves perfectly, how could there be war in heaven? How could there be any hate or sin? God must be responsible for sin if He is the creator of all things. Even considering Satan's accusation to be wrong, Satan sinned and he was created by God. And now we're suffering because of God's mistake.

 

The problem with this line of thinking is believing that neither Satan nor Adam and Eve had a choice in falling to sin. God created us to be creatures who love. For that to be possible, He had to give us the ability to choose to not love.

 

Imagine this. You receive a magic potion that causes the person you are crazy about to fall irresistibly in love with you. Now you've been doing everything you can to attract this person, but they are not interested. You use the potion and presto! Now you can do no wrong. They love everything about you and are in constant awe of everything you do. Sounds great, right?

 

But deep down, you would always know they didn't choose to love you, they are only doing what the magic potion is forcing them to do. If they received an antidote, would they continue to love you? Or would they despise you for what you did to them?

 

God wants genuine, real love. He wants to be chosen, not to have a bunch of automatons who mindlessly tell Him how great He is all the time. In fact, real love was so important to Him, He was willing to risk going to war and fighting for our love.

 

Lord Jesus, thank You for fighting for our hearts. Thank You for creating us with the ability to love. Help us to see clearly the choices waiting for us and to choose to live and love with You forever. Amen.

Toys, Idols, and Truth

Revelation 11

I once heard someone say that God sometimes breaks our toys because we are so distracted by them we don't talk to Him. Once broken, we go to Him to ask Him to fix our toys. Looking at how God has dealt with His people, I don't think that is far from the mark. The prophet Elijah told King Ahab there would be no more rain until he said otherwise. Ahab was worshiping idols rather than God, one of them a god that promised rain and good crops. God's desire was to show that He is the true God, not these powerless idols.

Revelation seems to say that God will do this again. He will send His messengers to bring attention to what He will do to show the difference between His true power and the powerlessness of the things that people trust. Unfortunately, most people get angry when this is pointed out and it appears they will kill these messengers. They are so determined to protect their allusion they will stop at nothing to silence the truth.

How does one come to the place where the truth is intolerable? How do we convince ourselves that a lie is preferable to truth? It is a choice that is made day after day for years. In fact, it is the same process of choosing to follow God and to believe His truth, only going the opposite direction. That makes today's choice a very important one.

Lord Jesus, we want to choose to listen to Your truth today. We don't want to convince ourselves of lies and trust in powerless idols. We want to come talk to You without having our toys broken. Come and talk with us now. Amen.

Are We There Yet?

Revelation 10

"From prophecy, we have figured out when the end of the world will be." So far, all of these findings have not turned out to be true. No mass raptures have been noted. We wake up the next day business as usual. Of course, there are still some who believe the end of the Mayan calendar marks the end. 

Many people continue to go through the books of Daniel and Revelation with spiritual microscopes looking for the one clue that will unlock the whole puzzle and tell us what day Jesus is coming back. Or maybe which year, because Jesus said He wouldn't tell us the day.

Revelation is a challenging book to understand. It was written initially to an audience who spoke Greek 1900 years ago. It was probably hard for them to understand as well. My question is, did God tell John everything we want to know today? Or did God tell John not to write some of the stuff we want to know? I don't know that we have he answers. But we can rest assured that God does. Through good times and bad, we can trust that nobody can thwart His plan.

Lord Jesus, we want You to come soon. We want to be done with this world full of hurt and heartache. We're like little kids in the back seat of the car asking, "Are we there yet?" Help us to be patient and know that You will get us home soon. Amen.

Plagues and Choices

Revelation 9

Remember how Satan pretended to be a snake and told Adam and Eve that God didn’t have their best interests in mind? He even told them that God wasn’t telling the truth about the consequences of disobeying God. Satan claimed that God was holding out, that God didn’t want us to be know what He knows or enjoy the finer things He enjoys.

Satan is still selling this line. So far, we have all bought into it to some degree in our lives. Some of us have seen the contrast between Satan’s characterization of God as a tyrant and Jesus’ great act of selfless love of dying on the cross for us. Once again, like He did in Egypt, God will show His authority over everything we worship through plagues. God will even allow Satan and his followers to torment the people who have believed them. Even with all this evidence, there will still be people who will not accept Jesus to be their God.

