The Book of Revelation – An Introduction

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The book of Revelation can be difficult to understand for a variety of reasons. Jesus told John to write it down for us, so it must be important. If we take the book piece by piece, we can obtain the wisdom that Jesus wanted us to have. And we are promised a blessing for reading and taking to heart the book of Revelation.

Let’s start with the basics. What is a revelation? Why does Jesus want us to know and understand this book?

We will start our journey at the beginning. Revelation chapter 1, verse 1 reads, “The revelation from 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 aloud 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.”

What is a revelation? The Greek word apokalypsis, where the book gets its name from, means an unveiling of something that was hidden. In verse 1, Jesus is unveiling or showing things to John so he can write it down and preserve it for us. This revelation was given to Jesus by God so that Jesus could show His servants. That’s us! We are the servants of Jesus.

God gave Jesus information that had been hidden so Jesus could tell us about what must soon take place. The word “soon” that is used in the Greek language does not mean in a little while or after a short amount of time has passed. It means impending. There are things that must occur before the return of Jesus and God wanted us to be shown those things. The book of Revelation shows us the future.

Jesus then took the information that God gave Him and made it known by sending an angel to John, a servant of Jesus. Next week, we will focus on John, who he was before this interaction and what happened to him after.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the Bible and the wisdom You have shared with us in it. Lord, help us to apply Your Word to our everyday lives. Lord, help us to understand and to embrace Your Word. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

Great Job On Taking That First Step!

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At some point in your life, you will most likely create a goal to improve something about your circumstances. It could be to spend more time reading the Bible, get an education or a better job, healthier eating habits, or to start exercising. Whatever that goal is, anytime you want to improve your life, it will be a struggle. This is for a number of reasons, changing habits and ways of thinking can be hard; it takes time and patience. If the goal is about growing closer to God or doing more work for His Kingdom, then the enemy will try to prevent you from achieving your goals. He may even use your loved ones to discourage you.

When you encounter issues after you have created your goal, focus on taking the first step. You have taken the time to think about a goal and how to make an improvement. There will be times when you do not feel like taking the next step or you do not know what to do next. When these times occur, pray and remember Zechariah‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬.

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. . .”. God celebrates us taking a step, He rejoices in seeing the work begin. But it is important to note that verse has more to it. Not only does God celebrate us just for trying, but He celebrates even the smallest effort.

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” Zechariah‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬. A plumb line was like a measuring stick. Zerubbabel picked up a measuring stick and God rejoiced! Just the fact that you make the effort to improve causes God to rejoice. The hardest step is the first and God is right there rejoicing that you are even getting ready to start.

And remember, no matter how bad we mess up or miss the mark, there is nothing at all that can separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus. Romans chapter 8, verse 38 says. ” . . . neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

That last portion of the promise is because we believe in Jesus. Once we believe in Jesus, there is absolutely nothing and no one that can ever separate us from the love of God.

Let’s pray. Thank You Jesus for celebrating our small beginnings. Thank You for loving us even when we fail or give up. As we try to improve ourselves, help us to keep our eyes on You, Jesus. In Your name we pray, amen.

How to Live a Successful Life – Part 2

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Sometimes understanding how God’s word applies to our lives today can be confusing. But God does not want us to be confused. In fact, the book of John chapter 10 in verse 10, Jesus says ” . . . The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus came so that we would have full lives; other translations refer to abundant lives. God tells us step by step how to live successful and abundant lives through His words in the Bible.

The book of Proverbs is full of wisdom, providing insight, knowledge and discernment. In Chapter 1 of the book in verse 10, we read about the kinds of people we should avoid and why. People will try hard to influence you, it may be subtle or it may be bold. Proverbs warns us that if sinful people try to persuade you to join them, resist them. Verse 11 in Proverbs helps us understand how they may try to convince you to join them.

“If they say, “Come along with us; let’s lie in wait for innocent blood, let’s ambush some harmless soul; 12 let’s swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; 13 we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder; 14 cast lots with us; we will all share the loot”— 15 do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths; 16 for their feet rush into evil, they are swift to shed blood. 17 How useless to spread a net where every bird can see it. 18 These men lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush only themselves! 19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the life of those who get it.”

These verses are talking about those who have bad intentions toward others, which can be anything from spreading gossip to stealing from someone to causing physical injury. Anything that is gained by hurting others will result in a curse on those who take such actions. The people who inflict the pain and hurt are impacting their own lives with their bad intentions.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the book of wisdom that we have in Proverbs. Lord, help us to apply what we read in our everyday lives. Lord help us to live disciplined and successful lives. Help us not to plan evil or join those who are doing evil but instead help us to embrace Your word. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, Amen.

