To the End

DEVOTION

THE REVELATION

TO THE END

Rev 2:18-29

18 "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. 24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): 25 Only hold on to what you have until I come.

26 To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27'He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery'-just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

NIV

There is a lot going on here, and again we have to know that perhaps there was a church like this, but we also have to know there are churches like this throughout the ages, even in our age. It is surely something special for us to do more than when we first accepted Jesus. Somehow it seems that at that moment of our conversion we were filled with such gratitude that it seemed we could not do enough for Jesus. We got so involved in anything we could be involved in. Our lives had changed and we were so excited about it. What happens over the years? Do we get more involved? Do we do more than we did before or do we simply fall into a pattern of worship and simply do the maintenance things of Christianity. We read our bible, we attend a church, we give an offering, we sing a few songs, and maybe we even raise a hand from time to time. But do we really do more than when we first were saved? This is a good question that requires some pondering. Maybe this is about the amount of faith and trust we first had when we came to Christ. The fact we were so filled with faith and trust and God was doing so much in our lives, miracle after miracle. Have we fallen from that faith and trust or have we built upon it and our faith and trust is even stronger than at first? Over the years have we been deceived by Jezebel? She is the church itself, Christianity per say. Has the church, all the church, every denomination fallen into the trap of Satan? Has the church in general lost its first love and adopted the ways of the world? Does it truly stand for righteousness or has it deferred to its needs to exist and thus offer such that people will come and bring their money to its ever growing coffer? It seems many churches are adopting the new wave of worship, staging so as not to appear too more like a church, music that sounds more like secular rock stars than worship songs to God. Their acceptance of those leading the crowd appearing more like the world than like followers of Christ. It seems we are being lead so far astray from the truth of God in so many ways, in so many churches, that how could God not kill them all someday? This  type of church, this type of believer will find suffering someday. This of course is not a judgment on all churches. There surely are many who have stayed the course and remain faithful to the Word of God. This is merely an observation of what we know to be happening in many of the churches of our age. We have to hold onto what is true. God is true. We cannot allow ourselves deceived by any false teachers, whether they be the pastors of churches or the many authors with books galore on how to live the good life in Christ, or the hoard of tele-evangelists all screaming for our attention and our money. Perhaps not all of them are false, but there are false ones and we have to make sure we are not among the deceived. We have the Spirit who adorns us with his gift of discernment to know the truth when we hear it, and to know the lies as well. We need to be holding onto the truth until Jesus comes for us. If we do we have another great reward awaiting us. After the great moment that Jesus comes for us, at some time we will return with him and rule the nations for a thousand years while Satan is in chains. With all the authority the Father has given Jesus, he will give us that same authority. Sometimes that is difficult to grasp, but it too is the truth and we need to hold fast to that truth. There will always be lies, always be deception within the church because of human frailties. We are all subject to them, but we must be aware of them, and be on guard that we do not fall prey to their ways. Our strength is not in our selves but in Christ. This is how we overcome, remain in Christ, and remain true to him, to the living word of God. Because we remain in Christ, not deceived by those false teachings, we can do the will of God to the end. 

The White Stone

DEVOTION

THE REVELATION

THE WHITE STONE

Rev 2:12-17

12 "To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live — where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city — where Satan lives.

14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. 15 Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.

NIV

Although we can find the evidence of the existence of all these ancient cities and find historical information regarding some of the facts within all these letters, of what value does that serve our spiritual journey unless we find how that relates to us. Here we see, as we have in the past that Jesus has that double-edged sword which is able to separate soul and spirit, bone and marrow and judges the attitude of the heart. We would be wise to realize this and live in accordance with that knowledge. Jesus knows where we live, where Satan has his throne. Perhaps this particular city was especially sinful, yet where we live right now is filled with so much sin, Satan has to have his throne here as well. We only have to listen or watch the news, although they did not name it as such, sinful behavior is always the lead story. Most of the programs that are on television portray some form of sinful behavior. Many of the famous stars, live far worse than those citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah. Temptations abound all around us enticing us to engage in behaviors that are indeed sinful. Here we have evidence the Israelites were enticed to eat food sacrificed to idols. We Christians are being enticed to partake in the practices of those who worship idols, such as the idol of self-indulgent, or the idol of money, or the idol of human knowledge or intellectual greatness. They are so many idols we could choose from to be enticed to worship. Satan tries his best to entrap us, but all he has to offer is lies and spiritual death. Satan even uses the scriptures to attempt to convince us our thinking, our behavior is based in the word of God, but he lies, that is all he ever does. We cannot live being fooled by Satan and live rightly.  Jesus offers us the truth and eternal spiritual life.  Are we ready for Jesus to fight against us with that sword? Of course not, we have to make sure first that we are not engaged by any of the sin of this world and second, if we find ourselves getting enticed we need to repent immediately. If we overcome all those temptations and remain true to our faith, living in accordance with that faith, and if we waver, recognize when and repent, we have a great reward.   This hidden manna is pure spiritual food, that which nourishes our spirit. When we eat normal food we ingest it into our being, it is digested and used by our bodies to continue to live. Without any food at all we would literally starve to death. This holds extremely true regarding this hidden manna. If we do not get the pure truth from the word of God we will literally starve to death spiritually. This is why Jesus sent us the Spirit, who will lead us into all this truth, this manna, this bread of life. But there is still more. Because we have overcome we will also get a new name personally from Jesus, it will be written on a white stone. Many scholars have many different ideas as to what that exactly means, but the point of it remains the same. Jesus is going to, well has already given us this new name. He has given each of us a personal emblem of his that each one of us only know. What we know about Jesus and how he interacts with us is known only to each one of us, and the others do not know it and we do not know how he interacts with the others. Although we are all part of the body of Christ and we have many things in common, such as the manna, there is still something extremely personal, one on one, with each believer who overcomes and Jesus. What is on our white stone is known only to us. 