It isn’t just enough to believe that God is real and that He exists. It’s a matter of trusting Him with our lives, trusting Him to be our God. Some will hang on to the line Satan has sold—that life is better without God in charge. No amount of evidence will change their minds. This is a decision that was made before the plagues. The plagues work to reveal the true decision in their hearts. The choice is made today: Will you trust God to be your king and serve Him?

Lord Jesus, we recognize You as our king today. We choose to put our lives in Your hands. We have seen how You gave Your life for ours so that we would be spared the consequences we deserved. We want this love of Yours to work in our hearts to change us into the kind of people You would have us to be. People who live to love others, not ourselves. Amen.

Prayers and Plans

Revelation 8

The altar of insence in the Sanctuary was to burn continually before the curtain between the two rooms, representing the prayers of God's people going up to His throne. Godly people pray throughout the Old Testament that their prayers will be a pleasing odor to God. At times God tells His disobedient people that their prayers stink. 

Here we find the altar of insence burning before God's throne in heaven. The prayers of God's people are asking, "How long will You allow bad things happen to good people? How long will You allow evil to rule on Earth?" In Revelation 6, God tells them to wait a little longer. 

Seven trumpets blast and one third of the Earth is destroyed. Perhaps this is like the ten plagues God sends on Egypt to reveal His power and His authority as God to Pharoah and the Egyptians. This display may be a final opportunity for those who oppose God to bend their knees and give their hearts to Him. Either way, just as God had the power to speak the world into existence we see He has the power to destroy it just as easily. 

Fortunately, He loves us too much to just destroy us. He wants to rescue us. He hears our prayers for rescue and is eager to respond to them. Still, He is willing to wait as long as possible for every person to ask for His rescue.

Lord Jesus, we want our prayers to be a sweet odor to You today. We our hearts to be transformed by Your love. Help us to be patient while You finish executing Your rescue plan. A plan that includes rescuing as many as want to be rescued. Amen.

The Plan

Revelation 7

Remember the last plague God put Egypt through? God's people were given the instruction to paint their door frames with the blood of a sacrificed lamb. The angel would pass over those houses that were sealed by the blood.

That was not like a sorority hazing God decided to put them through to qualify to be His people. It was a picture of His plan to rescue His people from slavery to sin in a fallen world. In Revelation 7, we see the picture again. God waits for His people to be sealed before destruction is unleashed. 

In is group we see people of all nationalities, of all races, and all languages. What they have in common is not Abraham or Israel as an ancestor, but that they have been made clean by Jesus' blood that He gave on the cross. They have made Him their savior and given their old dirty lives to Him. Now they wear the perfectly clean lives Jesus has given them in return. They know Jesus will keep His promise to lead them to the New Earth where He will take care of them forever. This is what it's all about. 

Lord Jesus, take these dirty old lives of ours and give us new ones. Wash our hearts clean with Your blood. Forgive us for the selfish, sinful things we've done. Change our desires so that we want to live for You, leaving the sin behind. Take us to live with You forever. Amen.

Why?

Revelation 6

Sometimes we have a hard time trusting God when bad things happen to good people. But we say Jesus died to save everyone. That's when we can fall into thinking that Jesus would save us from these bad things if He could, but He just isn't strong enough to do it. So, either Jesus isn't the Son of God as He said He was or He just isn't qualified to be God.

However, we have just read how all the living creatures in heaven worship Him and bow down to Him. So, if Jesus can do something about the good people who are killed or mistreated for sharing and believing in His love and truth, why doesn't He? Why doesn't He stand for justice and hold these bad people accountable? 

In a sense, God is on trial here. In the end, we may ask why some were saved and others were not. He is waiting as long as He can to give everyone a chance to either choose Him to be their God or to reject Him. Some may be like the apostle Paul who thought he was working for God when he was really persecuting God's people. Others may be like Pharoah who continue to reject God even after seeing His power and glory again and again. Either way, in the end when He comes back, those who love Him will be drawn to Him and those who don't will go anywhere to get away from His presence. Jesus will rescue His people, even if they are killed and mistreated now. And those who do the killing and mistreating will be brought to justice.

Lord Jesus, thank You for being patient with us and for waiting for us to come around to choosing You to be our God. Help us to trust You when we see bad things happening to good people. We are looking forward to the day when You come back and justice will be served to those who reject You and mercy will be given to us who claim You. Amen.

