War Against the Saints

Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 7:49 a.m. – The Lord woke me with the song, “Fully Surrendered,” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Revelation 13-14 (quoting selected passages from the NIV 1984):

The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. 6 He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.

9 He who has an ear, let him hear.

10 If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity he will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword he will be killed.

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints…

1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless…

A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10 he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name.” 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.

My Understanding: As I prayerfully read through the words to the song, “Fully Surrendered,” and then I read these two chapters of scripture, I realized that the Lord would have me focus this morning on what it means to be one of his saints, and how these godly characteristics are essential to surviving and overcoming the devil, who is out to get the children of God, and to conquer them. So, I am going to prayerfully examine this morning the various characteristic traits of a true saint of God, and why it is necessary to have these traits if we are to be overcomers in these evil days in which we live.

God’s Name on Foreheads

The Lamb is Jesus Christ, who was slain (crucified) as the sacrifice for the sins of the entire world. When he died, our sins died with him, and when he arose from the dead, he conquered Satan, death, hell and sin so that we could go free from the control of sin over our daily lives, be free to worship and obey our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and so we could go free from the ultimate penalty of sin, eternal torment in the lake of fire. The Lamb and those who had the name of the Lamb and God the Father written on their foreheads were standing on Mt Zion. Mount Zion was a physical place in Jerusalem and came to be synonymous with Jerusalem, but now it is a spiritual place, i.e. it stands for the New Jerusalem, the holy city, the city on a hill, i.e. God’s eternal kingdom made up of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – and the true followers of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God’s eternal kingdom, and his followers are his body, the true church.

To stand upon something means to fight resolutely, to hold to a belief, to be a witness, to take a particular position on something (attitude; viewpoint; outlook). So, I believe Jesus and his followers standing on Mt Zion has to do with a resolute (determined and purposeful) commitment to the kingdom of God and to all that it entails in thought, word and deed. This means that the saints of God will be one in heart and mind in commitment to the kingdom of God with Jesus Christ and God the Father, and they will be committed to living out the gospel in their own lives, and to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in word with a world in need of a Savior. As well, a person’s name is their character and their word on something, so for the saints of God to have the name of the Lamb and of the Father written on their foreheads, I believe means that the character, truth and word of God are indelibly imprinted on their minds, attitudes, behaviors and actions. Jesus Christ and God the Father are with them in their minds and in their hearts always directing, giving counsel, leading, guiding, convicting, encouraging, and giving much hope and healing in times of great difficulty.

Undefiled and Pure

For the saints of God to be undefiled means that they are not corrupted or ruined, damaged or destroyed, or polluted by the world of evil and the evil world’s system. The scriptures teach that when we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we are crucified with Christ so that we (our flesh natures) no longer live, but Christ lives in us and we live by his power and strength within us. It teaches us that coming to Christ means to forsake our old lives of sin, to be renewed in our minds (thinking and behavior) by the working and power of the Holy Spirit within us, and to put on Christ and his purity and righteousness so that he lives in us and we (our flesh natures) are crucified and no longer live. Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny himself and take up his cross (die to self and sin) daily and follow (obey) him. He said if we want to hold on to our old lives of sin that we will lose our lives, but if we put to death the old life of sin, then we will find our lives in Christ Jesus. John said that if we love the world – its evil passions and desires – that the love of God is not in us. We cannot love the world and love God, too. In Romans we learn that we are to present ourselves as living sacrifices to God (his firstfruits), holy and pleasing to him, for this is our reasonable service of worship. We are to no longer be conformed to this sinful world’s pattern (design; shape; model; blueprint; guide; plan), but we are to be transformed in the renewing of our minds. This is what it means to be pure.

Follow the Lamb

Again, Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny (reject; disallow) himself (his sinful and selfish ways), and he must take up his cross (die to self and sin) daily and follow (obey) him. When Jesus called his disciples, he told them to follow him, and they left everything they had to follow him. Luke recorded in chapter 9 of Luke that a man told Jesus that he would follow him wherever he went. Jesus replied to the man by letting him know that he had no place to lay his head, i.e. he had no home on this earth, so following Jesus would mean not having security in this earthly life. Jesus told another man, “Follow me.” The man responded by saying he wanted to wait until his father had died and he had buried him, but Jesus told him to let the dead bury their own dead, but that he was to go and proclaim the kingdom of God. Following Jesus sometimes means leaving our parents and/or adult children behind us and going wherever the Lord leads us. Another person said he would follow Jesus, but he first wanted to say “good-bye” to his family. Jesus replied by letting him know that he could not have divided loyalties if he was to be fit for service in the kingdom of God. He had to know what his mission was and he had to stay the course. There is no room for vacillating (indecisiveness; hesitancy; being wishy-washy) if we are truly to be Christ’s followers in going wherever he sends us, saying what he commands us to say, and doing all that he requires of us to do. We can’t serve two masters. We must have undivided hearts and loyalty to Jesus Christ if we are to be his true followers.

Obey God’s Commandments

Jesus said that if anyone is to come after him, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow (in obedience) Jesus Christ. The Great Commission of Jesus Christ to his disciples tells us in Matthew 28:19-20 that we are to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything Christ has commanded us. Jesus said that if we love him, we will obey what he commands (John 14:15), and his teaching (John 14:23). Jesus said that if we obey his commands, we will remain in his love (John 15:10). Peter and the other apostles said they must obey God rather than men, and then they told about Jesus being crucified and the one who gives repentance (the ability for us to turn from our sins) and forgiveness of sins, and who gives his Holy Spirit to those who OBEY him (Acts 5:29-32). Paul declared Jesus Christ revealed, so that all nations might believe and OBEY him (Ro. 16:26). When Jesus Christ returns, he will punish those who do not know God and do not OBEY the gospel of our Lord Jesus (2 Thess. 1:8). John said that we know we have come to know Christ if we OBEY his commands. He said that those who OBEY Christ’s commands live in him, and he in them. And he said that love for God is to OBEY his commands (1 John 2:3; 3:24; 5:3).

Remain Faithful to Jesus Christ

John, in Revelation 14, said that “This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.” To remain faithful means to be loyal, devoted, trustworthy, reliable, dedicated, committed, true, constant, and unwavering (not vacillating) in faith, commitment and practice; and being resolute (determined) in one’s belief in Jesus Christ, as evidenced in one’s lifestyle, words and deeds. These are saints of God with undivided hearts who think about, obey, worship, and serve their Lord Jesus day and night in unbridled devotion and with purity of heart and reverence for Almighty God. They have a heart desire to please God in all things and to do his will for their lives – to be his witnesses, to love others, to minister to other’s needs, to go where he wants them to go, to say what he wants them to say and to be who he wants them to be without fear of man and what man might think of them or what man might say about or do to them, because they are resolute in their commitments to follow the Lord Jesus.

Patient Endurance

To be patient is a difficult virtue for most people, I think, but it means to be able to wait for someone or something without becoming fearful, annoyed or upset. It involves perseverance, which means to persist in an action or belief despite problems or difficulties. And endurance involves bearing up under hardship without giving up.

If we are to have this kind of patient endurance to the end, which we need now to fight off Satan’s evil attacks, and will especially need if we are still here during the time of the Great Tribulation when Satan rules, we will need to first of all have these other characteristic traits of the saints of God. We must be sealed in Christ with his divine character indelibly imprinted on our hearts and minds, as evidenced in our lifestyles. We must be unpolluted by the evil world and its evil world system, not loving the world, but loving God; not living for pleasure, but living for God and for his desires for our lives. We must follow Jesus Christ wherever he leads us with undivided hearts and loyalty, and with unbridled devotion to him and to his will for our lives. We must obey his commands – be doers of the word, and not hearers only. And, we must remain faithful to Jesus Christ in all we do, making him truly the Lord and Master of our lives. Then, we can endure patiently all that Satan will throw at us, and we will be able to stand in the day of evil, and to be resolute in the battle for our faith in Christ Jesus, because Jesus Christ reigns and rules in our hearts and lives and he will give us all we need to stand against all the evil forces coming against us.

Fully Surrendered / Alfred C. Snead / George C. Stebbins

Fully surrendered—Lord, I would be,
Fully surrendered, dear Lord, to Thee.
All on the altar laid,
Surrender fully made,
Thou hast my ransom paid;
I yield to Thee.

Fully surrendered—life, time, and all,
All Thou hast given me held at Thy call.
Speak but the word to me,
Gladly I'll follow Thee,
Now and eternally
Obey my Lord.

