A Grand Mystery! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Revelation 9:6-7,

"There will be no more delay! But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets."

I find twenty or so references to "mystery" in the New Testament. Mysteries are those things not known unless and until revealed by God. There are sundry mysteries we read of in the Scriptures: the identity of the seven stars and seven churches in Revelation 1:20, the resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15:51, the name written on the forehead of the prostitute in Revelation 17: 5, etc.

However, the great and grand mystery referenced to in many places is in reference to God's plan and agenda of the redemption of mankind and the kingdom he creates of it. Various aspects of this great mystery are referenced in a number of passages.

This morning I am reminded that we believers today participate in what has been a great mystery. The aspects of God's redemption of mankind has been revealed progressively throughout history and this creates the mystery: God just didn't reveal the whole enchilada right up front! 

A great passage I like that illustrates how prophets and angels have wrestled with this mystery is found in 1 Peter 1:10-12, "Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things."

What a grand mystery!

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Prayer and God's Agenda - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Revelation 8:3-5,

"Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God's people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God's people, went up before God from the angel's hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake."

Horrific judgments of God upon the people of the earth that are announced by seven angels with trumpets are initiated in this passage. We see that an angel with a golden censer offered "much incense" together with "the prayers of all God's people" on the golden altar in front of God's throne in heaven. This incense, together with these prayers "went up before God". The next thing we read is the angel filled his censor with fire from the altar and "hurled it on the earth" which initiated these coming judgments through "peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake."

The text of Revelation 8:3-5 tells us these horrific judgments of the seven trumpets followed this presentation of incense and prayers of God's people on God's heavenly altar. We read in Revelation 5:8 about living creatures and twenty-four elders who "were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people." Incense represents the prayers of God's people.

This brings the thought to me this morning of the importance of the prayers of God's people. Prayer, among other things, impacts the actions of God. Just how the prayers of God's people impacts God's judgments at the end of the age are not clear to me, as I'm certain that it has been God's intention all along to bring his judgments upon this sinful and fallen world, and particularly on those who reject God. Nevertheless, look at this vision John had of the throne and altar of God in heaven. The prayers of God's people play a key part when these judgments are initiated.

It causes me to think of James' words, "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." James 5:16. Prayer is not a simply a spiritual discipline for its own sake. Clearly, here in Revelation 8:3-5, it is a key component of the roll out of God's judgments.

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Our Measured, Defined, Organized Proportional and Progressive God! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Revelation 8:1-2,

"When he [the Lamb - Jesus Christ] opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them."

As I read of the acts of God that come on the earth at the end of the age, I can't help but notice that they are measured, defined, organized (in a way), proportional and progressive. Rather than a big boom or explosive conflagration, angels are dispatched with orderly assignments and specific deeds are carried out.

It begins with a scroll, a scroll which Jesus Christ is found to be the only one in heaven worthy to break its seven seals. The seven are opened:

1st seal: a white horse with rider bent on conquest.
2nd seal: a fiery red horse with a rider that takes peace from the earth and makes people kill each other.
3rd seal: a black horse with a rider holding scales, a harbinger of severe famine.
4th seal: a pale horse with a rider called death with power over a quarter of the earth to kill by sword, famine, plague, and wild beasts.
5th seal: the souls of dead saints calling for their blood to be avenged.
6th seal: a great earthquake, solar eclipse, red moon, stars "falling", with the heavens receded, mountains and islands moved from their places.
7th seal: this brings seven angels with seven trumpets:

1st angel with trumpet: hail and fire mixed with blood. A third of everything burned up.
2nd angel with trumpet: an object like a mountain thrown into the sea causing it to turn to blood, a third of sea life destroyed, a third of the ships.
3rd angel with trumpet: a blazing star hurled to earth poisoning a third of the water supply.
4th angel with trumpet: a third of all light was struck.
5th angel with trumpet: a star falls to the earth and opens "the Abyss" which results in a plague of locusts that sting like scorpions.
6th angel with trumpet: four angels are released to destroy a third of mankind with a hundred million mounted troops.
7th angel with trumpet: This glorious scene is provided us:

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:

'The kingdom of the world has become
    the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
    and he will reign for ever and ever.'

And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying:

'We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
    the One who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
    and have begun to reign.
The nations were angry,
    and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,
    and for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your people who revere your name,
    both great and small—
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.'

Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder,an earthquake and a severe hailstorm." Revelation 11:15-19.

See what I mean by "measured, defined, organized (in a way), proportional and progressive."? I think this tells us something about the nature of our God. He could have just blown the whole thing up with a nuclear weapon! Instead, we read this...

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

A Dark Day Is Coming! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Revelation 6:8,

"I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth."

Death and Hades! Death by sword, famine and plague and wild beasts! A dark day is coming. This chapter in Revelation chronicles a very dark time for those on earth. It begins with the opening of the first of seven seals by the Lamb of God, with subsequent seals being opened: a white horse comes with a "conqueror bent on conquest", a red horse with with a rider that takes peace from the earth and makes people kill each other, a black horse bringing famine, and a pale horse as described above.

We are also provided with a scene where the souls of those who had been killed for their faithfulness in serving the Lord call out for vengeance and were told to wait a bit longer until others shared their fate. In verses 12-14 we read of cataclysmic events taking place on earth.

The chapter ends with the most powerful among mankind, as well as everyone else, calling on the mountains and rocks to fall on them to hide them from God the Father, and Jesus Christ, "For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?"

From the believer's point of view, the coming of the Lord will be a bright and wondrous day. From the perspective of the world, it will be a day of doom and gloom.  As is said n Joel 2:11, "The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?"

That day is headed our way. 

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Am I Faithful and Loyal to the Lord? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Revelation 6:9-11,

"When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, 'How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?' Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been."

In the progression of horrific events on earth at God's hand, there will be those who will be put to death because of their faithfulness to the word of God and the testimony for the Lord they maintain. These would be faithful and loyal followers of Jesus Christ.

I suspect many of us feel we are among the number to be considered as faithful and loyal followers of Jesus Christ - but there is a time when, as they say, "the men will be separated from the boys" in this regard. A time when the true mettle of the faith of many will be tested and made known.

I'd like to think I would find myself among those who maintain a faithfulness and loyalty to the Lord such that it would withstand the imminent threat of death. I also suspect will we not know for certain until such an opportunity might confronts us.

And, of course, as I contemplate my own willingness to give my life for what the Lord has done for me, it raises the question that is asked from time to time, "If I am willing to die for the Lord, am I willing to live for the Lord?"

I'm sure the time to work through these issues is now, not when a challenge might present itself. Am I on board with and for the Lord? When I embraced him in faith, is it the kind of faith that withstands even the challenges of life and death? Am I, in fact, a faithful and loyal follower of Jesus Christ?

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

A Big Population And A Lot of Real Estate In The Resurrection! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Revelation 5:11,

"Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand."

How many angels are there?

In John's vision of heaven he saw a number of angels, "thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand." All surrounding God's throne and worshiping the Lamb. That is a lot of angels! Ten thousand times ten thousand is one hundred million (if my math is correct).

I would suspect, as I am sure many people do, that John's description of the multitude of angels was not necessarily an effort to do a head count as much as simply express there were angels beyond number. Lots of angels, numbering in the millions.

In Revelation 12:7 we read of a war that took place in heaven. The Archangel Michael and his angels (the good guys) fought against "the dragon" and his angels. The dragon lost and he and all his angels were cast out of heaven to earth. Earlier in the chapter, verse 4, we read of "an enormous red dragon" whose tail "swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth."

It is thought that these "stars" are the angels in heaven - and that a third of them joined Satan in a rebellion against God and were expelled from heaven. So if there where a hundred million angels who worshiped the Lamb, representing two-thirds of the total number of angels, that would mean maybe thirty million or so joined in Satan's rebellion. (Again I point out that the hundred million number given for the angels that worshiped God in Revelation 5 may simply be a way to express there were angels beyond number.)

In any event, a "whole-lotta" angels! Good angels and bad angels (I assume the ones who joined in Satan's rebellion are the demons we read of in Scripture). It gets me to thinking how big heaven is and how populated it will be with both humans and  the good angelic beings (will there be other beings as well? What are these four creatures we read about in chapter 5?). Taken together, with God's expansive presence, heaven has to be one huge place!

Eternity is a long time, and I just have this feeling that the environs, both in heaven and on the renewed earth, will be very adequate for a massive population and that we will never tire of some form of limitation of any kind. Certainly not in a spacial sense and certainly not in the sense of exhausting the opportunity to meet and get to know new faces!

