Sunday, December 22,
2013, 7:11 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with this song:
Jesus Loves Me /
Anna B. Warner / David R. McGuire / William Bradbury
Jesus loves me! This I
know,
For the Bible tells me
so;
Little ones to Him
belong;
They are weak, but He
is strong.
Jesus loves me still
today,
Walking with me on my
way,
Wanting as a friend to
give
Light and love to all
who live.
Jesus loves me! He who
died
Heaven’s gate to open
wide;
He will wash away my
sin,
Let His little child
come in.
Jesus loves me! He
will stay
Close beside me all
the way;
Thou hast bled and
died for me,
I will henceforth live
for Thee.
Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Revelation 10 (quoting vv.5-11).
The Mystery of God
Then
the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand
to heaven. And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the
heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea
and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! But in the days
when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will
be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”
What is the mystery of God? It is Jesus Christ crucified,
risen and ascended to heaven; the gospel of our salvation, the hope of heaven;
the message of God’s wisdom which he destined for our glory before time began; and
it is God’s divine will and purpose for all people. His divine will and purpose
is that we be holy and blameless in his sight; that we become children of God
by faith in Jesus Christ; that we be bought back for God via Jesus’ shed blood
for us on the cross for our sins; that through Christ’s sacrifice we might be
forgiven of our sins; and that we, who hope in Christ, might be for the praise
of his glory. His purpose in dying for our sins is that we might turn away from
living for sin and self, that we might be delivered from slavery to sin, and
that we might, instead, walk in his righteousness and holiness, living holy
lives pleasing to him by the power of his Spirit.
The mystery of God is his divine grace to us in saving us
from our sins; and that through the gospel we who are Gentiles by birth can
become heirs with Israel, “members together of one body, and sharers together
in the promise in Christ Jesus,” both by faith in Christ Jesus as Lord and
Savior of our lives. The mystery of God is the word of God in its fullness;
Christ in you, the hope of glory, in whom are hidden all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge. Jesus Christ, thus, is the mystery of God from which true
godliness springs. In the end of time, Jesus’ life, ministry, death and
resurrection, which was for the forgiveness of sins and the salvation of souls,
will come to fulfillment, and our salvation will be completed when he returns
for his bride and we are with our Lord forever in glory.
[See: Ro. 16:25; 1 Co. 2:7; Eph. 3:3-9; 6:19; Col. 1:26-27;
2:2; 4:3; and 1 Tim. 3:16; Eph. 4:17-24; Lu. 9:23-25; Gal. 2:20.]
The Word of Truth
Then
the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the
scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and
on the land.”
The scroll, though definitely representing words that John
was to prophesy concerning God’s judgments on the people of this earth, was the
word of God. The word of God is Jesus Christ, the living Word, the books of the
Bible known and recognized as scripture, i.e. God’s God-breathed words, and it
is also the word spoken in our hearts by the Spirit of God who is our
counselor, guide, teacher, and encourager, who makes known to us the mystery of
Christ, and who leads and empowers us to follow in Christ’s way; in his
righteousness and holiness. The Word is truth, it is life, and it is full of
the Spirit of God. It is alive and active, judging the thoughts and attitudes
of our hearts.
Jesus said that whoever obeys (or keeps) Christ’s word will
never see death. He said that if we hear the word, and we put it into practice,
we are wise, but if we hear it, and we don’t put it into practice, we are
foolish, and our lives will come crashing down when the storms of life beat
against us. We won’t be able to stand. Not only are we to listen to the word,
and put it into practice, but it is to bear fruit (have produce or outgrowth)
in our lives and in the lives of those whose lives we touch. We are also to not
be ashamed of the word, but we should live it and we should proclaim it. Scripture
teaches over and over again that we are to obey (keep; do) the word, not just
hear it and speak it. It must become alive within us through us applying its
truths to our daily lives; living what we say we believe.
Jesus Christ is not only the Word, but he is also the bread
of life. Symbolically speaking, we are to eat this Word/Bread if we want to
live forever with God. God did not purpose that our lives on this earth would
be for ourselves, but for the glory of God and for his purposes. Our sustenance
should not be of the things of this life only – bread, water, air, etc. – but should
be that of the living water, the bread of heaven, and of the Spirit of God. We
need both physical and spiritual nourishment for life, love, liberty and true
joy, peace and safety. The way in which we “eat” the word is by listening to
it, accepting its truths into our lives and by doing what it says to do – all in
the strength and power of the Spirit within us.
