Strength For These Days

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.

Revelation 1:3

As we begin reading Revelation there is blessing promised to us if we ‘take to heart’ what this book says. The events are approaching… the time is near.

A few verses later the Apostle John identifies himself as ‘your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus…’ (Revelation 1:9). Before we think that the blessing that’s promised is all about health and prosperity here and now, we read about the suffering that is ours in Jesus and the patient endurance that is needed to be citizens in this Kingdom.

We need patient endurance because of what this book describes. Revelation gives a powerful picture of Heaven and also the suffering that is a reality before we get there. The blessing that’s promised must be in knowing the end of the story and who the Victor is! We are given strength for these days because we know about that day! Taking these words to heart is all about that – living with eternity in mind. It’s about believing in God and His plan and remaining faithful to Him to the end.

To ‘encourage’ means to ‘fill with courage.’ The Book of Revelation does that! It encourages us and we are blessed.

Thank You, Father, for the encouragement of this Book. Thank You that Christ is the Victor! I live for Him this day…

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Faithful To The Truth

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

3 John 4

I get that. There is great joy in this with my biological children but also with those I’ve discipled along the way, which is what John is speaking of.

John is known for the theme of Love in his letters, but there’s another thread through 3 John: Truth

To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.

Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone—and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.

It is important to be like this man Gaius who was faithful to the truth and walked in it. Lies and deception are at every turn. Being founded and grounded in the truth is vitally important for me.

Father, thank You for Your Spirit who lives powerfully in me – that I can see as You see and understand what is true. Give me a perceptive heart, a discerning mind and a willing spirit so I can walk in Your truth today.

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Exclusive Truth Claims

Anyone who runs ahead of Jesus and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

2 John 9

How important is Jesus? Without Him you cannot be with God. Without Him you cannot be in His Presence or experience His goodness. Jesus said that He was ‘the way, the truth and the life’ and that nobody could come to the Father ‘except by me’ (John 14:6). Here in 2 John it’s expressed in verse 9. If you don’t continue in the teaching of Christ, you do not ‘have God.’ If you do continue in the teaching, you have both the Father and the Son.

This truth drives people crazy, I know. Our culture does not embrace exclusive truth claims. The only ‘absolute truth’ is that all truth is relative (smile). Our culture has ‘run ahead’ and no longer continues in the teaching of Jesus. Most everyone wants Jesus because of how great, awesome and loving He is, but not everyone has Him truly because they do not embrace His teaching.

God’s grace is amazing… and there is nothing that God won’t forgive by His grace. His grace is found in Jesus Christ, His Son, and through the blood that He shed on the cross for the sins of people. All people can receive forgiveness through the blood of Jesus. This requires the realization of sin and the need to have sins forgiven which requires humility before our Holy God. Not everyone will do this. What’s more, those who vocally oppose this truth will often claim ‘love.’ It doesn’t seem loving to speak of judgment against sin. I, however, can’t think of anything more loving than the cross of Jesus Christ.

I need to continue to live out the truth of Jesus and His teaching in my life. There’s no one like Him who has done what He has done. It is human pride to say anything differently. How arrogant it is, not to say that Christ is the only way, but that this way from God isn’t sufficient enough… or loving enough.

I have the tendency to downshift when people defuse the truth claims of Jesus. I need to see these as open doors for the Gospel instead! Always in love and with great respect, as Peter wrote (1 Peter 3:15), but never backing away from the truth about Christ.

Lord Jesus, fill me with Your Spirit today so that I can be both bold and loving – exactly as You were during Your earthly ministry. Make me like You! Thank You for the grace that I’ve found at the cross. There is no one like You and I live for You today…

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Doing What Is Right

This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

1 John 3:10

This verse is the conclusion of a passage about sin. We already have heard from the Apostle John that we all sin and if we claim that we don’t, we lie (1 John 1:8-10). Actually the text says that we make Him out to be a liar… which makes us the liar. There is no sinning with God. He is truth.

Here in chapter 3 John goes deeper into this subject of sin. His main thoughts are:
• Jesus came to remove sin from us (vs. 5)
• No one who is in relationship with Christ continues to sin. We will sin, but continuous sin does not mark the one who knows Jesus (vs 6,9)
• Righteousness and love for others indicate who the children of God are (vs. 10)

Externals do not make you acceptable before God Almighty – but they do show whether you are in relationship with Him or not.

I need to allow the good things that are coming from this relationship with Christ to be seen. Jesus said not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men to be seen by them (Matthew 6:1), but this does not mean that I hide those acts. Yes, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing (Matthew 6:3-4), but what does Jesus mean? He is talking about our motivation. If we do it for people to see, there's our reward.

Righteousness lived out among people is an indicator of a relationship with God. Righteousness lived out is encouraging to people (because they are blessed and helped by it!) and it points them to God. Since I am in a relationship with God, this will happen.

Lord Jesus, You are the Vine and I am one of Your branches (John 15:1). Any good thing that is produced by this branch will come from You. Make Yourself seen and known through me this day. Thank You for removing all of my sin from me! I live for You.