Fully surrendered—silver and gold,
His, who hath given me riches untold.
All, all belong to Thee,
For Thou didst purchase me,
Thine evermore to be,
Jesus, my Lord.

Fully surrendered—Lord, I am Thine;
Fully surrendered, Savior divine!
Live Thou Thy life in me;
All fullness dwells in Thee;
Not I, but Christ in me,
Christ all in all.

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/442#ixzz1FB6YmZcT

*All definitions taken from Encarta Dictionary.

The Flood

Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 8:03 a.m. – The song, “Jesus, Lead Me,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. I also woke out of a dream. The dream is based off of a real life and factual situation, though the actual scene in the dream did not take place.

THE DREAM: I was with someone at Toccoa Falls College, in Toccoa Falls, Georgia. I told the person the name of the school, which used to be called Toccoa Falls Bible College, and then I told the person that my daughter, sister, brother-in-law, and daughter-in-law’s sister had each attended there at one time. [Three of them graduated from there.]

Then I told this person about the Toccoa Falls, and how there used to be a dam at the top of the falls, over which the water had freely flowed, but that one day the dam broke, and the water from the top deluged down upon the campus and flooded it, and that many students, in particular the married students, were killed that day. The married students were particularly vulnerable because many of them lived in mobile homes.

As well, I told the person that this happened in 1977 (November 6th, exactly). I may have also told him or her that my husband and I were considering TFC for my husband to attend the school term of 1977/78, but we ended up on another campus, instead, because my husband was not able to find employment in Toccoa. So, we could have been there with our two children during the flood, but by God’s providence, we were not. END

Stories about the flood: http://daretohopejournal.com/Toccoa_Falls_Flood.html
http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/110302/dss_10857858.shtml

These are not some of the best stories I have read about the flood, but from what I remember of what I have read, the students that lost family members and friends in the flood were not bitter against God, but they praised God through the storm of their lives, trusted the Lord with their circumstances, and grew stronger in their relationships with Jesus Christ, and even led many others to faith in Jesus Christ because of what had happened, and because of how the students responded to this time of tragedy in their lives.

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Revelation 12:

The Woman and the Dragon

A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Christ.
For the accuser of our brothers,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
They overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.”

When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

My Understanding: The dragon is Satan, yet he has kings and kingdoms under his control, which do his bidding. The dragon (Satan, the devil, Lucifer) was once a powerful angel in heaven, but he wanted to be God and he raised himself up against God, along with his angels, and so God hurled him and his angels down to earth, where he now leads the world astray. The dragon stands in direct opposition to Jesus Christ and to his followers. He is the great accuser of Christ’s disciples, i.e. true believers in Jesus. The dragon, Satan, is filled with fury against God and against God’s children, the saints of Almighty God, and true followers of Jesus Christ, yet he knows his time is short, which is why he is filled with fury.

The woman is Israel. She gave birth to Jesus Christ and to the church, the woman’s offspring. Jesus Christ came to the earth, was born as a baby, took on human flesh, became a man, suffered as we suffer and was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin. He was crucified on a cross as a common criminal, even though he had committed no wrong. They hung him on that cross because they hated him for his life and his testimony. When Jesus died on the cross, he took upon himself all our sins, so that our sins died with him and were buried with him. Then, he arose from the grave, triumphing over death, hell, Satan and sin. He returned to the Father in heaven, and he sent His Holy Spirit to indwell and to empower the lives of his true followers. And, one day Jesus will return to the earth to gather his bride and to rule the world with an iron scepter. His saints will then reign with him on the earth.

The dragon is in constant pursuit of the woman and her offspring, i.e. spiritual Israel. Physical Israel is no longer God’s people because, as a nation, and as a people as whole, they refused to believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah, though there are many individual believing Jews today. Those who continue in disbelief are numbered among the Gentiles, i.e. unbelievers. So, the woman, and the offspring, that Satan is now pursuing is spiritual Israel, the church, the only true Israel, according to scripture. Only true believers in Jesus Christ, i.e. those who obey God’s commandments and hold to (embrace; incorporate; accept; adopt; and welcome) the testimony of Jesus, stand as a threat to Satan and his kingdom. They are the ones the dragon is after to try to destroy and whom he is making war against.

Yet, even though we have a great and powerful enemy – Satan – God is over all things and Satan and his kings and kingdoms are only given authority to do what they do because God allows it for a time. So, we have no need to fear Satan or his attempts to destroy us, because greater is He who is within us (true believers in Jesus) than he who is in the world. There is no temptation or trial that we go through but what God’s grace can handle it and He can bring us through safely into His Kingdom. We are able to overcome Satan, the dragon, by the blood of the Lamb, because of what Jesus did for us in conquering Satan and sin, and through our faith in and testimony for Jesus Christ. This kind of faith refuses to love our own lives more than we love Jesus, and is the kind of faith that brings our old sinful natures to the cross of Christ and that leaves our old lives behind and walks humbly before God in obedience to his commands. This faith will die for Jesus Christ rather than deny Him.

Today’s Dream – The first thing I noted in this passage of scripture in relation to this dream, and to the events of November 6, 1977 on the campus of TFBC, was how the students on this campus at the time of the flood, and their family members, exemplified what this voice in heaven said (beginning with verse 10), when it spoke of how the faithful followers of Jesus Christ overcame Satan, their accuser, by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, which these students gave during and following the flood. When it said, “They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death,” it brought to mind one of the stories of a wife and mother with two small children telling her children they were about to meet Jesus, and then they were swept away by the flood.

In verses 15-17 it says that the serpent spewed water like a river, from his mouth, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with a torrent. “But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring – those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”

Toccoa Falls Bible College was a training ground for future pastors, Christian workers and missionaries, who went throughout the world preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. It appears to me that the Lord is giving me a picture here of this physical flood as Satan’s attempt to destroy the woman – the church – in an attempt to halt the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but it backfired on him, because they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. He probably thought he could get them to curse God for allowing this flood to take place, but it appears to me from what I have read that just the opposite took place, and what Satan meant for evil, God meant for good.

Yet, I also saw this flood in more of a figurative sense, as the rage and fury of the water was described as that of a Tsunami coming down upon this Bible college campus, and Satan’s accusations, tricks and attempts to destroy God’s church come also with the fury of the force of these waters dumping down upon God’s holy church. He is filled with fury, because he knows his time is short, yet we can overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and by our testimony. And, his fury will backfire on him, because the church will be revived and people will come to faith in Christ through the testimony of the survivors. So, this is an encouragement to all of us to not let Satan’s fury discourage us or to get us to retreat, but instead we should remain faithful to Jesus Christ, and through our testimony for him defeat Satan’s attempts to try to destroy the work of God through his holy church.

A time of great tribulation is coming on the earth. I believe we are not far from that time. God is calling out to his children to turn from their sins and to return to following him with their whole hearts and minds. God’s grace is so amazing when we come to him in repentance and obedience and he forgives our sin. May we all be walking in the way the Lord Jesus Christ would lead us to go from this day forward so we can also defeat Satan.

Jesus, Lead Me / An Original Work / July 22, 2011

Jesus, lead me all the way.
Be my hope and be my stay.
Gently lead me where I should go,
So Your Spirit, I want to know.
Open up my heart to You.
Fill me with Your love and truth.
Make my heart want to obey.
Be my Lord today. Gently lead always.

Jesus, lover of my soul,
Cleanse my heart, and make me whole;
Be transformed in my heart today,
As I turn from my sin and pray.
Make Your will known to my heart.
May I not from You depart.
How I long to hear You now,
As I humbly bow. Jesus, hear me now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTIM16o9ldg

White Robes

Sunday, February 26, 2012, 6:12 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song, “I Will Uphold You,” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Revelation 7 (NIV 1984):

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” 4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.

The Great Multitude in White Robes

9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”

11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:

“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”

13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”

14 I answered, “Sir, you know.”

And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore,

“they are before the throne of God
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.
16 Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat upon them,
nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;
he will lead them to springs of living water.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

My Understanding: Jacob, who was later named Israel, had twelve sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph and Benjamin. When the twelve tribes of Israel were formed, Levi, who represented the priests, and Joseph were not among the twelve tribes, but rather Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, were named among the twelve tribes in place of Joseph and Levi. So, it is interesting to note that in this list of all the tribes of Israel in Revelation, Levi and Joseph are included, and Ephraim and Dan are excluded, so this is basically a complete list of Jacob’s sons with Manasseh (Joseph’s son) listed in place of Dan. So, while some scholars believe that this literally represents the twelve tribes of the physical nation of Israel, others believe that this list is representative of all of Israel, i.e. of all of true Israel, which are those who have turned to faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior.