[See: John 6:35, 51; Matt. 4:4; 7:24-26; 13:20-23; 24:35;
Mk. 8:38; John 1; 1 John 1; 2:5; Jn. 6:63; 8:51; 17:17; Ro. 10:8; Heb. 4:12; Jas.
1:21-23; Rev. 3:8.]
Sweet and Sour
So
I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take
it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as
sweet as honey.’” I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It
tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach
turned sour. Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples,
nations, languages and kings.”
John was told to eat the scroll (the Word). It would taste
as sweet as honey, but would turn sour in his stomach. This brought to mind
this idea of bittersweet, i.e. causing feelings of happiness and sadness at the
same time (Encarta), or being both pleasant and painful (Dictionary.com). John
loved the word of God, and so he received the word with great joy, but he
certainly did not love giving messages of divine judgment. God’s true servants
and witnesses don’t give out the hard truths of scripture or messages of divine
judgment because they enjoy bringing sadness to people, but because they
believe the Word of God, they believe God, and because they care about people’s
lives and their future hope.
Yet, I saw other ways scripture gives us a picture of the Word
as being “bittersweet,” when we take it into our lives and we obey its truths.
Because of the Word of God (of truth), and because we listen, accept and do
what it says, and because we proclaim it to others so that they can come to
know Christ, too, the world of sin hates us, and it (they) will reject,
persecute and even kill us for our testimony for Jesus Christ and for his
gospel of salvation. That makes the Word bittersweet, because we love God’s
word, and we love to do what it says, but it is painful to be hated and
rejected, ostracized and persecuted because we hold to the truths of God’s word
and we don’t deny the name of Jesus. It is especially painful when we are
rejected by the family of God and/or by those within our natural families.
As well, going back in thought to why the scroll was
bittersweet to John is the fact that the word contains both words of encouragement
and of rebuke. Although we love the word, and we love to spend time at Jesus’
feet, taking in his truths, sometimes the words can be joyful, hopeful and encouraging,
yet other times they are painful or sorrowful, too. Yet, no matter whether the
words are ones that make us feel joyful or they are ones that bring us to tears
and perhaps to repentance (contriteness), they should still be sweet to our
taste, because they are the very words of God to our soul, and God always has
our best in mind.
[See: John 17:14; 2 Tim. 4:2; Heb. 4:12; Rev. 6:9; 12:11 and
20:4.]
In Summary
Jesus loves us so very much! That is why he gave his life up
for us when he died on a cross, taking upon him the sins of the entire world so
we could be free. His purpose in dying for us is not just so we can go to
heaven one day, as wonderful as that will be. His purpose for us is that we be transformed
in heart and mind of the Spirit of God, away from living for sin and self, to
living to please God in the power of his Spirit at work within us. His purpose
for us is that we walk with him in fellowship and in the Spirit of God, that we
listen to him, accepting his words, and that we take them to heart by doing
what the word says, i.e. by submitting to the working of the Spirit of God
within us in doing the will of God.
In doing so, we must also be willing to accept the “bittersweet”
part of God’s word and that is that we will be hated, persecuted and may even
have our lives taken from us because we hold to the testimony of Jesus Christ.
God is not looking for part-time and half-committed followers. He wants our all
on the altar, with our hearts surrendered to his will and purpose. Because he
loves us so much, he will discipline us in order to get us to submit to his
will, i.e. he will allow us to go through hardship, pain and suffering to draw
us close to his heart. Yet, we should not resist him, but we should accept these
trials as from him, knowing that he loves us, and that through these “bittersweet”
experiences we will grow in his grace.
Return to Me / An
Original Work / September 5, 2013
Based off Jeremiah 31;
Cf. Rev. 2-3
I have loved you with
an eternal love,
Which I give to you,
in my faithfulness.
Keep your voice from
weeping,
And your eyes from
tearing.
You will be rewarded
With much fruitfulness.
There is hope for you
that My family
Will return to Me;
live in victory!
Though I discipline in
My love for you,
My heart longs for you
that you walk in truth.
Turn your thoughts to
your Lord.
Choose to walk in His
ways.
Turn from your sins
daily.
Follow Jesus Christ.
Oh, how long will you
wander in your sin?
Give your hearts to
Me; be restored within.
I will satisfy ev’ry
weary soul
Who repents of sin; is
renewed within.
Behold, days are
coming;
It will surely happen;
Though I discipline
them,
They will thrive
again.
I will be their One
and their Only God.
They shall walk in
white; be in Me, made right.
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