The Crown

DEVOTION

THE REVELATION

THE CROWN

Rev 2:8-11

8 "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty — yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.

NIV

Once again we have to forgo looking at some historical singular church or some period or age in church history, so that the living word of God has significance in our lives as it is intended to do and be. Again we are assured these are the words of Jesus as he dictated them to John. There is no doubt that some of us in the body of Christ have certain afflictions and experience a sense of poverty. If we look at the church as a whole, that is every believer throughout the world, many of us have both afflictions and poverty. We also can see that we have had, can have and will have some form of an affliction in our lifetime. Some of us might never experience poverty in a monetary sense, but yet we might have in another sense, spiritual poverty. Yet still we could find ourselves in financial poverty at any moment in our lives. How we react to both an affliction and poverty is the key to the message here. Jesus assures us that we are indeed rich, for we have the right to be called the children of God. What is said here about false Jews also applies to false Christians. We need to be first aware that some who claim to be Christians, even those who claim to be pastors or evangelists, are not actually what they claim to be. Secondly we should make sure our claim as being a believer in Christ is true, that we not only profess it, but we live it, so that others cannot think of us as being hypocritical, saying one thing, but living something else. We have to know if we are not living completely for Jesus or under the influence of the Spirit than we have to be living under the influence of Satan. This is not a partial lifestyle, we cannot serve two masters as it has to be one or the other. Let us make sure it is Jesus. Satan may attempt to imprison some of us for a short time. This is the message here. Satan always tries to tempt us to sin, to make us suffer, to do harm to us. He does not love us, he hates us because we love Jesus. He will also attempt to persecute us in some way, and if he can cause us to become distracted from Jesus and pay more attention to our own wants and desires, forgoing our trust in Jesus, he has in fact entrapped us in his prison of self-absorbed ambitions. We may never have to experience a persecution strong enough to bring us death, but in fact many believers have, even some in our lifetime. First we should remember that the word tells us that when one suffers we all suffer, and when one rejoices we all rejoice. Second we should be aware that it could come to a time when we ourselves are in the position of personal persecution facing death, such as Rachel Scott did at Columbine High School some years back. A moment such as that could happen to anyone of us at any time, especially in these times of such terrorist filled years. But if we stand firm, either in afflictions or temptations, or persecutions we will be given the crown of life. Standing firm, being faithful means not giving in to feeling sorry for ourselves in those life situations, sorrow can lead to depression, depression leads us to doubt, and that is all Satan wants from us, to doubt God. When we stand firm, faithful to want we know is true, God, we will receive the crown of life, eternal life, which Satan surely does not want us to have. But wait there is more! If we overcome those feelings remaining faithful through all them, we will not have to experience the second death, we will not be harmed by it at all. This certainly tells us the truth about life and death. We all must die in the physical but there is a second death which is of the spirit. When the Day of the Lord comes and all, both the living and the dead, are judged, those whose names are not found in the book of life will be cast, along with the Devil, the beast and the false prophet, into the lake of burning sulfur, the second death. This is the meaning John wrote about when we compared eternal life to perishing. If we overcome we have no concerned about this second death, for we will be standing with our crown of life. 