God held back his judgments on the earth until a seal had been put on the foreheads of “the servants of our God.” The true servants of God are those who have put their hope, faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of their lives, by God’s grace and through faith.

Ephesians 4:22-24 says this about how we come to know Christ as Savior and Lord:

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Those who are servants of the Lord, thus, are those who have turned from their lives of sin, they have been made new by the power of the working of the Holy Spirit in their hearts and minds, and they have turned to walk in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ. Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Christ. Whoever would try to hold on to his old life of sin would lose his life, but whoever would forsake his life of sin to follow (obey) Christ, he would find his life.

Since this (above) is what it means to be a servant of God, then this list in Revelation must be representative of all those, at the time this occurs, who are true followers of Jesus Christ. They will have the seal of the living God put on their foreheads, which represents the Lord’s name being stamped on the foreheads of his servants (his followers). In Ezekiel 9:4, it is recorded that God did something similar when he told the man clothed in linen to:

“Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”

I believe this is a mark of a true follower of Jesus Christ. He or she will be one who will feel passionately what God feels with regard to sin, especially with regard to unchecked sin that has been allowed to go on within the church. Following this marking of the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things going on within God’s holy city, (the church today, i.e. the new Jerusalem), was a great judgment, beginning with God’s sanctuary and with the elders who were in front of the temple. God takes sin within his temple (now our hearts; his church) very seriously. And, he wants us to take it just as seriously as he does.

White Robes

The scene then shifts from the sealing of all the tribes of Israel to a great multitude from every tribe, nation, people and language. They were wearing white robes, and they were standing before the throne of God and in front of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, who was slain (crucified) for our sins. They were the ones who had come out of the great tribulation and had washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. These were the Lord’s servants, his followers. They serve him day and night in his temple, and they fall under the spiritual protection of the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for their sins, and who set them free from the power of sin, and free to worship and to serve their God. Not only do they serve God in heaven, but they were his servants on the earth, who served him night and day in his temple (the true church; and/or in their hearts). Remember when Jesus said about the self-righteous – “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me”? True worship begins in our hearts in our times of personal and intimate communion with our Lord Jesus, and then is lived out in our obedience to him.

Those servants of the Lord dressed in white robes declared the praises of God and told of his salvation. True servants of the Lord not only serve the Lord Jesus day and night in their hearts (true devotion to God) and in the true church, Christ’s body, the family of God, but they proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ so that others may come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior. They are his faithful servants and witnesses.

For those who are the Lord’s true servants, many great and precious promises have been given. We have the love and care and spiritual protection of our Lord while we are still on the face of this earth, and we have the promise and hope of eternal life with God in heaven one day when he takes us to be with him. And, added to that, we have the promise that we will never hunger or thirst again; we won’t have to deal with the forces of nature, including the sin nature; the Lord Jesus will be our only shepherd (pastor), and he will lead us to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. That is awesome!

I Will Uphold You / An Original Work / November 4, 2011

Based off of Isaiah 41:8-20; Ephesians 6:10-18

You are My servant; I’ve chosen you.
I’ve not rejected you; I’ve been true.
Do not be fearful; I am with you.
Don’t be alarmed, for I am your God.
I will give you strength, and will help you.
I will uphold you with My right hand.

All who’re against you will be disgraced.
Those who oppose you, they will perish.
Enemies you search, but will not find.
They war against you; nothing will be.
I am your Lord God, who takes your hand;
Says, “Do not fear, for I will help you.”

The poor and needy, water they need.
Their tongues are thirsty; no drop to drink.
I will give answer; not forsake them.
I will make rivers flow from within.
My living water I will outpour
On those who seek Me; and Me adore.

Jesus provided the sacrifice;
For our sins blood bought; He paid the price,
So we’re forgiven all of our sins,
When we invite Him to come within.
He cleanses us from our impure hearts.
His life within us gives a new start.

http://youtu.be/i0LFPI-isSU

Praise the I AM

I have been reading in Revelation about the power and majesty of God, and of Jesus Christ, God the Son. Jesus, the Lamb of God, was the only one worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because he was slain, and with his blood he purchased men for God. He made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and we will reign with Christ on the earth. The Lamb, who was slain, is worthy “to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” This song, “Praise the ‘I AM’,” is also a song of praise to Jesus Christ, my Savior, who is my gracious Redeemer, who, by his grace, pardoned me, forgave my sin and he set me free! Now, I am His servant and witness.


Praise the “I AM!” / An Original Work / February 24, 2012

Jesus, my Savior, full of compassion,
Glorious in power, mighty in strength;
Gracious Redeemer, mighty deliv’rer,
My heart adores Him. Praise to His name!
Perfect salvation my Lord provided
When He died for my sins on a tree;
Crucified my sins; conquered in vict’ry,
When He arose, so I could be free!

I am so thankful for His forgiveness;
Grateful that He chose to pardon me,
Giving me new life full in His Spirit,
So I can serve Him; His servant be!
Walking in daily fellowship with Him,
Obeying Him whate’er He commands;
Forsaking my sins, living in freedom,
I will endure with Him to the end!

He gives me peace and calm reassurance
In times of sorrow, or in distress.
His grace is sure, and oh, how sufficient
To meet me in my need for sweet rest.
Oh, how I love You, Jesus, my Savior.
My heart longs for You where’er I am.
Your word is precious; speaks to my spirit;
Brings comfort, healing. Praise the “I AM!”

Song lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music (free)

Song on video

http://www.godcares.tv/video/1377/Praise-the-I-AM

The Laodicean Church USA

Thursday, February 23, 2012, 7:35 a.m. – The song, “You are Loving and Forgiving,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Revelation 3:14-22:

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

My Understanding: Laodicea was an extremely wealthy city. It was known for its textile industry, its medical school, and its banking industry. Its medical school evidently produced some kind of eye salve. The city was also a significant center for trade. As well, Zeus, apparently, was worshiped in the city of Laodicea. Zeus, in ancient Greece, was known as the “Father of gods and men.” He was their supreme god over all of their other gods.

The letter is written to the church in Laodicea. The speaker (writer) is actually Jesus Christ. He is the “Amen,” meaning “so be it.” Amen is a word used to affirm the truth of something, or is used to express strong agreement with something (source: Encarta dictionary). We say “amen” at the end of our prayers by habit or by practice, but I wonder how often we really think about what it means. Jesus is the “Amen,” i.e. he is the truth, he is the source of all truth, and he is the one who has absolute divine power to act in man’s behalf.

He is the faithful (loyal; trustworthy; and reliable) and true (correct; right; authentic) witness (one who tells what he has seen and heard; who gives testimony). He is the creator of the entire universe, and he rules supreme over all that he created. Nothing exists that he does not allow for a time, for his purpose, and for his glory. He has divine power over the works of men, and over all that is evil. We can absolutely rely upon his sovereignty over all things. And, we can definitely trust that he will do all that he said he would do. This was important for the Laodicean church to know, so that they took his words seriously, i.e. to heart.

Lukewarm

Of the seven churches, this was the only one about which Jesus had nothing positive to say. He said he knew their deeds, i.e. he knows everything about us, and he pays attention to what we do. He said they were neither cold nor hot. He wished they were one or the other. But, instead, they were half way in between. They were lukewarm.

There are many and varied interpretations of what this means, yet I will share with you what I believe it means. First of all, Encarta dictionary defines lukewarm as “showing or having little enthusiasm, interest, support, or conviction.” I think that is a pretty accurate picture of lukewarm. They were neither on fire for God and filled with passionate desire for him and for his service, nor were they entirely cold toward him, i.e. they were not completely indifferent to him and to the gospel. Encarta defines “cold” as “feeling or exhibiting no friendship or sense of caring.” So, there was obviously some sense of feeling or kinship toward Jesus Christ, though it was severely limited.

I believe the reason Jesus wished they were either hot (on fire for him) or cold (completely indifferent to him) is because that would mean that they were either walking in obedience to him or they fully recognized their own spiritual state, and thus were reachable. The hardest people to reach with the gospel are not the ones who know they are unbelievers, but those who think they are ok with God when they are truly not. That is why I believe he wished they were one or the other, because if they were cold, they would know they were cold and thus could be reached. Those who are lukewarm, nonetheless, often have the false notion that they are truly in a right relationship with Jesus Christ, so they are self-deceived and thus much harder to reach with the truth.