Worthy

Revelation 5

Yesterday, we saw the throne room and what an amazingly awesome and beautiful place it is. I thought the person sitting on the throne was Jesus. After all, this is the Revelation of Jesus Christ we are reading. However, today we see Jesus enter the throne room and take the scroll no one could open and read from the One sitting on the throne. Who else would be sitting on a throne in heaven than God the Father?

There is no doubt that God the Father was being worshiped in the throne room yesterday. Now Jesus enters the picture as the Lamb who had been slain and He gets a double portion of praise. All the universe declares Him to be worthy to open the scroll. While we struggle with the question of whether Jesus is the Son of God, the rest of the universe worships Him without question.

What makes Jesus worthy? The fact that He gave Himself as a perfect sacrifice to rescue His people. Remember how this started? Satan told Adam and Eve that God was not worthy of His position, that He couldn’t be trusted to be God. Even as God evicted Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, He promised to send someone special to rescue them. Now Jesus has paid the penalty Adam and Eve and you and I owed for breaking God’s law. He has shown Himself worthy to be our God and worthy of our worship.

Lord Jesus, we declare You worthy to be our God today. We recognize the fact that You came and died for us as a perfect sacrifice to rescue us. We want our live our lives in worship of You, in everything we do, starting today. Amen.

The Ultimate in Class

Revelation 4

Have you ever visited a place where you were way out classed? The kind of place that grabs your attention and causes you to stare, mouth wide open, at how awesome the place is? Maybe some place like the White House or Buckingham Palace. Ever notice how most of us act a little different in these scenarios? We are awed into reverence and respect for a place that has housed great people over the centuries. 

This is just the beginning of Jesus' throne room. Not only is it full of a rich history, it is full of Jesus' glory. Imagine what this place looks like with these beings worshipping Him 24/7. Imagine the beauty of His glory emanating from the throne room and painting heaven. 

Jesus is the king of heaven. This isn't just an honorary title or figurehead position. Everything about His presence reveals His power and glory. Meeting Him is like meeting the President of the universe! This is the One who gave His life for us so that we could live with Him forever. 

Lord Jesus, why did You leave Your throne of glory where You are worshiped continuously to come here where we betrayed, mocked, and crucified You? Why would You love a people like us? Thank You for choosing us and inviting us back to Your kingdom. Amen.

Do I Care?

Revelation 3:7-22

The other day author Ted Dekker said on Facebook, "Hate is not the opposite of love, apathy is the opposite of love." At first I found myself getting ready to argue, but I read on. Dekker argued that a person who hates actually cares about the relationship where the apathetic person does not. The person who hates has taken the time to think about it, the apathetic person does not even care to give the relationship a second thought.

I hear God saying to Laodicea, "I wish you cared. One way or the other. Instead, you sit around watching TV, playing with your smartphones completely unaware of me or your spiritual condition." Perhaps I hear this because that is my comfortable little whole to hide in.

It is easy to get busy with what we have going on in life and forget about God--even at Christmas time. I find I just don't have time to read my Bible this morning. I find myself focusing on deadlines rather than God's guidelines all day long. Jesus calls us to wake up and see what is real and lasting. He asks us to care enough to think about what He has done for us and to choose whether we will love Him in return or not.

Lord Jesus, we're sorry for the times we have forgotten You and have become focused on things that don't matter. We want to take time to be with You everyday. We want to see Your love and have it saturate our hearts. Amen.

The Only Way to Live

Revelation 2:18-3:6

How does Jesus reveal His love in this message to the church of Thyatira? Jesus is talking about burning them and making them suffer if they don’t do what He tells them. Isn’t Jesus supposed to be the graceful one who protects us from the angry Father who will destroy those who don’t measure up?

Let’s take another look at this. Suppose a woman has a husband who she knows has loved her in the past—otherwise she would not have married him. He’s been a good husband, for the most part, but he has been hanging around with people who enjoy spouse swapping. What is worse, he is starting to think it might be fun to join in on the action. The wife reminds her husband of her boundaries, where she is willing to go. He is free to join in the action, but it will be without her. What is more, she will be moving on. He will have to suffer alone when his friends are gone and he is suffering from an incurable infection and he realizes he lost what was good in his life. Is the wife being unloving in this scenario?

Just like the wife, Jesus is reminding the church of Thyatira that He will not follow them everywhere. What is more, He reminds them that the path away from Him results in a pain and suffering that He will not rescue them from because they refused to stay with Him. Like the marriage, the choice is made early: To stay and enjoy the good life of love or to go and take the path that leads to pain and death. Jesus wants more than anything for us to choose to stay with Him.