First love

DEVOTION

THE REVELATION

FIRST LOVE

Rev 2:1-7

2:1 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

NIV

So we now address the seven letters that are to be written to the seven churches by John as dictated to him by Jesus. Again we must consider if this letter was written strictly to a church that was in the ancient town of Ephesus and if that is the case none of this has any bearing on our lives, yet we are told that we will be blessed if we read all this and hear it or understand it, and take it to heart. So this letter is not just for that church, it is for us. For anyone, including those supposed scholars and theologians who tell us it is absurd to think it has any other meaning then a letter to that historic church are themselves absurd. What we first must see here is that Jesus holds his messengers in his hand and that he walks among his church, his people. This should tell us something to be continuously on guard against supposed men of God which is one the comments made within the letter. When we have the Spirit and his gift of discernment we should be able to tell if a pastor, a messenger of the word of God has actually been sent by Jesus, or if he is there on his own account. All the letters have somewhat the same format. Jesus is telling us the good deeds that we do have, or the good habits, or behaviors that are pleasing to him, and commends us. Then he tells us some area of our life that still requires some work and if we can overcome those shortcomings we have a reward awaiting us. In this example he has informed us that we are doing exactly what he has given us discernment through the Spirit for. We have been able to detect those false teachers, those men of God we are being pastors or evangelists for their own purses, rather than as a calling from God. We have not been duped by these people. We are also being commended because even though we have had some struggles in this life, we have not grown weary, we have not given up on trusting in him, we have not gone back to trusting in our own selves to provide either salvation by doing good works, or for securing our future. We can continued to look to him with perseverance. Yet there is something we need to understand. Have we lost our first love? We surely remember how enthusiastic we were when we first were saved. That moment when all our sins were lifted from our shoulders and we were set free. We remember the miraculous times of worship and praise we felt as we knew deep within our hearts that Jesus is real. We remember all the miracles that happened in our lives, one after another. We remember that absolute trust we had in our Lord Jesus to take care of us. We remember how incredible it was to be drawn out of the darkness of lack of understanding into the light of his understanding. Have we lost all that? Have we replaced it with simply trying to be a “Good Christian”? Have we exchanged our first love, all that enthusiasm with the drudgery of being an intellectual giant in his word? Have we forsaken pure love for Jesus for the doctrines of denominations? Have we fallen from that height of pure excitement about Jesus to the depths of church life? So if we remember how we first lived, how we first loved him with all that enthusiasm and we know how we are now living, lacking somewhat in that enthusiasm then we also know we need to repent and return to our first love for Jesus, keeping it simple, loving him completely, trusting him absolutely for our salvation and for our lives. As a result we will be able to eat from the tree of life in the paradise of God. This is the same tree that was in the garden that Adam and Eve were able to eat from until they ate from that darn tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Then they could no longer eat from the tree of life. So here it is, we can have all that knowledge we think we can garner about good and evil, all the study time, all the book learning, all the research, all the degrees we think are needed, but until we come to Jesus simply with all our love and adoration, forsaking all our knowledge, all our trust or pride in our good behavior we will never eat from that tree. But if we overcome all that, we will indeed eat from that tree of life, we will have eternal life simply because we love Jesus we every fiber of our being. Let’s get back to our first love.

Seven

DEVOTION

THE REVELATION

SEVEN

Rev 1:19-20

19 "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

NIV

Jesus is instructing John to write down what he is now seeing, which of course we have already read, and what he is going to see that will take place later, which is still going to take place. We have not seen the later yet, but we can be sure this later will someday be the now. What John is seeing is Jesus standing there with these seven lampstands in one hand and seven stars in the other. Here Jesus explains the mystery of them. It would be good to note that word mystery simply means something which is hidden. The truth of a matter is hidden from the understanding of the viewer. Some of us are guilty of thinking that God, the three in one, is a mystery. Are they actually three distinct persons or are they all the same one in different forms? Yet a mystery is only a mystery until the truth of it is revealed, which Jesus is doing here. He is revealing a mystery so that John has the truth of the matter in the vision he saw. As to this explanation we might think it still is somewhat of a mystery. Who are the seven angels or messengers? Who are the seven churches? We know the names of them as they are given to us in the following letter which is to be written to each of them. Much discussion has been had over the meaning of who these churches represent. Are we to suppose there are only seven churches in all the lands, by the time John had been banished to this Island of Patmos? Is that all there is? Paul, with all his travels was only able to start seven churches? What about the other disciples? We are not told of any effects they had on starting new churches, except we know there were home churches all over. Although we have locations given but yet as we will see, can we assume that each location, each church only had one good aspect and one specific bad aspect? Some scholars are thinking these seven refer to seven ages in the course of church history. Other scholars have slightly different opinions. It would be wise of us to understand many people, including scholars and theologians look through filters or prisms from either a denominational bias, or perhaps from a more general bias toward either Calvinistic, Wesleyan or Armenian views. Most of us approach whatever we read or see from some sort of preconceived notion, or filter. That is the human way. If we approach these words with the filter of God, with an open heart and mind, setting aside any human filters, we should be able to see it through the power of the Spirit in the filter of God.  So again are they saying that only during certain times in history the church had only one good aspect and only one specific bad aspect? That just does not make any sense at all. It would seem they are simply trying to understand a mystery that has not been revealed to them. But if we take them all, all seven and apply them to our life, then we can see that we have some areas in our life that pleases the Lord but we also have some areas in our life that displease him and we need correction, we need to overcome those areas with the help of the Spirit. We need to become overcomers and when we do we can see all the blessings that will come upon us from the hand of God. We have to always be aware the word of God is not directed just for one person or one people, or for one moment in history, or time. The word is a living word for all mankind to be able to know God, and to know his relationship to his creation. It is a living breathing truth for all of us in all times in history and the future. These words were not just for seven specific historical churches. These words are for us. We need to see them for what they are. We have been given the Spirit who leads us into all truth and that would mean these words are not a mystery, but a revealed truth to us for our benefit. Does this mean all the scholars who still think of them as a mystery are not actually being led by the Spirit? That is not for us to say, but what we can be sure is that God does not intend for us to live in a mystery. The Bible is not a mystery novel. It is the truth, and that truth is revealed to us through the Spirit. What we do know is that seven is God’s perfect number. There is meaning in that as well. We will see the use of the number 666 at some point and that is nothing more that something short of God’s perfect number, it represents imperfection. God is simply using his perfect number to show us how we need to live as overcomers. Seven good areas, seven not so good areas and seven rewards for being an overcomer. This is what we will see. To him who overcomes. 