The Church in the USA

I believe the church in the USA, overall, can be characterized as a Laodicean church. First of all, we are probably the wealthiest nation on the face of the earth. We have a reputation as a nation with a high education level, and we excel in many fields such as medicine, technology, banking, automobiles, fuel, power supply, our super markets, and communication, among many others. We have held “Super Power” status worldwide since WWII, and we have definitely flexed our military muscle throughout the globe many times over. We are a nation that feels pretty self-sufficient. We also have given ourselves the reputation of being a “Christian nation,” and have “In God We Trust” printed on our money. Our national pledge to the flag of the USA states that we are “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” So, we feel as though we are a pretty religious nation that believes in the one true God. We also feel as though we have God’s blessings. And, we believe, overall, that our nation was founded upon Christian principles and beliefs.

Yet, from the very beginning of our nation, there has been a blending of religion, i.e. there has been the image our government presented for its people to believe, yet lying underneath, though still in plain sight, is the worship of Satan and of false gods. If we do the research, we will learn about the layout of D.C. and its symbolism, the symbolism behind the buildings and the statues and the monuments, many of which were patterned after Greek and Egyptian gods and goddesses, and we will learn of the Satanic, Occultist, and Freemasonry roots and symbols of our nation and its leaders, and of the “god” in whom our leaders truly have placed their trust. See: Roman fasces (in Congress on either side of U.S. flag) - http://jamesirvinggreene.blogspot.com/2008/08/roman-fasces.html; History of the U.N. - http://www.crossroad.to/Excerpts/chronologies/un.htm; Layout of D.C. - http://www.freemasonrywatch.org/washington.html; and Masonic foundations of the U.S. - http://watch.pair.com/mason.html, etc.

The church, overall, in the USA reflects this blending of religion and this blending of the world culture with the culture of the church. The true church, i.e. the people of God in the New Testament began by meeting from house to house and in the temple courts. They met for the teaching of the word, fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer. They shared with everyone as they had need. They used their spiritual gifts within the body of Christ for the edification and nurturing of the body. They operated as one body, too, with various parts which did not all have the same function. They also recognized that it was the Holy Spirit who was the source of all gifts, and that he assigned people the gifts and ministries he wanted them to have. They were not perfect nor without problems, though.

The Church, Inc.

Today’s church in the USA, though, has moved away from this New Testament model of what the church is supposed to be as a working body of Christ. Instead, the church has turned itself into corporations (businesses) of men under the authority of the US government. And, the church operates itself just as though it is a secular business, for the most part. The church utilizes human marketing techniques (schemes) for attracting people to their businesses, even to the exclusion of the teaching of scripture. They focus much attention on the Big Show, i.e. the main service, and to the presentation of the music and the preaching, and to having something that will draw in large crowds of people.

They use worldly means to attract the world, but what are they attracting the world to? - A business; an organization of men; a social club, but not to the true church. The way into the church is via the cross, and the Bible says the cross is an offense to those who are perishing. The church also waters down the gospel to where it barely even resembles the true gospel. Words such as sin, repentance and obedience are taboo. Much of today’s church teaches that repentance and obedience to Christ are not necessary for salvation and that Christ is pleased with us no matter what we do. Well, if we read just the letters to the churches in Revelation, we know that is not true. Yet, it explains why the church today is lukewarm.

Forcefully Expel

Jesus said that because they were lukewarm, he was about to spit them out of his mouth. I have tasted lukewarm water before, and that is exactly the response I have had. To spit is to expel forcefully. To expel is to eject; oust; force out. A mouth can be an entrance; opening; doorway, as well as it is the body part through which we speak. Truly he is saying here that he is about to forcefully expel them from his presence; and from his acknowledgment of them through some kind of divine judgment. And, I believe the Lord Jesus is giving this same message to his Laodicean church in the USA today. If we, as the church, do not wake up, and we do not take God seriously, and we don’t repent of our sins of complacency and spiritual lukewarmness, we will be judged most severely. Yet, the purpose of the judgment is to bring us back into a right relationship with God, so its motivation is love and its goal is forgiveness and restoration once we repent. Jesus said that those he loves he rebukes and disciplines, “so be earnest, and repent.”

He said he is standing at the door and is knocking. Many interpret this as the door to the hearts of unbelievers, yet Jesus is addressing this to his lukewarm church. An unbeliever would be one who is cold toward the gospel. Yet Jesus is standing at the door of the hearts of those who are complacent and who have gotten caught up in worldliness and who have even given approval to the watered-down gospel, because they have been deceived and have believed the lies of men. He wants us to wake up from our slumber and to get on fire for him, because a church that is lukewarm is useless to him and to his kingdom work. If the church in the USA would truly open its heart to Jesus (who he really is and what he truly taught), then they would experience true intimate fellowship with him, they would hear his voice, they would know his will, they would obey him fully, and they would no longer be lukewarm and useless to him, but would be fruit-bearing disciples for his kingdom.

As in all the letters to the churches, Jesus concluded the letter with an encouragement to the church to be overcomers against Satan and sin, and to live victorious Christian lives in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ. For those who turned from their sin (repented) and walked in obedience to Christ - for this is what it truly means to overcome - they would have the hope of eternal life with God. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” May we put into practice what Jesus taught his lukewarm church.

You are Loving and Forgiving / An Original Work / February 19, 2012

Based off Psalm 86

You are loving and forgiving,
Jesus, Savior, King of kings.
You provided our redemption.
By Your blood You set us free.
You are gracious; full of mercy.
No deeds can compare with Yours.
Great are You; there is none like You.
Glory be to Your name.

Teach me Your way, and I’ll walk in it.
O Lord, I will walk in Your truth.
May I not have a heart divided,
That Your name I give honor to.
I will praise You, O Lord, my Savior,
For great is Your love toward me.
You have delivered me from my sins.
Your grace has pardoned me.

You, O Lord, are full of compassion,
Slow to anger, bounteous in love;
Faithful to fulfill all You promise;
Glory be to Your name above.
Hear, O Lord, and answer Your servant.
You are my God. I trust in You.
Turn to me and grant Your strength to me.
You are my comforter.

Song lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music (free):
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/you-are-loving-and-forgiving

Song on video:
http://youtu.be/MfJbAwhiVkU

You Have Kept My Word

Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 6:30 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song, “Your Word,” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Revelation 3:7-13 (NIV 1984):

“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

My Understanding: Jesus Christ is the speaker. He is holy (pure; righteous) and true (not a liar like men/women). He holds the key of David, i.e. he is the one who decides who will enter his kingdom and who will be rejected. Man has no power within himself to earn his way into heaven. His good deeds will never outweigh his bad deeds. Only through genuine faith in Jesus Christ can we enter God’s eternal kingdom. And, no man on the earth, and no evil spirits in this world can shut the doors of heaven in anyone’s face, though many may try. Jesus Christ is the only one with the power and the authority to ultimately determine who goes to heaven and who does not, i.e. the one who opens and shuts heaven’s door.

An Open Door

Jesus Christ provided the way for all to be saved and to enter his eternal kingdom when he died on the cross for the sins of the entire world. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). So, what does it mean to have faith? Eph. 4:17-24 says:

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

The truth concerning how we come to know Christ Jesus is that, through faith, and in the power of the working of the Holy Spirit within us, as we cooperate with that work, we put off our old sinful selves, we are made new in the attitude of our minds with regard to sin and righteousness, and we put on the new self, which is created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. In other words, we must turn from our sin (repent) and we must turn to walk in faith and obedience to Jesus Christ and to his commands in order to have genuine faith. This faith will then be evidenced as true through our actions (love, service, obedience, character, attitudes, etc.), which James called works, and Jesus called fruit. What they both said is that genuine faith should produce (generate; yield) certain types of attitudes, actions and character traits that would reveal their faith as genuine.

Little Strength

The life of faith in Christ Jesus is not always an easy road, though. Jesus said we would be hated and persecuted just like he was hated and persecuted. And, he exhorted his church to be faithful, even to the point of death, and they would receive their eternal inheritance. We, as the church in the USA, don’t know much of what it really means to be hated and persecuted for our faith in Jesus Christ, though some of us do, yet still not to the degree, yet, that believers in Christ have had to suffer throughout the world. But, that kind of persecution is coming to America, too. It has to in order to fulfill scripture. And, the beginnings of it have already started. Through times of severe persecution, the saints of God will experience little physical and emotional strength. And, they may even be tempted to give up, because, in their natural selves, they just won’t have what it takes to keep going. I feel that way today, not due to persecution, but due to a bad head cold that has been weighing me down for days and seems relentless. So, I told the Lord at the onset of this today that I can’t do this. I have no strength. Yet, he can do what I can’t.

