Friday, June 13, 2014,
1:16 p.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “Your New Life.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Revelation 1 (NIV).
Take to Heart
The
revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must
soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who
testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of
Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy,
and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it,
because the time is near.
God the Father gave this revelation to Jesus Christ, God the
Son, who then made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who then
testified to everything that he saw to the church, the saints of God. What John
testified to was not only future events that were sure to happen, but he
testified to the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Because these
were the very words of God, blessed were those who read them aloud, who listened
to them, and who took them to heart, because the time of the end was
approaching.
When we take something to heart, we think about it and
consider it seriously, thoughtfully and carefully. We also contemplate what is
being said in relation to our own lives, considering how it may apply to our lives
personally. It may be, depending upon what is being said, that we will make the
necessary changes in our lives and decide that we need to put whatever the
challenge might be into practice in our daily lives. This may also involve a
time of grief over conviction of sin, repentance (turning from sin to God), and
renewal in our faith and in our spiritual walks with the Lord, in the Spirit,
as is evidenced by Rev. 2-3.
We all need to take to heart, though, not only this book of
Revelation, but all of the testimony of Jesus Christ and the Word of God.
Obviously not all of it applies specifically to us today, as some of it may
have been written to specific people, or under particular circumstances, or at
a certain period of time, such as the time when God’s people were under the Old
Covenant. Yet, it is all divinely written by God/Jesus Christ, and it is all
profitable for training in righteousness, correction, rebuke, instruction, etc.
For instance, although we don’t all have the calling of John, obviously, we are
all called to let our lights shine before men, to be Christ’s witnesses, and to
make disciples of Christ of all nations, baptizing and teaching them to obey
everything that Christ Jesus commanded us. So, we should take that calling (or
trust) to heart, and we should all be faithful to that calling.
The Faithful Witness
John,
To
the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace
and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the
seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful
witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To
him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us
to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and
power for ever and ever! Amen.
“Look,
he is coming with the clouds,”
and “every eye will see him,
even
those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn
because of him.”
So
shall it be! Amen.
“I
am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who
is to come, the Almighty.”
Jesus Christ is described here as the “faithful witness.” And,
that is what we are to be, too. He loved us so much that he went to the cross
to die for our sins so that we could be freed, not only from the punishment of
sin – eternal damnation and eternal separation from God – but from the control
of sin over our lives day by day. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Amen! I am so
glad he willingly gave his life up for me so that I could go free from slavery
to sin. Awesome! I know what it is to be in slavery, and I know what it is to
walk in freedom, and I never, ever want to go back! I hope that is where you
are, too! And, I hope that you are taking his word seriously and that you are
being a faithful witness in telling others about his wonderful salvation so
that many can be saved and have eternal life with God, because one day soon he
is coming back to take his own to be with him, and the door will then be shut.
Write What You See
I,
John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient
endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the
word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit,
and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a
scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna,
Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”
I
turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw
seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of
man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around
his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his
eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and
his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven
stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face
was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
When
I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on
me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living
One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the
keys of death and Hades.
“Write,
therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The
mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven
golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven
churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Each one of us who have accepted God’s invitation to his
great salvation has the calling of God upon our lives. We are all called to be
holy – separated from the world of sin and set apart unto God and to his
service. We are called to be his lights, his witnesses, and to go and to make
disciples of Christ of all nations. We are all called to leave our lives of sin
behind us and to follow Jesus Christ in obedience to all his teachings, and to
surrender to his will for our lives, being his ministers in loving others and
in meeting their real needs.
Yet, he has also gifted us individually, and he has specific
tasks (roles within the Body of Christ) for each of us to do, which the Spirit
of God assigns us, and which are not of our own doing or of our own choosing.
So like John we must all, as well, be sensitive to the voice of the Spirit
within us when he tells us specifically to talk with a certain person, or to
send money or a word of encouragement to someone, or to give food or clothing
to a specific needy person, or when he says we need to write what he teaches us
each day from his word and to post it on the internet, or if he calls us to
lead a small group Bible study or whatever calling or assignment he has for our
individual lives.
For some of us, the idea that the Spirit of God might call
us to do something which may be out of our comfort zone, i.e. not something we
would naturally choose to do, may be a little disconcerting (uncomfortable
and/or fearful). Yet, we never have to be afraid, for he who called us is able.
He will give us all we need to do what he has asked us to do. I know!
Today I was so tired and my brain was just not in gear at
all, so I prayed and asked the Lord to wake my brain. Then he encouraged me to
be faithful to the trust he has given me to take the gospel of salvation to
others, so I obeyed, sat down at the computer, and just trusted that he would
give me the words he wanted me to say, because physically and mentally I did
not have it in me to do this today at all. So, I just want to encourage you
here that God is faithful, he is able, and we never need to fear, because it
will not be us doing it, but him doing it through us, if we choose to submit to
his will and obey him.
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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