Forever and ever

DEVOTION

THE REVELATION

FOREVER AND EVER

Rev 1:17-18

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

NIV

After seeing the description of Jesus we just viewed and realizing that we should fall on our faces in complete submission to him, we see that is exactly what John did. No man could possible stand tall in the presence of our glorious Savior and God. Yet through his power he reached down with his right hand and not only sustained John releaving all his fears, he revealed everything to him that is to come. Once again showing us that although he is full of awesome power which we are going to see, he has the compassion and love of a father. “Do not be afraid”. Being one of his, John was not to have any fear. This also applies to each believer in Christ. Although God has the almighty power to destroy us, because we are his, we have nothing to fear from him. Jesus tells John that he is the First and the Last. This is another version of the Alpha and Omega. He always was and will always be. We should be careful not to put our Lord into a mold created by men. It seems Christianity would like to fit Jesus into a certain representation of God. Although we have certain evidence of his character within the text of scripture, including what we have just read, it might be wise for us to understand that we may never truly know all of him until we lay prostrate at his feet and have him reach with his right hand to lift us up. He tells John that he is the Living One, that he is in fact the same Jesus John knew in the flesh, that he died and that behold he is alive forever. Two truths are in these words for us. First because Jesus will live forever and ever he will always be able to fulfill all his promises. We humans can make promises but we do not have eternity to fulfill them. There may be some of our promises that go unfulfilled because of our death, but the promises of Jesus will never be cut short by death, for he lives forever and ever. The second truth here is if we are in Christ, as we are, then we too can know this one thing for certain. That when we die, we too shall live forever and ever, that is one of his promises. The key to knowing this is in those very keys Jesus tells John he owns, the keys of death and Hades. Jesus has the ultimate authority over death. According to the words given to John when he wrote his gospel account:

John 10:16-18

 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." 

NIV

Jesus has the authority to lay his own life down, but also through his own authority he took it back up. These keys show us his absolute authority over death and Hades, or as it is rendered also Hell. This simply tells us Hell is not a free flowing place, but a dark and gloomy dungeon locked with gates and chains, keeping its prisoners firmly confined. Jesus has the power over Hades, not Satan for he does not own the key. Once again we can be extremely thankful the Spirit was able to break through our humanity and reveal to us our need to repent and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Had we never opened our heart and mind to the Spirit we would be doomed to this place under lock and key. Although we already know the ultimate fate of those poor souls locked in Hades, we will see it told plainly to us further in this Revelation. So we can praise God because we have escaped that fate. We can praise God because Jesus has these keys. We can praise God because he has saved us, he has redeemed us, he has given us eternal life and we shall someday see our blessed Savior and live with him forever and ever. Although Jesus sustains us, provides for us, and leads us through the course of our lives, we also must know that whatever life brings our way during our stay here is totally diminished by what is to come our way in eternity. Our physical life had a beginning and it will have an end, but because Jesus has those keys, someday, and we really do not know exactly which day that will be, we shall be raised from the grave and live with our Lord forever and ever. 

A perfect picture

DEVOTION

THE REVELATION

A PERFECT PICTURE

Rev 1:12-16

12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 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. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

NIV

This is an awesome description of our Lord Jesus himself. John being in the Spirit was in the right frame of mind to receive such a visit from Jesus. When we think of the Jewish Menorah we can see the seven golden lampstands that were in the temple in Jerusalem. Could this have any bearing on the fact that even from that time God directed Moses in the furniture of the tabernacle he was thinking of the whole Christian church? How awesome is God. Yet here we have all the symbols which indicate how royal Jesus truly is. While he was on earth in the flesh he appeared to be the most humble of servants showing us the way we should live. But now that he is in his full glory revealing himself to John in the robe of the high priest looking like the ancient of days with the white hair and blazing eyes showing us he can see everything. This may well be the Jesus we will see when we arrive in the heavenly realm at the close of this physical life. We have all the pictures done be the hand of man showing Jesus to be this gentle faced, loving sort of Savior, but here he appears as nothing like we have ever seen him portrayed. Why do men always portray Jesus as this gentle lamb? He is the ancient of days, nothing that was created was created without him. He is the divine most powerful having been given all authority. He will judge the nations, he will stand and open the book of life and determine whose names have not been blotted out. He is shown here as the Most High, someone to fear and tremble at his feet. We teach our children to sing that Jesus loves me, this I know, for the bible tells me so, giving them and us the impression of this kindly mannered Jesus. But we also have to know that he is the one with all power and authority over all things which include us. Here he is not the most humble, but rather the most stable of all with his bronze feet that are purified glowing hot in a furnace. But most radical is his voice and the double edged sword that comes out of his mouth.

Heb 4:12-13

 12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

NIV

Although this may have meant that he would judge both the Jews and the Romans in that day, it also means we are at his mercy as well. We would be well to note that we are at his mercy. There is nothing we can ever do to be worthy to stand before our blazing Most High God. We think because we chose to follow him it is because of our faith that we are saved. In some sense that is true, for we are told that it is by faith that we are saved. This implies salvation cannot be achieved by any works. We cannot earn it in anyway other than by faith in Jesus Christ. Yet we really need to see him for who he is, and understand we need to fall face down in complete utter submission to him, relying totally on his mercy. Yet this blazing all powerful Jesus takes the time to come to John and show him all that has to come to pass in the end of days for mankind on the earth. This is also a show of his divine love for us so that we will not be without all the facts concerning what is to happen, but to those who believe and those who have chosen not to believe. So even in his all-powerful appearance to John here, he still shows his concern for his creation. What a perfect picture of Jesus. 