Even though the church had little strength, due to the severe persecution they faced, they had kept the Word of Christ. To keep something means: to retain it, to cling to it, to continue (endure; persist; persevere) in it, to honor it, and to obey it. The word of God was central to their lives, they feasted upon the Word, they held fast to it, loved it, embraced its teachings, and they obeyed what it said. The word of God is powerful and effective. It is our sword of the Spirit with which to fight off Satan’s evil attacks against us. In it we find much encouragement and hope, as well as we find instructions for holy living. Through obedience to the Word we are able to endure persecution and hatred from our enemies, because of our testimony for Christ, and yet keep going in the faith.

They, also, had not denied the name of Jesus. To deny someone means: to repudiate; refute; reject; contradict; negate; disallow; prevent; renounce; and to disown. We can deny Christ and his name in many ways. We may proclaim that we are his followers, and thus not audibly reject him in the sense of giving witness to the fact that we do not believe in him, and yet we can still deny and disown him. Jesus said, quoting from Isaiah, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” So, it is possible to give honor to Jesus with our lips and yet to deny him with our actions, attitudes, and our words, in a kind of backward way. John said that if we say we love God and yet we hate our brothers, we are liars. He said that if we claim to have fellowship with Jesus Christ and yet we continue (persist; persevere) in sin (walk in darkness), we are liars. He said that if we say we know God and yet we don’t obey his commands, we are liars. And, he said that if we love the world with all its sinful passions and desires, then the love of the Father is not in us. [Ref: 1 John] So, this goes back to what it means to truly believe in Jesus Christ. We must turn from our sins, we must be changed in our thinking and attitudes through a spiritual transformation of the Spirit of God, and we must turn to walk in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ and to his commands. His two main commands are to love God and to love others.

So, for this church to keep his word and to not deny his name means they spent much time in the word, they obeyed it, and their lifestyles gave evidence that their faith was genuine.

The Liars

As was true with the Church in Smyrna, these followers of Christ Jesus had faced severe persecution at the hands of Jews who were not really Jews, but were liars, and were of the “synagogue of Satan.” In a nutshell, this is speaking of those who proclaimed to be children of God and inheritors of the divine promise, but had not had a heart transformation of the Spirit of God through faith in Jesus Christ. They were “Jews” outwardly, but not inwardly (see Rom. 2:28-29). Only those who have come to true faith in Jesus Christ are children of God and heirs of the promised eternal inheritance (see Rom. 9). So, this is speaking of those who proclaim some special relationship with God due to physical heritage, or whatever other reason, such as praying a sinner’s prayer, and yet God is saying they do not have a relationship with him, because they have not truly accepted his Son, Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior by genuine faith, as is defined in 1 John, James and other NT books.

The Church in Philadelphia apparently was suffering at the hands of these who call themselves Jews and yet were a synagogue of Satan. A synagogue was a place of worship for the Jews where they worshiped God. So, to be called a synagogue of Satan was basically saying that they were not worshipers of God, but truly were worshipers of Satan. Satan is the one who stands in the strongest opposition to Christ Jesus and to his followers, so Satan’s followers will also oppose those who are truly following Jesus Christ. The followers of Satan, thus, will do his dirty work in persecuting, imprisoning and even killing the saints of Almighty God. Many who call themselves God’s children, whether calling themselves Jews or Christians, are not really his children, but are followers of Satan and of his ways, though they may think they are following God. Jesus said he would make these liars one day bow down at the feet of his true followers and acknowledge that Jesus loved them.

Hour of Trial

Jesus promised to keep these faithful followers of his from the hour of trial, which we know to be the time of the Great Tribulation, at which time Satan will rule the earth. This word “from” can also be translated “through.” So, this is either a promise to keep the Lord’s faithful, committed and obedient followers from the time of the Great Tribulation, or it is a promise that he will keep them through it, i.e. he will sustain them and give them strength through their time of great persecution that will result in death for many. Either way, the promise is for those who have kept the word (obeyed it; held to it), who have not denied the name of Jesus in word or in deed, and who have kept the Lord’s command to endure patiently, as a matter of lifestyle, though certainly not with absolute perfection. Yet, this is not a promise for all who merely profess the name of Jesus Christ as Savior and as Lord.

Jesus said he was coming soon. That was about 2,000 years ago he said that, though the Bible teaches that God does not keep time like we do, for a day is like a thousand years to him. He is not slow like some understand slowness. He has not yet brought this hour of trial upon the earth because he is patient, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (faith). “Soon” often means “imminent,” i.e. we should behave as though he could come at any moment. We should live with a watchful attitude, holding on to what we have, “so that no one will take your crown.” There are varied interpretations of what this means. It appears that this fits with the idea of overcoming, i.e. of faithful endurance in the face of great persecution as a precursor to receiving eternal life. This is a continual theme throughout the New Testament. True faith is faith that endures to the end. And, it is this kind of abiding, enduring faith which will be richly rewarded in eternity.

Your Word / An Original Work / December 27, 2011

Based off Psalm 119

Praise You with an upright heart as
I learn of Your righteousness.
I seek You with all my heart;
Do not let me stray from Your law.
I have hidd’n Your word in my heart
That I might not sin against You.
Open my eyes that I may see
Wonderful things in Your word.
I am a stranger on earth.

I have chosen the way of truth;
My heart is set on Your word.
I will walk about in freedom,
For I have sought out Your truth.
Teach me knowledge and good judgment,
For I believe in Your law.
Your hands made me, and they formed me;
Give me understanding, Lord.
I put my hope in Your word.

Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light unto my path.
You are my shield and my refuge;
In Your word I put my hope.
My heart trembles at Your word, Lord.
May my lips o’erflow with praise.
May my tongue sing of Your truth, Lord.
Your salvation, Lord, long I.
Your word, Lord, is my delight.

http://youtu.be/PoekdVclmGM

Your Afflictions and Your Poverty

Sunday, February 19, 2012, 9:40 p.m. – The song, “I’m Not Ashamed,” has been going through my mind for a while now. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Revelation 2:8-11 (NIV 1984):

“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. 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. 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.

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.

My Understanding: Out of the seven letters to the churches, only two have nothing against them – the church in Smyrna, and the church in Philadelphia. Here, in this letter to the church in Smyrna, Jesus Christ is identified as the speaker, as well as he is identified as being God – the First and the Last, who died on the cross for our sins, but was resurrected back to life by God the Father in conquering death, hell, Satan and sin. He told the church that he knew their afflictions and their poverty, yet they were rich!

Afflictions

It appears that their afflictions were a direct result of religious persecution, and at the hand of Jews who had not believed in Jesus Christ. I wondered about the meaning of “who say they are Jews and are not,” and why not say, “who say they are Christians and are not.” I mean, I didn’t understand the significance of one proclaiming to be a Jew and yet not really being a Jew, especially in light of the fact that we are now under the New Covenant relationship with God through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. So, I referred to a Bible commentary to give me further understanding. That led me to Rom. 2:28-29 (NIV ’84):

A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.

In chapter 9 of Romans Paul talked about how not all who are descended from Israel are Israel, nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all children of God. Only the children of promise are true Israel (or true Jews), i.e. only those who have come to faith in Jesus Christ are children of God and heirs of the promised eternal inheritance. Ephesians 2:11-13 continues this idea when it suggests that being separate from Christ means being excluded from citizenship in Israel and being foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. So, true Israel or a true Jew is one who has had a cutting away of the flesh by the Spirit of God, i.e. he has experienced a heart transformation by the Holy Spirit of God by God’s grace and through faith in Jesus Christ. So, it is possible to claim to be a Jew or a Christian because of physical heritage and yet not truly be a Jew or a Christian (i.e. a child of God and an heir of the promise). So, this is speaking of those who proclaim some special relationship with God due to physical heritage, or whatever other reason, and yet God is saying they do not have a relationship with him, because they have not truly accepted his Son, Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior.

Synagogue of Satan

These who were Jews by physical birth, but were not true Jews, were slandering the believers in Jesus Christ, thus Jesus said they were not his children, but were of Satan, who stands opposed to Jesus Christ. To slander someone means to deliberately say something false and malicious about that person, with the intention to cause harm or pain, and thus to damage that person’s reputation. The Church in Philadelphia apparently was suffering, too, at the hands of these who call themselves Jews and yet were a synagogue of Satan. Jesus said he would make the liars one day bow down at the feet of his true followers and acknowledge that Jesus loved them.

