Wednesday, June 18,
2014, 6:36 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “Your New Life.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Revelation 7:9-17 (NIV).
Salvation Belongs to
God
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 before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm
branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation
belongs to our God,
who
sits on the throne,
and
to the Lamb.”
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, saying:
“Amen!
Praise
and glory
and
wisdom and thanks and honor
and
power and strength
be
to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”
Awesome! I wish I had a picture of this. This is so
encouraging! We are part of this big picture. Sometimes we may feel alone, but
we are not. Sometimes we may feel as though we are standing alone against the
giants, but we are not. If we are the Lord’s, he is on our side. Amen! Yet, it
is also so encouraging to know that there are multitudes that no one can count
from all over the entire world who are standing before the throne of God
worshipping our Lord, praising his holy name, and proclaiming his salvation to
the ends of the earth. This picture brings tears of joy to my eyes and to my
heart! If only we could see this when we are out sharing the gospel of Jesus
Christ with people, it should continually lift our spirits. How this should
strengthen and encourage us and give us boldness in sharing the truth of God’s word
with the people around us, kind of like the image in Hebrews 12 of the great
cloud of witnesses standing and cheering us on in the race God has called us to
run.
They cried out in a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our
God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” Awesome! They were/are not shy
about proclaiming God’s salvation. They did not and do not hide their lights
under the covers. They are bold in their witness for Christ and in their
worship of him. They are not embarrassed to mention his name or to share their
testimonies of his saving grace, or afraid to let it be known that we serve the
King of kings and the Lord of lords, out of fear of what people might think of
us. They are not concerned about being culturally relevant, blending in with
society, and mixing with the world in order to “reach” the world. They, in a
loud voice, just proclaim the gospel as taught by Jesus Christ and the
apostles. They don’t have to have any clever ways of introducing Christ or his
gospel, either, in order to make it more appealing to humankind. They just shout
it out as plain as what the scripture makes it, and they do so because they
love their Lord and they are so grateful that he saved them out of their sins.
To God be the glory!
So, what is this great salvation? Jesus Christ, God the Son,
came to earth, took on human flesh, suffered as we suffer, was tempted as we
are tempted yet without sin; was despised and rejected of humans, mocked, spat
upon, beaten and hung on a cross to die, although he had done no wrong. Why did
they kill him? They killed him because he told them the truth about their sins.
They killed him because they were jealous of him. They killed him because he
threatened their own positions of power and influence over the people. They
killed him because he claimed to be who he was and is – God Almighty! And, they
killed him because they did not like his messages, because his messages
challenged them to leave their lives of sin behind them, to be transformed in
heart and mind of the Spirit of God, and to follow Jesus Christ in obedience
and surrender to his will for their lives. And, they will kill us, too, for
some of the same reasons, when we dare to be bold in our witness for him.
The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us that Jesus died on the
cross for our sins. When he died, our sins were crucified with him. When he was
resurrected, he triumphed over sin, death, hell and Satan. He did this so that
you and I would not have to suffer the punishment of eternal damnation, eternal
punishment in hell, and eternal separation from God. Yet, that is not the end
of the story! Praise Jesus! He died, as well, so that we could be set free from
the control of sin over our lives day by day. That is The Good News! He died so
that we would no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for
us (See 2 Co. 5:15). And, he died so that we could walk in freedom from sin and
in freedom to walk in obedience to him, in his righteousness and holiness, in
the power and working of the Spirit within us (See Ac. 26:16-18; Ro. 6-8; Gal.
2:20; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14; & 1 Jn. 1-5).
We receive this great gift of salvation when we accept God’s
great salvation into our lives by faith in Jesus Christ. This faith is realized
in our lives through us coming to the cross of Christ, dying to the sins which
once enslaved us, being transformed of the Spirit of God away from sin and to
God, and by us now submitting to the work of God’s grace in our lives in choosing
to no longer live for ourselves and for sin, but to walk in humble obedience to
our Lord in following him wherever he leads us – all in the power of the Spirit
within us.
These in White Robes
Then
one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did
they come from?”
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. 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 shelter them with his presence.
‘Never
again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The
sun will not beat down on them,’
nor any scorching heat.
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.’”
This is an awesome promise! And, these truths should fill
our hearts with much hope. I look forward to the day when I am with my Lord in
person, face to face, along with all those who also call on his name in faith.
Although this may be speaking specifically of the saints of God who will come
through the Great Tribulation at the end of time just prior to our Lord’s return,
I believe there is application for all of us in the here and now, as well, as I
alluded to in my comments with regard to the previous section of this passage
of scripture.
We all have tribulations we go through. Some of them may be
little. Others may feel “great” by comparison. Many are suffering great
persecution right now for their faith and testimonies for Jesus Christ. Many,
in other countries other than the USA, are being tortured and killed for their
stands for Christ and for his word, and this is coming to America, too, and may
have already begun. So, whether or not this is the Great Tribulation spoken of
in scripture, people are suffering just the same, because they call on the name
of Jesus out of sincere hearts and pure faith. They have been washed (purified;
made holy) in the blood of Jesus Christ, and therefore they are before the
throne of God serving him day and night, whether they are still on the earth,
or whether they are presently with him in glory. They serve him because they love
him, and because they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, and they are
so grateful that he redeemed them from their sins. Amen!
And, they/we are encouraged because we dwell in the shelter
of the Most High, i.e. he is always with us, comforting, encouraging, urging,
instructing, and leading us in the way we should go. Amen! He supplies all we
need. He fills us with all good things. He gives us our daily bread, his word,
and fills us with the fullness of his Spirit. He continually refreshes our
spirits with his words of comfort and even exhortation. He is at the center of
our lives. He is our Lord. He holds us together, shepherds us, cares for us,
gently leads us, speaks his words to our hearts, gives us songs of rejoicing,
purifies our hearts, and he wipes away the tears from our eyes with his
continual words of promise, hope and reassurances of his presence, care, concern,
power, sovereignty, purpose, plan and of his will for our lives.
So, as we walk this Christian walk each day, and as we shine
our lights, and share his gospel, and as we face obstacles and persecutions,
discouragements and disappointments, and failings or victories along the way,
we can be assured of his ever present love, care, concern, strength, and power
in our lives to give us everything we need for us to keep on keeping on in the
faith and in sharing our testimonies of his mighty saving grace. Amen!
Your New Life /
An Original Work
Based off the Gospels
/ May 15, 2014
Go and make disciples
of peoples,
Teaching them to obey
their Savior.
Do not fear, but go
where He sends you.
Tell them all of what
you have heard.
The kingdom of God now
is upon you.
Come, and follow
Jesus, your Lord.
He will make you
fishers of man.
If the people Jesus
desire,
They must die to sin
and to self-life.
If they want to hold
on to their lives
They will lose them
forevermore.
Surely you heard that
coming to Christ
Means a new life in
Jesus, your Lord.
Follow Christ wherever
He leads.
Love the Lord with all
of your heart, and
Love your neighbors as
you would yourself.
Preach the gospel to
all the nations.
Do not worry what you
will say.
Proclaim the freedom
for all the captives.
Share the light with
all who are blind.
You are ministers of
our God.
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