Just musing here. I think it healthy for us to muse and focus on what we are looking forward to in the resurrection and the hope we believers share. I know I have a lot of questions about it!

How about you? What do you think about these things?

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

A Song to the Lamb! What a Song! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Revelation 5:9-10,

"You [the Lamb - Jesus Christ] are worthy to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
    and with your blood you purchased for God
    persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
    and they will reign on the earth."

A scroll had been presented by God the Father as he sat on his throne in John's vision of heaven. A mighty angel called out asking, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" An elder in this vision of heaven identified Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb of God, as worthy to open the scroll.

Our above passage is a song, sung by the four creatures and twenty-four elders described in this heavenly vision, that expresses why Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, was worthy to open this divine scroll. The song is sung to the Lamb by these creatures and elders.

In the song, the creatures and elders extol and celebrate just why it is the Son of God is worthy to open this scroll. In their exaltation and glorification of him they recount that he gave himself to be slain, satisfying his Father's justice for the sins of mankind, purchasing people for the Father from his Father's own judgment. Jesus Christ secured a people for God, to be a people for God's kingdom, for God's family.

If that were not enough, the creatures and elders go on to sing that beyond purchasing people for God, he also made them a kingdom and a priesthood to serve God as they "reign on the earth."

This song should be our song, and rightfully so! The truths in this song should be uppermost in our minds today. This song, sung in heaven, should be our proclamation here on earth among all mankind!

Sweeping in its scope, it is a breath-taking acknowledgment of the grand and wonderful mission Jesus Christ accomplished to bring the offer of eternal life to all mankind, (available through our embrace of him in faith) as well as bringing to his Father the fulfillment of his divine desire to make a people for himself.

What a song!

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

The Astonishing Son of God! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Revelation 5:4-6a,

"I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.' Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne."

In John's vision, he was called to heaven (chapter 4) where he witnessed the most astonishing sight of the throne of God, which he describes in the most vivid, colorful, lavish, profuse and opulent detail. He also describes the worship and adulation of God before his throne as "living creatures" and "elders" heaped their praise on God, giving glory, honor and thanks.

In his vision of the throne of God, John saw in God's right hand a scroll. A "mighty angel" called out, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" John says he "wept and wept"  because no one was found worthy to open the scroll, until one of the elders told him not to weep - there was One!

The One who was found worthy to open the scroll in this vision is Jesus Christ! How he is described in this passage is both informative as well as tremendously moving to me. The elder calls him "the Lion of the tribe of Judah" and John looks and sees "a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain".

This two-fold image of Jesus Christ speaks to me of the rider of the horse in Revelation 19:11-16, "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. 'He will rule them with an iron scepter.' He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords."

It also speaks to me of God's servant in Isaiah 53:2-9:

"He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth."

The person of Jesus Christ is expansive beyond my ability to comprehend. The more I learn of him the more awe, the more astonishment, the more amazement I find myself beholding him in!

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

The Holy Spirit Speaks to the Churches! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Revelation 3:22,

"Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

Revelation 2 and 3 contain seven letters to seven churches. There are parallels in these letters both thematically and structurally.

As far as structurally, each is addressed to the angel of which ever church is being addressed: the church in Ephesus, the church in Smyrna, the church in Pergamum, the church in Thyatira, the church in Sardis, the church in Philadelphia and the church in Laodicea.

Following the address, there is an introduction of the author (who is Jesus Christ in all) provided by description: "These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.", "These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.", "These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.", "These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.", "These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.", "These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open." "These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation." Much can be learned about the risen Christ by how he introduces himself in these fascinating letters.

In the body of these letters are various observations by Jesus of these churches, both good points and bad. In all, he gives the churches direction.

What captures my attention this morning is the closing phrase in each of these seven letters, "Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches." It is his admonition that what he says in these letters needs to be listened to and adhered to, and then discloses that the Spirit is speaking to the churches.

I am reminded that it is the Holy Spirit that is closely associated with our triune God's heavenly communication to us. All the books in our Bibles are acknowledged to have been authored by the Holy Spirit. In a passage that I often quote and find myself fascinated with is 2 Peter 1:20-21, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

The Holy Spirit speaks! Are we listening?

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Are We Embracing the Nicolaitans? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Revelation 2:6,

"You [members of the church in Ephesus] hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate."

