Saturday,
November 24, 2012, 4:29 a.m. - the Lord Jesus woke me this morning with this
song playing in my mind:
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.
Speak, Lord, for
your servant is listening. I read Revelation 19-22 (quoting 21:1-8;
22:12-17 NIV 1984):
Then I saw a new
heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed
away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for
her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling
of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and
God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from
their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the
old order of things has passed away.”
He who was
seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write
this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
He said to me:
“It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him
who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water
of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he
will be my son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the
sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all
liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the
second death.”
...Then he told
me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is
near. Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue
to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is
holy continue to be holy.”
“Behold, I am
coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to
what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the
Beginning and the End.
“Blessed are
those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life
and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who
practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and
everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
“I, Jesus, have
sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and
the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”
The Spirit and
the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty,
let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of
life.
Revelation
The book of
Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ to the church. It contains letters
to the seven churches in Asia, which still apply to the church of today, where
applicable. The message has not changed, because God has not changed.
The book also
contains declarations of judgments of God on the earth and on the people of the
earth. I believe, based upon the fact that preceding these declarations of
judgment, there are the letters to the seven churches, which also contain
threats of judgment on some who do not repent of their sins, that many of these
judgments are specifically for the purpose of getting the worldly and
unrepentant church to repent of her sins and to get her to turn back to her
God.
In Revelation 19
we read about God’s judgment against the “great prostitute.” Now there are many
varied interpretations of who she is, including that she is the institutional
church in partnership with the government, for she rides the beast, and a
prostitute is one who sells herself to her lovers for a price. Other possible
interpretations are that she represents the worldly system, as a whole, of
which the church has adopted, which is why the saints of God are warned to
“Come out of her” in chapter 18 of Revelation, so that they don’t share in her
sins. And, yet another interpretation is that she represents a literal city
that fits that description in our day. New York/Manhattan, containing the World
Trade Center, Wall Street, and the United Nations, seems to fit the description
given of Babylon.
Whatever
interpretation you hold to, though, and there are many more, what is clear in
chapter 19 is that when Babylon is judged, it is declared that the bride of
Christ has made herself ready for the wedding with the Lamb, so there is
a sense in which these judgments were for the purpose of purifying the saints
of God to prepare them for the wedding with the Lamb (Jesus Christ), who was
slain for the sins of the world.
At the end of
these judgments Jesus Christ will return to the earth as judge, to gather his
elect, and to set up his kingdom on the earth - to rule and to reign for a
thousand years. When the thousand years have ended, Satan will be released,
there will be a battle, but Jesus will win. In fact, he has already won! The
devil will be thrown into the lake of fire, where the false prophet and the
beast were already thrown. Then, there will be the final judgment. If anyone’s
name is not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, he (or she) will be thrown into
the lake of fire, too. Then there will be a new heaven and a new earth. There
will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain. Amen! The old order of things
will have passed away and God will make everything new.
Are you Thirsty?
After John had
written all that God/Jesus had given him to write concerning what will take
place at the end of time, God gave another declaration for people in the
present day. If we are thirsty for God/Jesus, evidenced by us coming to him in
humility and repentance, willing to obey him in all things, he will give
us eternal life with him, he will fill us with His Holy Spirit, he will forgive
us all our sins, and he will give us new lives free from slavery to sin, and free
to follow him in obedience and surrender to his will for our lives. This is
truly what it means to receive this drink without cost from the spring of the
water of life. It is without cost to us in the sense that Jesus Christ paid the
price for our sins and we cannot do anything to earn or to deserve our
salvation. It is by God’s grace that we are saved. Yet, God’s grace is also
what gives us the ability to turn from our sin and to obey Christ. And, Jesus
did say that if we want to come after him, we must deny ourselves, take up our
cross daily (die daily to sin and self) and follow (obey) him - only by God’s
grace!
We know, too,
that God intended here that coming to him as one who is thirsty involves
turning away from sin, because he also stated that those who continue in sin -
the unbelieving, vile, murderers, the sexually immoral, idolaters and liars,
etc. - will not have this water of life but will, instead, be facing a lake of
burning sulfur. God takes sin very seriously. That is why he sent his Son Jesus
Christ to the earth to die for our sins so that we could go free from sin, not
continue in it, thinking it is ok now that we are under grace. True grace does
not give us a license to continue in willful sin and rebellion against God.
True grace frees us from slavery to sin and it demands that we not continue in
sin (see 1 John). So, if you want to have this drink from the spring of the
water of life, you must first of all die to your old way of life, be
transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God, and then you will be given
the Spirit of God within you welling up in you to eternal life with God.
He is Coming!
One day Jesus is
coming back. Are you ready to meet him? Have you been washed in the blood of
the Lamb? Have you turned from your lifestyles of sin, and are you walking in
obedience and surrender to Jesus Christ? None of us will do this perfectly, but
this is the mark of true believers in Jesus Christ. Jesus makes it quite clear
in these last two chapters of Revelation that there is a definite contrast
between those who have been washed and those who continue in willful sin and
rebellion against God. Being washed (cleansed by the blood of the Lamb) does
not mean we will be perfect in this life, but it does mean that we choose daily
to die to sin and to walk with Jesus. If we think we can have God’s grace and
yet continue to live in willful sin, then we need to think again. 1 John alone
refutes that idea. Paul, James and Peter also spoke strongly on this subject.
So, if you want
to make sure you are ready for his return, then choose today to turn from your
life of sin, and turn to follow Jesus Christ in humble obedience and surrender
to his will for your lives. And, he will give you this water of life welling up
in you unto eternal life with God in glory! None of us knows when Jesus is
coming back, and none of us knows if we have tomorrow, so make this choice
today while you still have today.
Seek the Lord / An Original
Work / July 20, 2012
Based off Isaiah 55
“Come to Me all
you who thirst; come to waters.
Listen to Me,
and eat what’s good today,
And your soul
will delight in richest of fare.
Give ear to Me,
and you will live.
I have made an
eternal covenant with you.
Wash in the
blood of the Lamb.”
Seek the Lord
while He may be found; call on Him.
Let the wicked
forsake his way, in truth.
Let him turn to
the Lord, and he will receive mercy.
Freely, God
pardons him.
“For My thoughts
are not your thoughts,
Nor are your
ways My ways,”
declares the
Lord, our God.
“My word that
goes out of My mouth is truthful.
It will not
return to Me unfulfilled.
My word will
accomplish all that I desire,
And achieve the
goal I intend.
You will go in
joy, and be led forth in peace.
The mountains
will burst into song… before you,
And all of the
trees clap their hands.”
Jesus, Lead Me -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTIM16o9ldg
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