A synagogue was a place of worship for the Jews where they worshiped God. So, to be called a synagogue of Satan was basically saying that they were not worshipers of God, but truly were worshipers of Satan. Satan is the one who stands in the strongest opposition to Christ Jesus and to his followers, so Satan’s followers will also oppose those who are truly following Jesus Christ. The followers of Satan, thus, will do his dirty work in persecuting, imprisoning and even killing the saints of Almighty God. Many who call themselves God’s children, whether calling themselves Jews or Christians, are not really his children, but are followers of Satan and of his ways, though they may think they are following God.

Be Faithful

The believers, though, were to not be afraid of what they were about to suffer at the hands of these liars. The devil, via his true followers (his human instruments) would put some of the believers in prison to test their faith, and for the purpose to break them, and to get them to give up their faith in Christ Jesus. Jesus said this persecution would take place for a period of ten days. We are not sure if this was a literal ten days or if it was figurative. I don’t think it really matters. The point was that there would be a period of time in which they would face this severe persecution, that the time would have a beginning and an end, that it would not be too long, and that they were to be faithful to Christ, even to the point of death, and they would receive eternal life. Going along with that idea, he said that he who overcomes – who is victorious over his enemy or over his difficulty – will not be hurt by the second death, i.e. by the lake of fire. I know this teaching might mess with a lot of people’s theology, yet the scriptures throughout the New Testament speak often about true faith being faith that lasts; that endures to the end; that continues; and that remains.

I believe this is directly related to the parable of the sower and the four types of soil, i.e. the four types of heart responses to the gospel. There are those who hear the message of the gospel, but they do not understand it, so Satan snatches away the truth sown in their hearts. There are those who hear the word and receive it with joy initially, but they are not truly rooted in Christ and in his word, so the “faith,” which is shallow, lasts only a short time. When they are persecuted, they quickly fall away. Then, there is the person who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of worldly desires choke out the “faith,” making it unfruitful. None of these types of heart response describe someone with the kind of faith that endures, that continues, remains and that overcomes. There is only one kind of heart (good soil) that produces a crop, and that is the one who hears the word, understands it, and applies the word to his life in such a way that he produces spiritual fruit (see Matt. 13). So, if we want to receive our eternal inheritance, and we want to not face eternal punishment in hell, then we need to make sure we have true faith, i.e. that we are not just “Jews” outwardly, but that we have truly had a heart transformation of the Spirit of God that produces the kind of faith that lasts, because it is rooted in Jesus Christ.

You are Rich!

Although the believers and followers of Jesus Christ were facing persecution at the hands of those who proclaimed to know God, but did not, and even though they had the promise of even greater persecution yet to come, Jesus said they were rich. The reason they were rich is because of what Jesus Christ did for them on the cross when he took upon himself the sins of the entire world, when he crucified our sins with him, and then when he was resurrected from the dead in conquering our sins. By God’s grace, and through faith, we can, thus, have the hope of eternal life with God beginning right now, while we are still on the face of this earth, not just when we die one day or when Jesus comes back for us. We have this life by faith, and that faith involves turning from our sins and turning to walk in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ. Jesus said that if anyone wanted to come after him, he must deny himself and daily take up his cross and follow Christ. He also said that his true followers know his voice, they listen to (heed) him, and they follow (obey) him. Through faith we come into an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ (with God), we are freed from the control of sin over our daily lives, we are free to follow Christ Jesus wherever he leads us, and we also have the hope of eternal life with God in heaven one day. This is why we are rich!

This message was not just for the church in Smyrna at that time in history, though. This is a message for the church today, as well. This is an encouragement to those who are truly following Jesus Christ in being his faithful servants and witnesses, and in following Jesus wherever he leads us, in loving God and others, and in being his true ministers of the gospel. Jesus warned us that if they persecuted him and if they hated him, they would hate us and would persecute us, too, so we are in good company. Paul said in 2 Tim. 3:12 that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

Notice he did not say “might be persecuted.” Nor did Jesus say that we might be hated. If we are not being hated and/or persecuted for our testimony for Jesus Christ, then something is wrong. We are not called to be friends and to make nice with the world, so that they will like and accept us, but we are called to come out from the world and to be separate, and to not be like the world in following its evil desires and passions. This is what it means to be godly, i.e. to forsake sin, and to follow Christ. Yet, if we blend in with the world, thinking that we can be a testimony to them, we should think again, because they will see us as just like them. Yet, those who will face this kind of severe persecution are those who are truly following Jesus Christ wherever he leads us. Yet, even though we may be hated and persecuted for our witness for Jesus Christ, we are rich in faith and in our eternal relationship with God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And, that is awesome!

I’m Not Ashamed / An Original Work / February 15, 2012

Based off Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Rom. 1:16-17

Go into all the world,
And tell them the Good News,
Making disciples of all the nations,
Baptizing them in the name of the Father
And of the Holy Spirit,
And of the Son,
Teaching them to obey
Ev’rything I have commanded you,
And surely I am with you,
E’en to the end of the age.

You will receive power
When the Holy Spirit
Comes on you;
My witnesses you will be
In Samaria, Judea, and Jerusalem,
And to the ends of the earth, amen!
You will receive power
When the Holy Spirit comes on you,
My witnesses you will be
Unto the ends of the earth.

I’m not ashamed of the
Gospel of my Jesus.
For salvation, it’s the power of God.
For in the gospel a righteousness
From God is made known,
A righteousness that is by faith.
I’m not ashamed of the
Gospel of my Jesus.
For salvation, it’s the power of God.
The righteous will live by faith.

http://youtu.be/HwLRP5rCJ5s
http://www.godcares.tv/video/1374/Im-Not-Ashamed

The Things You Did at First

Sunday, February 19, 2012, 8:30 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song, “When in the Stillness,” playing through my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Revelation 2:1-7:

To the Church in Ephesus

“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: 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. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 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. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

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.

My Understanding: The book of Revelation is “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, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.” John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, wrote this letter (revelation) to the seven churches in the province of Asia, yet this revelation is for the church for all ages. The book of Revelation contained seven specific letters to the seven individual church congregations. The first letter is to the church in Ephesus.

Although John was the physical writer of the letters to the churches, it was Jesus Christ who was the true author, so these are the words of Jesus Christ, i.e. the very words of God Almighty. He is described here as the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands. We learn in chapter one that the seven stars are the angels (spirits) of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. However one might define the “angels” of these seven churches, the fact still remains that the letters were written to these specific congregations, yet they are applicable to the church of all ages. Jesus holds us, his church, in his hands, and he walks among us via his Holy Spirit who indwells the lives of individual believers in Jesus Christ.

What They Did Right

The letter began by praising the congregation for what they were doing right. This type of encouragement is vital to the life of the church, and to us, as individual followers of Christ, too. We can get discouraged if all we hear is what we are doing wrong. Yet, we must never be guilty of only concentrating on the positive, while ignoring what may seem to us to be the negative, because both praise and constructive criticism (exhortation) are necessary elements of edification and encouragement for the body of Christ. And, this church needed to hear, not only what they were doing right, but what they were doing wrong, so that they could repent of their error and could change, and could become who God intended them to be. And, that should always be the goal of this kind of exhortation – to restore our fellow believers to a right relationship with Jesus Christ, and to help them to be restored.

Jesus said he knew their deeds. And, he knows ours, too, though sometimes I think we don’t give that much thought. He knows everything we do, even the things we do in the dark (secret things). This congregation worked hard for the Lord. They demonstrated much perseverance. They did not tolerate wicked men. They tested those who claimed to be apostles, and found those that were not genuine to be false. They even endured hardships for the sake of the name of Christ, and they had not grown weary. Sounds pretty good, right? I mean, how much better could it get than this? - They don’t tolerate evil. They expose false teachers of the gospel. They work hard. They persevere, and even accept hardship for the name of Christ. And, they didn’t give up. So, what could be wrong with them?

What They Did Wrong

Looking at their example, it appears to me that we can do all the right things. We can work hard for the Lord. We can hang tough in trial. We can expose evil. And, we can even endure patiently, and yet still miss the mark. The “mark” for them was their heart-felt devotion to their first love. They had fallen short of it, and had forsaken their first love. So, what does it mean to forsake our first love? How can we know when we have missed the mark of this kind of pure devotion to Jesus Christ when it seems outwardly that we are doing all the right things? I believe we need to get a good picture of what a “first love” really is.