While the Lord accused the Ephesian church for having "forsaken the love you had at first", verse 4, they were commended for hating the practices of the Nicolaitans.

A comment about the Nicolaitans from The Encyclopedia of the Bible at biblegateway.com provides some light on this cryptic group: "The Nicolaitans attempted to establish a compromise with the pagan society of the Graeco-Roman world that surrounded them. The people most susceptible to such teaching were, no doubt, the upper classes who stood to lose the most by a separation from the culture to which they had belonged before conversion." The "compromise" possibly being an acceptance by some in the church of sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols as was practiced by the pagans surrounding them. Jesus appears to identify the teachings of the Nicolaitans with the "teaching of Balaam" that the church in Pergamum was accused of. See verses 14-15.

In any event, I am reminded that despite what our culture and society appears to embrace, I need to embrace what it is the Lord has for us. The acceptance of homosexuality, as an example, may be what our culture has "evolved on", however, the Lord never "evolves" and he doesn't want me "evolving" with the culture we live in either.

I don't belong to this world and, so, regardless of where it goes, I remain with the Lord. Those churches and clergy who are busy "evolving" with the world and its views are weak, without conviction and rudderless. You can identify them by both the positions they adopt as well as the terminology and phraseology they use to express themselves.

It is impossible to read these seven letters Jesus had written to these seven churches and not understand he has some expectations of us. Those who ignore or disregard these expectations do so to their own peril.

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Book of Life Written in Permanent Ink! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Revelation 3:5-6,

"I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels."

Apparently in Sardis, as in many churches today, there were those who had heard the gospel, "Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent." verse 3, and had not yet embraced Jesus Christ in faith and so were still in danger of facing judgment for their sins. Jesus extends them a warning, "But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you." If they were not in "the book of life" when they eventually saw Jesus (we all will at some point!), they would face his judgment.

However, for those who had embraced the Lord in faith in the church in Sardis, and for all others who do likewise, a wonderful promise is found here! They will never have their name removed from the "book of life". These are they who will walk with Jesus, "dressed in white", verse 4. Being dressed in white is a reference to being made permanently righteous.

These dressed in white had not "soiled their clothes" because the Lord is faithful to keep us safe in him until the day we all arrive in God's kingdom for all eternity. I am reminded of Paul's words to the church in Corinth, "He [God] will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:8-9.

What a wonderful promise! When I embraced Jesus Christ in faith, my eternal destiny changed, and will never be changed again! My name is written in his "book of life" with permanent ink!

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Promises From the Risen Christ! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Revelation 2:7,

"To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."

Here is an amazing promise! As Jesus had John write his letter to the church in Ephesus, he promised to give the right to the tree of life in God's paradise to those who are "victorious."

Victorious over what? Jesus commended the Ephesian believers for deeds of hard work and perseverance, for not tolerating "wicked people", ferreting out false apostles, enduring hardships without growing weary, and hating the practices of the Nicolaitans.

Yet, in spite of these very good things the Ephesian believers had done, they needed to address a shortcoming: they needed to repent from falling from the first love they had at the beginning of their walk with the lord. Those who continued to do the things Jesus commended them for as well as taking a different direction from their failing to continue in their first love for the Lord would be victorious.

Jesus had seven letters he had John write to these seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. In these letters he pointed to good things the churches had been doing as well as their shortcomings.

Were these churches to overcome their shortcomings and be victorious, here are the things Jesus promised:

-- "To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." 2:7.

-- "The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death [judgment day]." 2:11.

-- "To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it." 2:17.

-- "To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— that one 'will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery'—just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star." 2:26-28.

-- "The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels." 3:5.

-- "The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name." 3:12.

-- "To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne." 3:21.

These are some pretty amazing promises! Would you be willing to make the effort to be victorious relative to Jesus' concerns in his seven letters in order to share in his promises?

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

An "Other-Worldly" Book! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Revelation 1:17-18,

"Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."

The apostle John had heard a loud voice behind him, a loud voice like a trumpet. It told him to write some things for the seven churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum,Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.

When he turned to look he beheld a breath-taking scene of Jesus Christ in all his glory, "I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance." Verses 12-16.

As John beheld this astonishing vision, he tells us he fell down as though he where dead. Jesus reached out to him, placing his right hand on John and uttered the words  above. It is the Savior, Jesus Christ! The One who holds "the keys of death and Hades." He was dead and now he is alive for ever and ever!

