Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Friday, June 13, 2014

The Testimony

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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