When I think of a “first love,” I think of that person whom we “fell in love” with when we were young, and perhaps is the one we ended up marrying. My true “first love” is the man I married. When Rick and I dated, he was the one I thought of when I got up in the morning, and was usually the one on my mind when I went to bed at night, other than the Lord. I wanted to share everything with him. He was the first one I wanted to tell everything to. We would talk for hours on the phone at night, and had the worst time saying, "Good night,” so that both of us could go to bed in our respective homes (we both lived with our respective parents). I wrote him notes every day and stuck them in his school mailbox, and he did the same for me. We could not bear it if we had to be apart from each other for days at a time. We took every advantage to be with each other as much as was possible. We shared common interests, and enjoyed doing things together. We sang together, played together, prayed together, and fellowshipped together with Christians at church and on campus. And, the happiest day of my life, other than when I met Jesus, was the day I walked down that isle and I became his wife, and he my husband, and we began our life together. And, this is the kind of relationship all of us should have with Jesus Christ. He is to be our “first love”.

Yet, this is not just how things should be between us and Jesus, as though we have the option to opt out of that part of our relationship with Christ. He told the church that they needed to repent, meaning Jesus saw this as a sin that they no longer treated him as though he was their “first love.” And, to repent of this sin meant for them to turn from the sin, and to go in the opposite direction, i.e. to go in the direction of redeveloping that love relationship with Jesus Christ. And, the only way that can happen is through spending time with him each day, by making him truly the Lord (boss; master) of our lives, by putting him first place (top priority) in our lives above all else, and to desire and to hunger after him, and after his word. And, included in this is that we need to obey everything he teaches us. The more we spend time at his feet, listening to him, and obeying him, the closer we will grow in our love relationship with him. And, this is not going to happen if we give him a token 5 or 10 minutes a day out of our busy schedules while we spend hours doing what we want to do. We have to consider him in everything we do, and desire to please him in all things, just like we would do with someone who was our “first love.”

Repent and Do

He told them to “repent,” i.e. to turn from their sin, and to do the things they did at first. Many people may get to the “repent” stage of their relationship with Jesus Christ, while others may have been taught that repentance is not necessary, and may not have even reached that point. Repentance and obedience to Christ are absolutely necessary for salvation. This is what it means to truly believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins so that we could go free from sin. Yet, even those who have repented may have only gotten as far as the “put off” part of their relationship with Jesus Christ, yet never moved to the “put on.” The scriptures teach, with regard to our salvation, that we are to put off the old sinful nature which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, we are to be made new (of the Holy Spirit of God) in the attitudes of our minds, and we are to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (see Ephesians 4:20-24). This is how we come to know Christ, and no other way. If this was not your experience, then maybe you don’t really know Christ. We need to not only repent of our old lives of sin, but we need to turn to walk in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ, and to live holy lives pleasing to God.

So, what were the things they did at first that they needed to do again? I suspect if we go back to the book of Acts we might learn what some of them were. The early church met daily from house to house and in the temple courts. They met together for the teaching of the word, for prayer, for the breaking of bread (fellowship/communion) and for true spiritual fellowship (not the kind of social activities we might call fellowship today). They shared with those who had need. They practiced hospitality. They were totally committed to their faith in Jesus Christ, and stood strong in their faith in the face of great opposition. They were committed to the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ so that others could come to know Christ, too. They bore the burdens of others. They confronted and restored those among them who had fallen prey to sin. Then, going into Romans and 1 Corinthians, and Ephesians, we learn how the body of Christ worked together as various parts within one body, but that each part had equal concern, one for another. They all had various spiritual gifts given them by the Holy Spirit of God, which they used for the mutual edification of one another, in order to help each other grow in their faith in Jesus Christ. Above all, they loved each other with an agape (God-like) love that willingly laid down their lives for each other, and they demonstrated their love for Jesus Christ by their obedience to his commands.

The situation with the Ephesian church was not peculiar to them, though. Christians have faced this kind of problem throughout church history, and the command that was given to them by Christ himself rings true for us, as well, today. If we are “guilty as charged” in having forsaken our “first love,” we need to, as well, turn from our sin and turn to walk in humble obedience to Jesus Christ in developing that love relationship with him, even if it is for the first time. If we do not repent, as the church, Jesus will remove our lampstand from its place. The lampstands were the churches themselves. Yet, a lampstand is also what holds the light (lamp) of the truth of the gospel. If we, as the church, are not being that light for the true gospel of Jesus Christ, then we have no purpose in continuing to exist. There may be varied interpretations as to what it means to remove the lampstand, but truly it is some kind of judgment against the church when they have lost favor with God, and thus they will cease to be effective as his true church in having the kind of spiritual impact on this world of ours that we, as the church, are supposed to have. Don’t take God for granted. He means business about sin, and he means business about the church being in a right relationship with Jesus Christ, and bearing much fruit for the gospel.

Jesus Christ ended all his letters to the churches with the words, “To him who overcomes,” or something similar, and then he said what the blessing of God would be for the overcomer. In most of these cases, the blessing is associated with our right to receive our eternal inheritance. Many, many scriptures throughout the New Testament speak of enduring, persevering, continuing, etc., as necessary elements of our eternal salvation. True commitments to Jesus Christ are those that last until the end. We cannot rely upon some decision we made at an altar as a child, or as a youth, to secure our eternal inheritance, if our profession of faith was not accompanied by enduring faith in Christ that was evidenced by genuine repentance, and obedience to Jesus Christ and to his commands. 1 John and the book of James speak much on this subject, in particular, but so do the writings of Paul and the other apostles. 1 John especially remarked how we cannot claim to know God, and yet live in continual sin, and think we have the hope of eternal life. So, if you have been relying upon some decision you made at some point in your life to accept Christ Jesus as Savior, but your life is one that does not reflect Christ’s presence in your life, I pray you will repent of your sins today and will turn to walk in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ today.

When in The Stillness / An Original Work / September 26, 2011

When in the stillness
Of this moment,
Speak to me, Lord,
I humbly pray.
Be my desire,
Set me on fire,
Teach me to love always.
Help me to walk in
Fellowship with You,
Listening to You;
Sit at Your feet.
Whisper Your words to me,
Oh, how gently,
Guiding me in Your truth.

While we are waiting
For Your blessing,
Lord, in our hearts
Be King today.
Help us to live for
You ev’ry moment,
List’ning to what You say.
May we not stray from
Your word within us,
Help us obey You,
Lord, in all things,
Walking each moment,
Lord, in Your presence,
Our off’rings to You bring.

Help us to love You,
Lord, our master;
Be an example
Of Your love,
Helping the hurting,
Lift up the fallen,
Showing them Your great love.
Teach them to love You,
Follow You always,
Bearing their cross and
Turning from sin;
Walking in daily
Fellowship with You,
Making You Lord and King.

http://youtu.be/MnTH6DW98EI

You are Loving and Forgiving

We have been battling sickness in our house for over a week now. It appears we keep recycling the same germs to one another. And, then I walked into our bedroom yesterday and turned on a light when my husband was sleeping. I didn’t think about it. The light was like a sharp stab to his eyes, though. And, then I felt really bad about it. This cold has been getting me really down, too. So, all this was going on when I sat down to hear from the Lord, to see if he had words to go with the tune I believe he had given me to write. So, when he began with the words, “You are loving and forgiving, Jesus, Savior,” I felt such comfort and reassurance from him at this time. Then, he led me to read Psalm 86, and to translate the psalm into New Testament terminology. So, this song is based off that Psalm, with Jesus Christ as the one to whom we are offering our prayer of praise, adoration, thanksgiving and supplication.


You are Loving and Forgiving / An Original Work / February 19, 2012

Based off Psalm 86

You are loving and forgiving,
Jesus, Savior, King of kings.
You provided our redemption.
By Your blood You set us free.
You are gracious; full of mercy.
No deeds can compare with Yours.
Great are You; there is none like You.
Glory be to Your name.

Teach me Your way, and I’ll walk in it.
O Lord, I will walk in Your truth.
May I not have a heart divided,
That Your name I give honor to.
I will praise You, O Lord, my Savior,
For great is Your love toward me.
You have delivered me from my sins.
Your grace has pardoned me.

You, O Lord, are full of compassion,
Slow to anger, bounteous in love;
Faithful to fulfill all You promise;
Glory be to Your name above.
Hear, O Lord, and answer Your servant.
You are my God. I trust in You.
Turn to me and grant Your strength to me.
You are my comforter.