How to Live a Successful Life

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Have you ever read the Bible or heard a sermon and thought, ‘How do I apply that in my life?’ Sometimes, depending on the Bible translation you are reading, understanding how God’s word applies to our lives today can be confusing. But God does not want us to be confused about how to live our best lives, He tells us step by step how to live successful lives.

The book of Proverbs is full of wisdom, providing insight, knowledge and discernment. Chapter 1, verses 2 through 6 help us understand what the book of Proverbs is even for. The purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help us understand the insights of the wise, how to live disciplined and successful lives, and to help us do what is right, just, and fair.

The Proverbs are for the young, the old, smart people, those who think they are smart and the foolish. If you are thinking, ‘I am already very wise’, then may the wise listen and apply the Proverbs and become even wiser.

The first proverb that we can apply in our lives is Proverbs 1:7, “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” We are to fear or honor or revere the Lord, which means we are to respect and obey Him, His word and His Son, Jesus. If we want true knowledge, we must first honor the Lord and do what His word says. If we reject God’s word by denying it is truth or we read it and do not obey it, then we despise discipline, which makes us fools and unable to obtain wisdom. Without wisdom, it is impossible to live a successful life.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the book of wisdom that we have in Proverbs. Lord, help us to apply what we read in our everyday lives. Lord, help us to live disciplined and successful lives. Help us not to be fools but instead help us to embrace Your word. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

Why Did God Forsake Jesus?

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The definition of “forsake” is to abandon, give up on or renounce something or someone. Why did God forsake Jesus and how do we know that happened?

As Jesus was on the cross dying, He asked God why God had forsaken Him. The book of Matthew chapter 27, verse 45 says, “From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).”

1 Peter 2:24 says, “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” Jesus literally took on our sins, yours and mine. He chose to pick them up and place them on Himself. Jesus was without sin, but He chose to carry our sins to the cross. God cannot be in the presence of sin. When Jesus took our sins onto Himself, God the Father had to turn away from Jesus, He had to forsake Him.

Jesus endured the cross because of His love for you and because He knew once He had given His life as a sacrifice, we would be healed from our sins. Because Jesus died for us, God will never leave us or forsake us, (Deuteronomy 31:8). In fact, there is nothing at all that can separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus. Romans chapter 8, verse 38 says. ” . . . neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

That last portion of the promise is because we believe in Jesus. Once we believe in Jesus, there is absolutely nothing and no one that can ever separate us from the love of God. Never.

Let’s pray. Thank You Jesus for taking on the sins of each one of us. All we have to do is believe in you. Help us to keep our eyes on You, Jesus. In Your name we pray, amen.

What Do We Do Now?

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There are so many things going on in the world around us. Sometimes we have seen or heard or experienced things in life and we do not know what to do next. Each day can be confusing, tiring, or overwhelming leading us to ask the question, ‘What do we do now?’

In the book of Titus, chapter 2 in verse 12, we read, “And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.”

 When we are in doubt of what to do, we can look to these verses for steps to take. First, we should reflect on our lives and assess if we are committing sins that cause us to be living godless lives. If so, we are to turn from such living and sinful pleasures. Second, we are to focus on living with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God. The Bible confirms that taking these steps and following the word of God will require focus and being intentional because we are living in an evil world. Third, while we turn from sinful living and turn toward living with devotion to God, we are to look forward with hope to that wonderful day when our Savior, Jesus Christ, returns. We should remember that while we are living in an evil world, it is temporary. Jesus gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. The last step is to relentlessly pursue doing good deeds every day.

Let’s pray. Thank You Jesus for freeing us by taking on the sins of each one of us. All we have to do is believe in you and we are freed. Help us to keep our eyes on You, Jesus. In Your name we pray, amen.

To live with Christ, we must die with Him.

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The book of Colossians chapter 3 says that once we believe in Jesus as our Savior, we die. What does this mean and what does this look like in the daily life of a Christian?

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

In the daily life of a Christian, we must ask God for the wisdom to see what parts of our old life lives on. We need to pray to God to see what of these things we have in our hearts: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language or telling lies. 

Let’s pray. Thank You Jesus that You died for us. Thank You that You tell us exactly what parts of us need to die – anger, immorality, greed. Help our hearts and minds to see what parts of ourselves we must leave behind as we follow You. Help us to keep our eyes on You. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.