In the Spirit

DEVOTION

THE REVELATION

IN THE SPIRIT

Rev 1:8-11

8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." 

9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea." 

NIV

Is there any question who God is? Sure shouldn’t be for we have it all right here in his own words. He is the beginning of everything and he will be the ending of everything. We would have to believe this is in regard to all his creation rather than himself. He has no beginning and he has no end as he is who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. He is always in the presence, with him time is meaningless, so he speaks in terms that his creation, us, can understand. His creation had a beginning and it is going to have an end, at least the physical world that we know today. We think of it as the Day of the Lord. But he is and was and is to come. It is and always has been about him. The whole of creation including all of us has always been and will always be about him. It is when we the people of his creation focus on our own selves, making us the center of our lives, we are in grave danger. Let us take a lesson from John today. He says about himself that he is our brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that is ours in Jesus. Although we could spend a great deal of time in thinking about being his, and each other’s companion in the suffering of Jesus, as well as all being companions in the kingdom along with having patient endurance, the main point or lesson we learn from John is in his next words. ‘On the Lords’ day I was in the Spirit”. This is the reason he could be a companion in those areas in the first place. He was in the Spirit. Now we have to ask which day is the Lord’s Day. The Jews always believed and still do that the Sabbath or the Lord’s Day is from Sundown Friday to Sundown Saturday. Of course this had some variance due to the seasons as to when Sundown occurs. We Christians have taken on Sunday as the third day when he rose from the grave as our Sabbath, or Lord’s Day. Some of us begin that day with the words, “This is the day the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.” But what about the rest of the days of the week? Did God only create one day? Each and every day of our lives we should know are the Lord’s Day. Each and every day of our lives we should begin with those words. Now the truth of this is that John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. So if all the days of the week are created by the Lord, then all of them are the Lord’s Day. The Greek words used here bear this out as in the original it would say, I was in the Spirit on the day belonging to the Lord. All days belong to the Lord. It is we people who have decided to give him only one day, and thus keep the other days of the week for ourselves. So then if each day of the week, for that matter each day of our lives should be the day of the Lord, and thus we should be in the Spirit. This does not mean we stop doing what we do, we also need to work or labor six days and on the seventh rest. But then who of us work six days? So why do we pay so much attention to the seventh day being the Lord’s Day? It just does not make any sense, except that all the days are his and we should always be in the Spirit, whether we are at home, at work, or at play, but especially when we are at church. How many people who are in church on Sunday are in the Spirit? We cannot judge, but what we can do is try to make sure we are in the Spirit when we are in Church, when we are at work, when we are at home, and yes even when we are at play. Just think what kind of relationship we would have with all our companions if we all were always in the Spirit. Maybe we would even hear a loud voice like a trumpet saying something to us. 

So Shall it Be!

DEVOTION

THE REVELATION

SO SHALL IT BE

Rev 1:7

7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.

So shall it be! Amen.

NIV

There is no question that Jesus is coming back for us, well at least for those of us who have accepted him as Lord and Savior. What we see here is that every eye will see him when he returns, even those people who have rejected him. So the saved and the unsaved will see Jesus in the clouds when he appears. Now all the peoples of earth will mourn because of him. It is a good thing we are not the people of the earth for we are the people of the kingdom of God and we will not mourn but rejoice because our Lord has come for us. We can be sure his return is not a local event in the Middle East. We can be sure his return is not just for America. Every eye, which indicates the entire world will be able to see his coming with the clouds. This is going to be an awesome event like nothing we have ever seen or experienced before. But we are going to have some signs that will precede his arrival. Not the few sort of signs some people think are the signs, but worldwide signs, earthquakes all over, the earth and the heavens will be shaken. A few what is called a blood moon will not be any sign, but when according to the prophet Joel who is also quoted by the writer of Acts, the moon will actually be turned into blood. This is a violent upheaval of the heavens, for the sun will also be turned into darkness. We cannot have an eclipse of the sun at the same time of a so called blood moon in the natural events of astrology. So before every eye will see him in the clouds there is going to be an enormous supernatural event both on earth and in the heavens. There is also going to be nation rise against nation. That is not just a few nations, but all the nations will be involved. This does not necessarily mean a world war of greater magnitude then the past so called world wars. But this could mean the ideology, the theology of every nation will oppose each other. There will be no peace, no sense of common humanity. This can also mean the nation of earth will rise up against the nation of God. The kingdom of earth against the kingdom of God. Famine all over is another sign and again this may not mean a physical famine although we can see many places today there are famines and there have been over the course of history. This famine could be of a spiritual nature. A famine of mankind who are without any acknowledgment of God. The point is the Jesus will come with the clouds and we are all going to see this happen. There is going to be something so entirely beyond anything we have ever seen before. The world will never be the same.  So shall it be! Amen. 