Lord Jesus, forgive us for the times we have cheated on You. Forgive us for listening and considering leaving you for something “better.” Help us to see the goodness and love we have with You. Remind us of why sticking with You is the only way to live. Amen.

Jesus Wants Us

Revelation 2:1-17

Jesus knows where we’ve been, where we’re going, and where we are now. This isn’t because He is a fortune teller who can see into the some spiritual realm and see things we are blinded. He know us better than we know ourselves. He invests Himself in our lives—whether we are reciprocating or not. He isn’t blinded by either the good stuff we do or the bad stuff. Like a loving friend, he comes to us and says, “I like what I see in you here. You’re showing my love and truth to the world here. Keep up the good work. But, that over there is going to get you into trouble if you don’t do something about it. I don’t want to see that happen to You. You are one of my favorites.

Jesus does not want to remove anybody from His kingdom. If that were the case, He simply would not have gone through with the crucifixion. Rather, He wants more than anything to see us find a life that is based in His love and truth. When we start forgetting about Jesus and becoming complacent, He gets worried that our relationship is in trouble—the very thing He died for. Let us remember the love we saw in Jesus in the first place. Let us be willing to be mistreated because we love Him. Let us look to encourage each other into closer relationship with Him today.

Lord Jesus, thank You for loving us before we even knew what love was. Thank You for caring so much about us that You are not willing to let us walk away from You easily. Help us to see the things that come between us in our relationship with You today. Help us to remember Your love and truth and share it with anybody who wants to hear about it today. Amen.

The Main Man

Revelation 1

Books of prophecy, like Daniel and Revelation, are difficult to read. Over the years, many different interpretations have been given to explain the prophecies and to figure out when or how Jesus will return. Many studies of Revelation dig in deep, trying to learn as much as possible. I will not attempt to do this with this blog. While I encourage everybody to study every book of the Bible in depth and with God’s guidance, it is also important to step back and get a broader look to keep all the little stuff in perspective.

Right at the beginning, John tells us what this whole book is about. It is about Jesus Christ and the message He has for His church. John takes time to make perfectly clear which Jesus he is talking about. Jesus was a fairly popular name in the first century C.E. This is the Jesus who loved us by dying on the cross for us, but was raised back to life after three days.

If we do not believe Jesus is who John describes Him to be, there is no point in continuing to read the book. After all, this is a message from the Jesus John describes. On the other hand, if we do believe in this Jesus, this message is important to us. We will read it and remember that Jesus is one who keeps His promises. As we read through Revelation, remember this is a message firstly written to the first century C.E. church and secondly to us. Most importantly, it is a message from Jesus.

Lord Jesus, thank You for sending this message to us. Help us to see Your truth and love in this message and use it to reshape our lives. We are looking forward to the day You come back again and we want to be ready for it today. Amen.

Putting up with Pretenders

Jude

“I have no problem with Christianity. It’s the Christians I have a problem with.” My friend went on to tell me about all the different people who called themselves Christian but did such terrible and hurtful things. These people were the reason he chose not to call himself a Christian.

Unfortunately, my friend’s focus was on the bad apples and on the mistakes well meaning people have made. His conclusion was that God wasn’t a perfect God of love because His followers aren’t perfect people of love. Jude reminds the people of his time that people who really don’t love God will find their way into our churches. The same thing happened with God’s people in the Old Testament. Even some of the angels in heaven chose to walk away from God and His perfect love.

Be encouraged. Remember that God knows the difference between the pretenders and those who really love Him. Choose to spend time with people who encourage you in your faith in Jesus and remind You of His love for us. Encourage others who are struggling in their faith because of the behavior of the pretenders. In the end, we can look forward to an eternity with God and those who love Him.

Father God, continue to reshape our hearts so that we love You and Your ways. Encourage us when we see pretenders giving You a bad name. Use us to encourage others and to show Your love and truth today. Amen.

A Place on the Team

3 John

I squirming in my seat a bit as I listened to the request for money to support the international ministry. The conflict inside continued to rage such that I had to squirm once again as I heard the description of what the little bit of money I might give could do. Of course I wasn’t against giving money to support God’s ministry, but I needed most of the money I made to pay my bills. I really didn’t have much money left over for the little things I wanted. And so went my internal argument, feeling I should give but wanting to keep what I had.