Although John knew Jesus well, having been a part of his group of disciples that spent years with him, and although John, along with his brother James and Peter had seen Jesus in all his glory on what we refer to as the Mount of Transfiguration (see Matthew 17:1-13), he was so stunned with Jesus that he needed to be told who he was.

This vision takes place many years after Jesus' death, resurrection and ascended into heaven. The time had come where Jesus now appeared to John to bring him a vision of revelation from God. We are told in verse 1 that God the Father gave this revelation to Jesus, and that Jesus made it known to John by sending "his angel". Today, as we read this book of Revelation, John now makes it known to us.

The book of Revelation seems so "other-worldly" precisely because it is other-worldly! It is communication from God himself to us, from the precincts of heaven to those of us here on planet earth!

Could there possibly be anything more fascinating than what we may expect to find in this book?

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

God-Made Global Warming - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Peter 3:7,

"By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly."

The political left has been pushing the meme of mankind's destruction of the earth through unfettered capitalism. Global warming used to be the big concern (now it is simply "climate change") - where a fraction of a degree in a number of decades will melt the glaciers, the polar caps, raise sea levels, destroy beachfront property and all the rest of it.

Peter has a different concern. The fate of this world will not be determined by the perceived excesses of mankind's productivity and economic success, but by mankind's sinfulness. And we are not talking about a fraction of a degree.

Peter tells us a fire is coming. A big one! This present earth is "reserved for fire" and this at the hand of God for his day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. The "ungodly" are those who reject God in this present age and bring this catastrophic episode of "global warming".

Peter tells us, "The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare." Verse 10. He goes on to say in verse 12, "That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat."

This, my friends, is real global warming!

Peter asks a very poignant question in verse 11, "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?" I think this is a very pertinent question. His answer, "You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming." Verses 11-12.

I don't know about you, but man-made global warming is hardly a concern given what is headed our way with God-made global warming!

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Know the Scriptures! - Ruminating in God's Word

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Peter 2:3,

"In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories."

In Peter's observation of the false teachers that will come, he notes they exploit God's people. How are these false teachers able to exploit believers?

Peter says two things about false teachers: they "introduce destructive heresies",  and they display "depraved conduct", verse 1. As such, the predetermined and unavoidable future for these false teachers will be an eternity spent in hell, verse 9.

Peter describes these teachers as those who exploit people with lies, who follow the "corrupt desire of the flesh", they despise authority, they are bold and arrogant, they "heap abuse on celestial beings", they blaspheme, they have "eyes full of adultery", experts in greed, etc.

How are such people able to exploit God's people? In chapter three, Peter says he wrote because he wanted to remind us of "the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles." 2 Peter 3:2. This was Peter's purpose in writing. He wanted us to be spared of being exploited by these false teachers and his remedy is to remind us of the Scriptures!

As believers in Jesus Christ, it is not enough to go to church on Sunday and listen to a message by someone who has spent the week studying God's word. We need to be that person who studies God's word ourselves. All of us. Getting it second hand just isn't going to do it

And, if we ever develop the conceit that somehow we can spot the false from the true when it comes to teachers without spending time in the Scriptures ourselves, we are going to find ourselves at odds with Peter and his concerns for us today.

Paul could not have put it more clearly, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

Both Peter and Paul implore us all to be studying the Scriptures for ourselves. When we don't, we ought not fool ourselves: we become available to the exploitation by false teachers. Do not let yourself be left in that position! Know the Scriptures and be equipped!

May we all open our Bibles and discover God's truth this week!

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Casting Anxiety - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Peter 5:7,

"Cast all your anxiety on him [God] because he cares for you."

Here is a wonderful reminder. We all have issues in our lives that cause concern, and depending on their importance or what they can lead to... they can also lead to anxiety and worry.

Merriam-Webster tells us anxiety is an apprehensive uneasiness or nervousness usually over an impending or anticipated bad thing. We can often find ourselves in this lost and fallen world that is estranged from God fretting over these anticipated things we concern ourselves over.

Here, however, is a wonderful reminder from Peter: God cares for us! In that God does care for us, we know that even the bad things we may encounter in this life, he will work to our good! As Paul contemplated the painful things we may encounter in life, he said, "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28.

Here is a wonderful encouragement from Jesus, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom." He said this as he exhorted his disciples not to worry or be anxious about the things in life.