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Very Good Figs Or Rotting Strawberries

3 Then the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
“Figs,” I answered. “The good ones are very good, but the poor ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 5 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. 6 My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. 7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.
8 “ ‘But like the poor figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the Lord, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt.

Jeremiah 24:3-8

The good figs were very good. The bad ones were very bad. We had a similar experience with strawberries this week. I bought a little box of them but we did not eat them right away. Some were fine and some were just a little bad. We made quick judgments about which ones we would eat and the ones we wouldn’t.

In the ‘Baskets of Figs’ vision there are two baskets. When you see very good fruit there is an emotional response about them. The same is true for rotting fruit, but the emotion is very different! I think there were two baskets because when fruit begins to turn bad, it’s pervasive! All the fruit in the container begins to go south and each bad piece negatively affects the others. You could not have one basket of very good and very bad fruit. When this begins, the very good fruit is no longer very good! We did pick out some good strawberries but none of them were ‘very good.’ There’s a lesson here. Maybe about who your friends are…

What is intriguing to me this morning is how God ‘regards’ the good fruit. To these people who have been exiled by His own decision, God will:
• Watch over them
• Bring them back out of exile
• Build them up
• Plant (or establish) them
• Give them a heart to know Him!

Then God says these wonderful words:

They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

Jeremiah 24:7b

Once again we see the importance of relationship between God and His people. He wants them to be wholly devoted to Him… to seek Him with all their heart.

The leaders of the people are another story. The leaders who led the people astray God will regard them as the bad figs. The same emotional response to rotting fruit God has toward the King and his officials because they did not steward their authority well. The people wound up far from God because these leaders did not lead them in the things of God. So just as we throw out rotting strawberries, God treats these evil leaders.

9 I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, an object of ridicule and cursing, wherever I banish them. 10 I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their fathers.’

Jeremiah 24:9-10

Father, thank You for this heart that wants to know You. Thank You for being my God and allowing me to be Your son through Jesus. Help me to know and obey Your commands today. Help me be the kind of leader that points people to You, for You are the Giver of life and the One who brings meaning and purpose to us. Prune these branches and make us more fruitful, for Your glory.

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God's Decided To Be In A Relationship With You

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.

Psalm 67:1-2

These three requests are intertwined tightly and seem to me to be a single request. Or maybe three aspects or angles on the one. May God:
• Be gracious to us
• Bless us
• Make His face to shine upon us

If the last is an expression of God’s very Presence, which I think it is, then for sure He has been gracious to us! For sure He has blessed us! The idea that a person so unlike God could be in His very Presence – not a single time, barely escaping with his life, but as a lifestyle… as an everyday experience of walking with God – this is amazing! But how is it possible?

Answer: By His grace!

The Gospel (or Good News) of Jesus Christ is a message of God’s grace. He has pursued us with a persistent, amazing grace. God wants to walk in relationship with us. If we would seek Him with just a fraction of the energy He has pursued us with, that would be something great!

Jesus said, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

When we are not walking in relationship with Jesus, He’s not the one missing. We have wandered in some other direction. We have allowed other things to come in-between us and Him. Christ is still there, patient and gracious… waiting for us to seek Him. We need to pursue Him, pushing through the obstacles that keep us from being in this vital, everyday relationship with Him.

As we pray this prayer: “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us” (Psalm 67), we already know the answer. Because of His great love for us, Jesus will be gracious! He will bless us and live closely with us! He has already decided to do this. We need to decide that it’s a blessing we want.

When we walk in the light as He is in the light (1 John 1:7), notice the result:
• God’s ways and His salvation are made known on the earth (Psalm 67:2)
• We have fellowship with others who are pursuing God
• The blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin!

All of this (and more!) happens as we walk in daily relationship with the One who created us.

Lord Jesus, thank You for loving me in spite of my sin. I love You because You first loved me. You created this pathway where I can walk with You everyday. What a blessed man I am! Make Yourself known through me. Bring glory to Yourself and Your plan of salvation clear to others through my relationship with You. Help me to push through the things that keep me from You – especially the good and noble things! You alone are worthy… I live for You this day.

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How To Live A Life Of Worship

Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.

Psalm 105:1-4

This is a life of worship. The psalmists instructs us to:
• Give thanks to the Lord
• Call on His Name
• Make known (give testimony!) what He has done
• Sing!
• Tell His Story
• Glory in His Name
• Rejoice!
• Look to the Lord… seek Him…

In these few verses a life of worship is laid out. Here are the elements of living a life that magnifies the Savior. These half a dozen things are commanded for us to do. In doing them we bring glory to the One who made us. This is worship and He is worthy!

I want these phrases to describe my life. That I would be a person who continually seeks the Lord and His strength… that joy would be bubbling over in my life because I know Jesus – how cool! That I could sing and tell the story of God’s amazing love. That I could give thanks to Him and glory in His Name… there is no better life than this!

Thank you, Father, for this time with You. Thank You for Your powerful Word. Help me this day to live a life of worship to You.

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