The KIngdom

DEVOTION

THE REVELATION

THE KINGDOM

Rev 1:5-6

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father — to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

NIV

How can we ever do anything that would classify as being worthy of his love? We are his creation, we are the only portion of his creation into who he breathed his very breathe. He spoke all the rest of creation into existence just with his word, but when he created us, God got down on his knees in the dirt, getting his hands dirty, forming us from that mud, and when he was done he leaned over and breathed the breath of life into our nostrils. It is any wonder Jesus loves us? Then because we strayed, we did not pay attention to his one command, because of his own justice, he needed to ban us from paradise. But because he loves us, he also had a plan to redeem us back, to justify himself back to the creation he loves. He planned to become his own sacrifice to satisfy his own justice. It is all about him and his love for us. We cannot ever be worthy of that kind of love, and we may never be able to express that kind of love. He loves us so much that Jesus experienced a horrible death, as one of us, so that he could free us from the punishment due us because of sin. He took that sin, and punishment so we would not have to experience it if we accept him as our Lord. In addition, if freedom from sin is not enough, he has made us to be a kingdom, which is we are the kingdom of God. Once we die, and are born again, as Jesus explained it to Nicodemus, then we can enter into the kingdom, because we become that kingdom. But that is not all either. We become priests to serve his God and Father. We become priests. This means not just a few select individuals who say they have been called and spend years within a school of higher learning to earn a degree and then garner some ordination from a denomination agreeing to all their doctrines in order to obtain a job preaching at some church. Anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, who has been born again and who has become the kingdom of God is also a priest who serves his God and Father. Although we use the English term priest, especially within the Catholic Church, we are all considered by God just as the same. The Greek word here means priest, but metaphorically, of Christians, because, purified by the blood of Christ and brought into close contact with God, we devote our life to him alone. This is the concept of the Catholic priest, but it should also be the concept of our lives as we too are priests who are called to serve our Almighty God. How do we serve him?

Rom 12:1-2

12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.

NIV

This should put to rest any question as to how we serve our Lord, how we are his kingdom. There are only two kingdoms in existence, the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. We know who thinks he rules over the kingdom of darkness, but in essence it is our own evil hearts who reign in the darkness. But Jesus has called us out of that kingdom into the kingdom of light, his light, and so we are now a part of the kingdom of God, being a priest, devoted to him and him alone. That means we forsake any form of devotion to any part of the kingdom of darkness. We forsake everything for his sake, so that through us the world sees his glory and power, forever and ever, amen.

Grace and Peace

DEVOTION

THE REVELATION

GRACE AND PEACE

Rev 1:4-5

4 John,

To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

NIV

John has his introduction and in it we see he is addressing the seven churches in the province of Asia. We are going to see these seven churches and although many scholars have debated for many years as to exactly what these seven churches were or are or represent, we are going to see some real truths for our own lives. What we have here is a greeting in which the grace and peace to us is given from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. That is a mouthful to describe God the Father, God the Spirit and God the Son. What is grace and peace? In order to fully understand the significance of being given grace and peace we need to understand what that means in the Greek.  What was the meaning in the original language? Grace is translated from two distinct Greek words, one meaning unmerited favor, which is not used here. The other used here as well as many other places means the divine influence upon our heart and how that is reflected in our lives. The word peace has been translated in many ways, most of which include some opposite of war or havoc, but in the main sense used within the spiritual application it carries the meaning of the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthy lot, of whatsoever sort that is. We see this truth in Paul’s letter to the Romans when he tells them the mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. So we have a choice in life, to either live according to our own ways, or live according to the influence of the Spirit and have the assurance of life, eternal life. The rest of this greeting has everything to do with everything we believe. God always was, always is and always will be. There is no time with God, He is always. That is so much to believe. Many people struggle with that fact, they cannot understand it with the finite human capacity of understanding. We are among that group, but we believe it simply because he said it was true. We do not have to understand to believe because we have faith. “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”. Heb 11:1 We also can know that Jesus is faithful, he is the witness to all that is true. He spoke all the truth we will ever need to know in order to experience eternal life. Although we spend so much time on trying to discern how to live the Christian life, all the do’s and don’ts, all the rules and regulations, in essence what we truly need to know is that Jesus is the firstborn from the dead, and if we are in Christ we too shall be born from the dead. This is in both senses, the spiritual and the physical. First we have to die spiritually before we can be born again. This is what Jesus told Nicodemus. That in order to enter the kingdom of God we need to be born again. We cannot be born again unless we die. But this also means born again in the physical, as Jesus was, resurrected from the dead. We will rise from the grave and live in the realm of his kingdom forever and ever. Of course this will be in a glorified state as he was after he resurrected, able to appear or disappear at will. We also see here that Jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth. We worry so much about how things are in our world. We get anxious over the evil rulers who declare war on others, killing their enemies, especially today with the evil in the Middle East and the brutal murders of Christians. We get anxious about who will lead our country, and how that will impact our lives. We will be harmed financially? Will any of our freedoms be infringed upon? We are concerned about how those who oppose our point of view, our belief system will change the course of our country. But in reality Jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth, whether they what to admit it or not, he rules over them. No matter what happens in this world we have the confidence we need, because we are in Christ. We have learned to be content in whatever situation we are in, whether that is in plenty or in want. The world can collapse all around us, and we can stand firm, holding steadfast in our Lord, for he has everything under his control. We live with the grace and peace from God.  