Song lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music (free)

Song on video

No Greater Joy!

Friday, February 17, 2012, 7:39 a.m. – The song, “Jesus, Lead Me,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 3 John:

The elder,

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

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. 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.

Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. 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.

I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.

My Understanding: John wrote this letter to his friend, Gaius, “whom I love in the truth.” In other words, this was an agape (God-like) love, or a Christian love that he had for his brother in Christ. He prayed for him for good health and that all may go well with him, “even as your soul is getting along well.” In other words, Gaius was a Christian man who was doing well spiritually, i.e. he had a close and obedient relationship with Jesus Christ. He was a man who was faithful in his commitment to Jesus Christ, and his life was one that exemplified a walk of faith, in that he continued (persisted; persevered) to walk in the truth.

Yet, John’s love and concern for him went beyond just his spiritual condition. He was also concerned for his physical and emotional well-being. Jesus also set the example for us of one who cared about the entirety of someone’s being, not just for their souls, though he never missed the opportunity to include the message of the gospel whenever he ministered to people’s needs, because his primary goal in ministry, and in coming to the earth, was to provide forgiveness of and deliverance from sins, via his blood shed on the cross for our sins, and to give people the hope of eternal life with God by his grace and through faith.

With Great Joy

John said that he received the good report concerning Gaius’ faithfulness, and his continued walk in the truth of the gospel, with great joy. In fact, he said he had no greater joy than to hear that his (spiritual) children were walking in the truth. I have to ditto that remark, as I feel the same way. Obviously John was concerned for and cared about Gaius’ physical life on this earth, not just for his soul for eternity, yet John knew that this life and all that is in this life is going to pass away, and what mattered most was not only the eternal destiny of someone, but that the person was walking in faithfulness and in the truth of the gospel on a continuous basis.

The reason, I believe, that the spiritual walk of the children of God (believers in Jesus Christ) gave him greater joy than anything else on the face of this earth, was because he recognized, not only the eternal value of a consistent walk of faith in Christ, but he knew all too well how our spiritual well-being impacts every aspect of our lives, including our relationship with the Lord, our relationships with our family members, with our friends and co-workers, and it impacts our attitudes, actions, thoughts and behavior.

We may have great joy in our physical children’s accomplishments – their first words, their first steps, their success in potty training, their first drawing, their learning of good manners and the right way to treat other people, their work in school, their first competitive event in which they excelled, graduation from kindergarten, high school, and/or college, as well as marriage, and the birth of their own children, etc. I find great joy in my children (and their spouses), and in my grandchildren, and in my times with them, yet there is no greater joy for me than seeing a follower of Christ, especially those in my own family, be faithful in his or her commitment to the Lord Jesus, and to continue to walk in the truth of God’s word and Christ’s teachings.

All these other things are temporary, i.e. they are of this world, and they will pass away. The spiritual, nonetheless, is eternal and has great value for not only this life but for the next. If we are truly walking in fellowship with Jesus Christ; if we are obeying the Lord in all things to the best of our knowledge; and if we are continuing to walk in the truth of God’s word, we will have peace with God that should spill over into our relationships with others. We should be better spouses, parents, children, employees, and friends, etc. And, we should be bearing much spiritual fruit because we are walking in obedience to Christ. And, from that will come the blessings of God in knowing that we are fulfilling the purpose on this earth for which we were created by God, and there is much joy and peace in that.

Loves to be First

John moved from the subject of Gaius’ faithfulness and steadfastness in following the truth of God’s word to addressing a situation with a leader in the church which needed to be addressed. Diotrephes, who was obviously in a position of power, rule and authority in the church, is described as someone who loved to be first. It appears to me that he may have been jealous of the apostles, and so he did whatever he could do to exclude the apostles and other brothers in Christ, who appeared to be missionaries, from the fellowship of this congregation. Not only that, but he gossiped maliciously about the apostles.

So, even though John wrote to the church, this leader in the church apparently did not allow the letter to be given to or to be read in the church, because Diotrephes was evidently concerned about his own position of power and authority being compromised in some way, and so he felt he needed to protect his position of authority over the congregation. Does this sound familiar? This is what Jesus faced with the religious leaders of his day, and they killed him out of jealousy, and out of fear that he might lead people away from the Pharisees, and thus they would lose their positions of influence over the people.

There are many such leaders in our churches today who are protective about their positions of power and authority to the point to where they will, as well, use whatever means at their disposal to make sure they remain in absolute control over the people, even if it means ignoring the word of God and kicking people out of their churches who want to follow what the Word teaches. They are followers of men instead of followers of God, and many of them will use manipulation, lies, deceit, gossip, and the ignoring of or the twisting of the Word of God in order to accomplish their man-made purposes and goals. The Bible warns us about such men, so that we are not led astray by them and their false teaching, and so we don’t fall into the devil’s trap by following these followers of men.

Who does What is Good?

John told Gaius that he was not to imitate what is evil but what is good. I remember how Jesus told his disciples that they had to obey the Pharisees because they were in authority over them, but they were not to become like them and they were not to do the things the Pharisees did. It is my considered opinion here that John was giving Gaius a similar message as what Jesus gave his disciples. John was telling Gaius that it was his intention, if he should be able to come there, to call attention to what this leader of the people was doing that was wrong. Yet, I believe he was also warning Gaius not to imitate the actions, behavior and attitudes of this leader of the church.

Then John told him that anyone who does what is good is from God, and anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. This is another one of those sentences that, taken out of context, can be easily misinterpreted, and a false doctrine formed around it. When John spoke of “good,” he was speaking in terms of how God viewed “good.” The Bible says there is no one who is righteous, no not one, so none of us are “good” of our own accord. We are all evil in nature, because we are all born with sinful natures. The only way we can become “good” is through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for our sins, through his resurrection back to life in conquering sin, death and hell, and by God’s grace and through faith in Jesus Christ.

We learned throughout the first book of John that genuine faith in Jesus Christ involves turning from our sin (not continuing in sin) and walking in obedience to Christ and his commands, which primarily revolve around loving God and loving others. If we claim to have fellowship with God and yet we continue to walk in sin, or we don’t love other people, then John said that we are liars, and the truth is not in us. So, the only way we can be “good” is through Christ’s righteousness within us that comes through what he did for us on the cross in dying for our sins so we could go free, and by us appropriating through faith what Jesus did for us by us dying to sin and our old way of living according to the flesh, and by us allowing the Holy Spirit of God to do a spiritual transformation in our hearts, and by us putting on the character and things of Christ/God in our lives in place of walking in sin.

In Conclusion

We should follow the example of Gaius in how he was faithful to Christ, and in how he continued to walk (to conduct his daily life) according to the truth of God’s Word. And, we should follow John’s example in showing concern, not only for people’s physical and emotional well-being, but that we should regularly and consistently show concern for their spiritual walks with Christ. In fact, we should be like John in that nothing in this life gives us greater joy than to see our fellow Christians walking in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in turning from sin, and in walking in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ. We also ought to follow the example of extending hospitality to those who are sent out by God in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

As well, we should remember not to follow the example of those among us, especially those in positions of leadership within our churches who wield great influence and power, who exercise the abuse of power for their own selfish purposes, who ignore the teachings of scripture which don’t suit their purposes, and who are followers of men instead of followers of God. We need to be careful who we closely associate with, in that we should avoid close associations with brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as with non-believers who are clearly willfully living sinful lifestyles, even after we have (and this is first) confronted them in love with their sin. The reason for this is that we tend to become like those we are around, and bad often is a much stronger influence than good. Another reason is that by close association with them we are in essence giving a kind of approval to what they do.

So, imitate those who are walking closely with Jesus Christ, but don’t imitate those who are clearly living sinful lifestyles apart from a close relationship with Jesus Christ. Most of all, imitate Christ Jesus and his example to us in godly living, because man will fail us, but God will never fail us. He will remain faithful to all his promises. And, we can take that to the bank!

Jesus, Lead Me / An Original Work / July 22, 2011

Jesus, lead me all the way.
Be my hope and be my stay.
Gently lead me where I should go,
So Your Spirit, I want to know.
Open up my heart to You.
Fill me with Your love and truth.
Make my heart want to obey.
Be my Lord today. Gently lead always.

Jesus, lover of my soul,
Cleanse my heart, and make me whole;
Be transformed in my heart today,
As I turn from my sin and pray.
Make Your will known to my heart.
May I not from You depart.
How I long to hear You now,
As I humbly bow. Jesus, hear me now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTIM16o9ldg