Since God has the power to make things happen, and since he cares for us, what is there that we cannot find relief from by casting our anxiety and worry on God with?

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Why Glorifying God Is Important! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Peter 4:11,

"If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen."

This passage tells us to speak and act in a manner that God may be praised through Jesus Christ. This is how God is glorified among us. Merriam-Webster defines "glorify" as to make glorious by bestowing honor, praise or admiration.

The glorification of God is a vital aspect to the agenda of God's redemption of mankind. We don't glorify God because he needs our admiration or that he may be emotionally needy, that he may be somehow incomplete within himself and requires something from us to be fulfilled within himself, some bizarre need for affirmation from us. 

Quite the opposite. From the pages of Scripture (through which God reveals himself to us) we find that God is well beyond perfectly complete and fulfilled within himself. He does not require anything at all from us! As a happy, joyful, pleased and fully satisfied God within himself, he has determined he wants to make a family for himself out of those among mankind that will embrace him.

As God pursues us for his family, his kingdom, he goes more than half way to draw us to himself. A means, among many, by which he does this is he generates "a buzz" about himself that hopefully causes those who have yet to embrace him with an interest to see what the fuss is all about. This is clearly a major theme in the book of Psalms where God's magnificent character and nature are on full display, where God's amazing deeds are proclaimed. The book of Psalms was written to be shared.

The appropriate and Scripturally-based glorification of God dispels disinterest and indifference. After all, if what we read in our Bibles about God is true, and that truth be given legs by our enthusiastic, ardent and breathless proclaiming of it, others will take note!

Where the glorification of God may have other intended purposes as well, it is my perspective that the notion that the chief end of man is to glorify God is somewhat shortsighted. Glorifying God is a very important means to achieve God's grand agenda for this life we live in: redemption! God is drawing us to himself!

I would offer that the chief end of man is to find God in this life and rapturously enjoy him for all eternity in the next! Glorifying God is a means to that end. The next time you read the book of Psalms, see if you don't agree.

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Being Prepared Is Not Just for Boy Scouts - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Peter 3:15-16,

"In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."

Peter tells us to be prepared to give an answer to those who inquire about the hope we have as believers in Jesus Christ. This raises a few questions for me.

The first is, do I really revere Christ as Lord in my life? How do I express that? Do others see it? If I were to ask others around me, would they confirm it through what they see in my life? Could I ever be convicted in a court of law if it were illegal? Or, do I just show up on Sunday mornings?

Another question is, do others note in my life a hope they see? Is there something within my life that might cause others to wonder about the good cheer, the happiness, the expectation, the excitement I might feel for having Jesus Christ in my life and my future eternity in his family? Or, do I just show up on Sunday mornings?

Another question is, am I prepared to share my faith with others? Do I know how to do that? Can I articulate the gospel in a manner that is clear and not confused or confusing? That is couched in God's truth, not in my own deductive reasoning or logic (which is certainly going to be less compelling)? Or, do I just show up on Sunday mornings?

Another question is, can I share the gospel with others with gentleness and respect? Do I recognize the need to make the issue about Jesus Christ, rather than on what-a-horse's-rear-end-I-am? Do I place the same value on those around me that are not saved as Jesus Christ does, the One who died on the cross for them?

Or....?

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

God's Election - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Peter 2:4-5,

"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

As we see in the above verse, God the Father made a choice. His choice, his election, was to send his Son, Jesus Christ, who is precious to him, to come to planet earth and pay the penalty for our sins that he might make a people for himself for all eternity.

I use the term "election" because it is a word that has been used, abused, and misused in the church. A lot of wacky theology has been promoted using the term "election". However, "election" is a very simple word that simply means to make a choice, to select something. God has a will and he expresses his will by making choices. When God made mankind in his own image, he gave mankind a will which we express as we make our choices.

Here in this chapter, in the above verses, we see that God chose his Son to be a "living stone." A few verses later we see the purpose of this "living stone" is to winnow out those who would embrace him in faith, from those who reject him, resulting in their eternal judgment:

"For in Scripture it says:

'See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.'

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

'The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,'

and,

'A stone that causes people to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall.'"

Peter quotes from Isaiah and Psalms to remind us that God has chosen a path for us, that if we follow it, we will find ourselves in God's family for all eternity, otherwise we stumble into God's judgment. That path goes through Jesus Christ, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6.

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.