It's going to happen

DEVOTION

THE REVELATION

IT’S GOING TO HAPPEN

Rev 1:1-3

1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw — that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

NIV

This is the beginning of something we have not tried before, but we will with the help of the Spirit find our way through this. God gave John this revelation of what is to come in the future of mankind and his relationship with God. God did this through an angel. John says he testifies to everything he saw, that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. This is a firsthand account of the truth we are going to see happen someday. The lesson we need to see today is in the fact that because we are reading this we are blessed as long as we hear it and take it to heart. So is there a difference between receiving sound and hearing? The Greek word here does carry the implication that hearing means to understand that which was said. This would suggests that we are intended to be able to understand all the words of this revelation. The truth is not hidden from us, it is not a mystery, for no one can take a mystery to heart. In addition, we have the Spirit who will lead us into all truth. So we need to be able to hear and what we understand we need to take it to heart, to ingest it, to absorb it deep within our being, making the truths within a part of our very being. This would mean the words within this revelation will change our lives, which is if we take them to heart. So because we desire the blessing from God he intends for us to have because of our reading, hearing and taking to heart these words, we are diving into them. Although we have read these words before we have never sought after every drop of truth as we are about to do. Our lives will never be the same again. We need to do this because the time is near. Of course that is what John thought, but then that was revealed to him from God. What is near? It appears the time is at hand according the Greek word which carries the implication of anxious, that which is imminent and soon to come to pass. We can be sure this is the case. It will happen, it will come to pass. The exact time frame is certainly known only to God and he alone will determine when it will come to pass. John was not putting the time frame in place, but only confirming that all which we are going to read, hear and take to heart is going to happen. So let us live with that truth, it is going to happen. 

Praising God

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

PRAISING GOD

Luke 24:33-53

33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. 36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."  37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, 3"Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?9 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."  40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?"  42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence. 44 He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."  45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."  50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

NIV

There is a lot Luke leaves out in his concluding statements about Jesus before his ascension. He says nothing about Jesus preparing the meal on the shore and Peter diving into the water to reach the shore first. He says nothing about the second appearance in the locked room when Thomas had returned and how he was the first one to say, “My Lord and my God”. But what Luke does make sure we know is that it was Jesus who opened their minds. Jesus was right there in their midst yet somehow they still had doubts that it was him. They had the report from the two that were on the road to Emmaus, and Jesus was right there, but doubt was still present also. Why do we doubt when we have so much evidence is amazing. Jesus proves to them he is real, not a ghost, by eating in their presence. Jesus will always prove himself so we can put away any doubts. He will open our minds to the truth. A person can read the entire bible and not know the truth unless Jesus reveals it to them. Of course he is always in the business of revealing, of opening minds, but it still takes the willingness to have our mind opened. Luke also makes sure we know that Jesus is going to send the Holy Spirit to give power from on high. In such a short conclusion Luke gives us many important truths. Jesus was indeed raised in bodily form from the dead, Jesus opens our minds, Jesus will send the Spirit who empowers us from on high, His name will be preached to all nations, and he ascended in that bodily form into heaven. Any doubts about this should be banished from our minds. Yet here we are, at times so easily caught up in our own lives that we sometimes forget how great all this is, and how significant it is for us. Some people may never have experienced the great hand of Jesus in their lives in such as real of a way as others have. Some may only sense the truth, but have never really allowed Jesus to open their minds fully to the truth. Some might believe but still carry even a small amount of doubt about some of the things of God. Some might ask if he really does intervene in our lives, if we really heals, really provides, or really guides our steps. Some have experienced salvation, but have never experienced Pentecost. They do not have the power of the Spirit in their lives. We need to live in the truth of all that we have read. We need to be living in the truth of our redemption, of our salvation, of having our minds opened by Jesus, who is the living Word of God, and we need to be living in the power from on high, the Spirit. If all this is not evidence enough to rejoice and live in the peace of God, having complete trust and faith in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, then we are without hope. We cannot half believe, we must completely believe. The manner of our life is not the evidence of our faith. We have learned to be content in whatever manner we are in, whether that be in plenty or in need. Our joy is not based on our circumstance, our condition in life. Our joy is based on the truth of God. Our belief is based on this truth. Our life is based on this truth. We have been told that we are the temple of God, he dwells in us, so we will, like those men, continually stay in the temple praising God.  

Burning Heart

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

BURNING HEART

Luke 24:13-32

13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him. 17 He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?" 19 "What things?" he asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see." 25 He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?"  27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. 28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"

NIV

A rather long and familiar story regarding Jesus appearing to these two men on the road to Emmaus. Luke seems to leave out his appearance to Mary in the garden near the tomb, but certainly conveys to us this encounter in rather detail. Either Luke was one of these two, or perhaps they gave such a detailed report to the rest of the disciples when they returned to Jerusalem with such great news that Jesus is alive. But why were they kept from knowing it was Jesus when he first came up to them? Did he look different in his resurrected state? It was the same body, but somehow they did not know it was him. Was Jesus testing their willingness to testify concerning himself? With his response it certainly seems he was not pleased they only reported the facts from the human perspective without seeing the spiritual significance of what had happened. He told them how foolish they were in not seeing all the truth about him. He told them all the scriptures, all prophesies concerning himself. They had all they needed to know and understand the truth about him, but they did not, even after hearing all he had to say. Is this our lesson? Certainly we are not kept from knowing him. Certainly no one is kept from knowing him for he did actually reveal himself to them in the breaking of bread. His intent was not to keep them in the dark, but in the light, his light. With all the scripture we have today, both all the words of the prophets and all the words of the apostles it would be certain anyone could find Jesus. But there is still nothing which replaces this personal breaking of bread with him, this moment of truth when he reveals himself in his glory. People can read all the scripture, from front to back and read only with human understanding still not knowing Jesus in a close and personal way, but when he reveals himself to someone they have that “aha moment”, a moment of sudden realization, inspiration, insight, recognition or comprehension.  This too relates to our witness, our storytelling of the account of Jesus and all that happened. We can relate this story in all its fullness, but the hearer needs to experience the revelation of Jesus, in a personal way in order to know deep within their heart, he is the Lord. Intelligence alone, the intellectual knowledge of the scriptures may enlighten the human mind with historical data, but unless they encounter Jesus revealing himself through the power of the Holy Spirit, they cannot truly know Christ. These men felt that burning in their hearts, the felt the Spirit doing what he does best, yet it still required Jesus to reveal himself. The truth is Jesus will always reveal himself if we are willing to see him. He will always find a way to show us who he is, especially if we have a burning within our hearts. 