There’s a saying I’ve heard often that goes something like, “God doesn’t need our money…” It is often followed by a reference to the Psalm that says God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Unfortunately, this is often used as an excuse not to give, not to support people who are spreading God’s truth and love around the world. What would our churches be like if the pastors were not paid? Who would have the time to be a full-time minister as well as a full-time doctor or mechanic?

While it is true that God can provide for those who are willing to do His work at any cost, He also desires us to be a part of the mission. I think He provides for these missionaries by giving us the money to give to the missionaries. Like children at church whose parents give them a dollar to put in the offering plate. Keeping the dollar would be stealing and stealing breaks God’s law of love. So I encourage you to think about which ministry you will support with the dollar God has provided you to share.

Father God, thank You for including us in Your mission to spread Your love and truth around the world. Thank You for providing us with money—even if it isn’t a lot—we can share with those who are giving their lives for this mission. We know You don’t expect us to give to every mission offering, but help us to overcome the selfish desire to keep this mission money for ourselves. Amen.

Is Jesus Real?

2 John

For the most part, Christian churches teach the same truths about Jesus. Sure, there are some details we argue over when it comes to interpreting prophecy or what Jesus or other New Testament writers meant on some different details. But we agree on the major concepts. We may call some liberal and others conservative. We may accuse some of being too focused on works and others too focused on grace. In the end, we believe that Jesus came to Earth, born in a human body as one of us, live for about 33 years and die on the cross for our sins.

The question is, what do we do with that? Do we try to rationalize it and explain it away? John warns about some preachers who were saying that Jesus didn’t really come in a real human body. Today, we are tempted to live as though Jesus was just a myth of legend. It is easy to say I believe in Jesus and to “claim Him as my Savior”, but when it comes to actually affecting my life, that’s when things get uncomfortable.

John praises the church during his time for living like Jesus was real. Not just Jesus as a man, but Jesus as He claimed to be—the Son of God who died for our sins. The reality of His life touched theirs. As a result, they were different. The love of Jesus filled their lives and everything they did. By making Jesus first in their lives, their natural tendency was to obey Him and share His love. The good news is our lives can be changed this way, too. Our tendencies will be to obey Jesus and to live His love when we make Him number one in our lives. But, in order to do this, He has to be more than a legend, He has to be real.

Lord Jesus, we want You to be real to us today. We want the reality of Your love and sacrifice to make a change in our hearts. Change our tendencies, our natural behavior by recreating our hearts to be like Yours. Reshape our lives so we obey You and live Your love naturally. Amen.

God Without Jesus?

1 John 5

Can a person accept God and reject Jesus? After all, if God is the same God in the Old Testament as the New Testament it shouldn't really matter, should it? Jesus taught us to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves just like God did the people of Israel in the Old Testament. Jesus taught us to pray to God and to obey His commandments. As long as we do that, does it matter if we believe Jesus is God's Son?

John says we believe God is a liar if we do not believe Jesus is His Son. That would make Him guilty of breaking His own laws. And why would we trust a liar? Jesus came to show us what God is like by becoming one of us and living with us. What did He do with His life? Would we argue that healing people and doing miracles to help people goes against God's character? Jesus came to rescue us by dying for us. It is the ultimate expression of love. Why would we want to reject this kind of love?

Father God, thank You for showing us what You're like by sending Jesus to show us. Thank You Jesus for coming to show us what the Father's rescue plan was really all about. We believe in You and Your ability and desire to rescue us today. We ask that You will overcome the sin and death in our lives today. Amen.

Love Transformation

1 John 4

When you think of love personified, who comes to mind? The person who loves everybody, who is always happy to give and serve. The person who is looking out for everyone else's needs. If one were to ask, where would this person say their love comes from? 

John says true love is a gift from God. It is something we know nothing about until He shows it to us. Do you agree with John? How has your perspective of loved changed since you came to know God? Growing up, I wanted to be like these people. I could see Jesus in them. They lived love and they enjoyed it. How did these people come to love like this? Were they born with a special gift? 

John says that we have no clue about love until we see God's love. It starts when we believe God is who He says He is. The more we spend time with Him, the more we see His love in action, the more it becomes a part of who we are. Without trying, we start showing God's love to those around us. It doesn't happen over night. We don't become like Mother Theresa the day after we give our hearts to God. However, as we grow, as we spend more time with God, we find we are being changed as others start seeing God's love reflected in our lives more and more.