Look and See

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

LOOK AND SEE

Luke 24:9-12

 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

NIV

It is a little odd that Luke does not record the fact that John ran to the tomb with Peter and that he arrived first but did not enter until Peter did. John does record that they did see the linen and did not understand that Jesus had risen from the dead. Here we see the women named who had gone to the tomb to finish the burial procedure with the spices and perfumes, but found it empty and as we have already seen, saw and heard from the messengers from God. Whether the women were talking coherently or talking with a great deal of excitement, it is clear the disciples did not believe them because their words seemed to them like nonsense. What exactly did the women say? Did they report the fact they had gone to the tomb and the stone was already rolled away? Did they report that when they went in, Jesus’s body was not there, only the linen he was wrapped in? Did they report the two messengers that shined like lighting speaking and telling them Jesus is not dead? What part of that did the disciples not believe? These are men who had been personally called by Jesus to follow him. These were men who had spent the past three years or so with him, listened to all his teachings, saw him heal people, even raise some from the dead. Did they not believe he too could be raised from the dead? Peter especially, who had answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” These men had heard Jesus tell them he would be handed over to the gentiles and he would die but on the three day be raised back up. Why did they not believe what the women told them? Is it just the ingrained personality of men, not to believe women? Is it because the women were not making any sense because they were too emotional? Even after Peter saw what the women had said about Jesus being gone, he still wondered what really happened. Why is it so difficult to except the truth? Why do we have to explain everything in human terms? Something supernatural occurred and these disciples just could not wrap their minds around it. Other accounts indicate they thought someone had stolen his body, trying to think in human terms how this could be. But God does not operate in human terms, although he created us. He created us to be spiritual beings living in a human form, just as he did in the form of Jesus. Instead of thinking in the natural, in the flesh, in human comprehension, we need to see ourselves first as spirits. Then we can comprehend the truths of God who moves in the spiritual realms, although he also intervenes in the natural realm as well, when it is necessary to make a point. Had Peter and the others been living in the spirit they would have understood what had happened. Of course the Spirit had not yet been given, but they were still a spiritual being created by God, but they were only living in the natural and therefore could not understand a spiritual truth. This is how we should be living, in the spirit as well as now we can also live in the Spirit, or rather the Spirit can live in us. If this is the case, then we do not have to be like Peter and the others, wondering what has happened. When we look with our natural eyes we can only see the natural, but when we look with our spiritual eyes we can see the truths of God, we can see the spiritual realm of God, and we can experience his kingdom. In the natural we can only look, but we do not see. In the spirit we have a vision undetected by human eyes. . In the spirit we can look and see.

Remember

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

REMEMBER

Luke 24:1-8

24:1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'"  8 Then they remembered his words.

NIV

It has begun, he is risen, he is risen indeed. It started with these women, but we know this became something far larger than anyone could have ever suspected, because this is God at work among his creation. God made sure these women understood what had happened, that Jesus had told them what was to happen and it did exactly as he said it would, and they remembered. They were given insight by messengers from God. We can be sure that any insight we have today about the spiritual truths of God are given to us by either his messengers, angels, or by himself as the Holy Spirit, who he has told us will lead us into all truth. The simple fact is Jesus is the flesh form of God who came to earth, died, was buried and came back to life on the third day. The angels made sure the women knew this to be true and they were now understanding this truth and we will see they went to tell the others. God reveals truth to us and we also understand. There are some mysteries we tell ourselves, but then we would have to say that the Spirit does not lead us into all truth, but to only some truth. But if we agreed that he only leads us into some truth, leaving other truths to be a mystery, then we would be saying the scripture has lied to us. This could lead us down a very wrong path. Because the Spirit does lead us into all truth, because God made sure these women understood the truth and because he continues to make sure we understand the truth, we need to know there is no mystery to anything concerning God and our relationship with him. We know all we need to know about God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. What we do not know or understand yet, the Spirit will make sure we do. We can have confidence that everything he has said happened and is going to happen, did and will happen. The messengers from God made sure these women understood that what Jesus said would happen, happened. There should be no doubt in our minds and hearts that everything else Jesus said, either himself or through his messengers will come true. This includes everything concerning both this world and us. We have all the information we will every need, but should we not remember all of it, the Spirit will speak to us and we will remember. 

Addendum:

Because he lives, I can face tomorrow

Because he lives, all fear is gone 

Because I know, I know,  he holds my future

And life is worth the living just because he lives.