Father God, we want Your love to show in our lives today. We know that starts with spending time with You and seeing Your love for ourselves. Show s Your love today. Change our hearts to be more like Yours. Amen.

Putting Love Into Action

1 John 3:7-24

Here in America, it seems that Christmas is a time where we start thinking of all the things we don’t have that we want to get. This was definitely true of me as a kid. I used to look through catalogues and mark the things I thought I wanted more than anything. Recently, I heard about a family that decided to take another look at Christmas. Instead of getting gifts for each other, they got gifts to give people who were too poor to have Christmas. Rather than sending them off, they delivered them in person.

Giving isn’t just the spirit of Christmas, it’s the spirit of God. What more could God have given us than His own Son? What better gift could Jesus give us than Himself? Following Him means we share this love with everybody we meet. How can we call ourselves followers of God if we do not share His love?

Still, I still find myself thinking about what more than sharing and giving to others who have less than I do. John reminds us that love isn’t just having warm fuzzy feelings for people, but actually doing and giving to others, whether they are able to return the favor or not. Now that it is December and Christmas is coming, let’s remember the spirit of the One Christmas celebrates. Let’s put love into action.

Father God, thank You for showing Your love for us by giving us just what we needed but couldn’t afford. Fill us with Your love and teach us to share it with others. A love that is more than just feelings, but a love in action. Help us to see how we can love each other more and ourselves less. Amen.

Children of God

1 John 2:18-3:6

I must admit, I have never taken a lot of time to think about what it means to be my dad’s son. Perhaps it is in part because he never gave any of those, “If you’re going to be my son…” lectures. For as long as I’ve been alive, my dad has been my dad and nothing has caused me to question it. When I was growing up, he made sure I had food to eat and clothes to wear. Anything I needed, although maybe not everything I wanted. Even though I got myself into trouble by disobeying him from time to time, his love for me has never changed.

Funny how sometimes it is hard for me to think of God this way. I wonder if He really does love me. I wonder if He won’t want me around anymore after I mess up. Yet, I still have the food I need to eat, clothes to wear, and everything I need. Like my dad, He has a lot of things to teach me about how to live life. Perhaps it could be called one of those “If you’re going to be my kid” speeches, but they are positive and encouraging, not denigrating and discouraging.

We can choose today whether we want to be God’s children or not. He has made all the arrangements and is excitedly waiting for us to accept His offer. He loves us for who we really are deep inside, not for what we’ve done. He has made it possible for us to leave behind the ugliness of sin and to take on His character like taking on His last name. We can become His children. Children He is proud of.

Father God, we want to be Your children today. Thank You for everything You’ve done to take care of us so far. Forgive us for the ways we have not lived up to Your standards. Continue to change our characters to be more like Yours. Continue to bring us closer to You so we can know we are Your children. Amen.

Spreading Darkness or Light

1 John 2:1-17

Amy Grant was an instant hit in the early days of the Christian music industry. She was young, innocent and everything Christian parents wanted their little girls to grow up to be and their little boys to marry. But then she started singing love songs. People’s idyllic view of Amy Grant began to crack. Some said Amy had left her faith and was going to chase after the big money in the mainstream music market. Amy’s divorce a few years later only strengthened the opinions of Amy’s doubters. While nobody knows what is in Amy’s heart and mind like God, people look at actions and behavior to come to certain conclusions.

John says that if we live in the light of God’s love and truth, we will walk in it. Public figures like Amy Grant are in an unfortunate position where we can focus on their missteps and report them. Fortunately for Amy and for us, God sees more than just our mistakes and sins. Not only that, Jesus died for us so He can forgive these sins. While we may not have the public magnifying glass on our lives like Amy does, we still have people in our lives who seem to have an opinion about everyone of our actions and choices and what it means for our salvation or Christianity.

John calls us to love each other. This doesn’t mean we just ignore each others sins, but it does mean we think about how we address them. We think about how God has dealt with our sin. We think about how we can encourage each other on in God’s love and truth rather than tearing them down and destroying them. I don’t know Amy Grant. I do know that Amy has used her musical gifts to encourage people to come walk in the light of God’s truth and love. I hope she continues to do so.

Father God, we want to walk in Your light today. Thank You Jesus for dying for our sins and for standing up for us as our defense lawyer. Continue to chase out the darkness in our hearts. Help us to see other people through the light of Your love and truth. Teach us to give them the love and patience that You have given us. Amen.