Esther 7 - Prosperity

Have you ever looked around and asked why the wicked survive and seem to prosper? I admit there have been times when this seems true to me and I question God.

When I get in this mood, I have to always remember a few things:

1. I don't see the whole tapestry of what is happening in this world. I only see a small piece God knows what is happening with each thread and my job is to trust God to weave them all into a patters that brings glory to God's name and serves God's purpose.
2. Prosperity on earth does not signify prosperity in heaven. Our time here on the earth is short compared to eternity. I am trying to live for eternity, not for the here and now. Often those people who are serving themselves, are living for the moment. They may be successful at the moment, but that doesn't translate to heavenly success. 

In all these circumstances, I also have to go back and remind myself, what God asked Job. Who are you to questions God? That is so true, God is creator and I am creation. I have no qualification s or rights to question God's methods.

I have to wonder if these kind of thoughts were going through the head of Mordecai or Esther in relation to Haman and Haman was gaining favor with King Xerxes. Or did they just believe that God would work out the eventual outcome so that the righteous would ultimately prosper. In this chapter though, we are reminded that God does work things out for the righteous. Haman, perishes and loses all the power and success he had gained through his wickedness. Yes, he had a season, but that season was short lived. The suffering of the righteous also has a season, and consider it in with eternity and that too, is short lived.

Stop worrying about who prospers on earth and who doesn't. Just focus on the eyes of Jesus and live righteously knowing that eternity waits for you and that God welcomes those who have welcomed God!

Esther 6 - God Steps In

I love this chapter because it reminds me that God can step into any circumstance and make things happen according to God's will. Here we have Haman plotting to kill Mordecai before Esther makes her request to the King and God gives Xerxes sleeping issues and pushes him to be reminded of what Mordecai has done for him.

Furthermore, I appreciate the irony of the situation that God sets up. King Xerxes asks Haman opinion of how to reward a man who pleases the king. Haman answers assuming that King Xerxes means him and basically gets to dictate the reward that Mordecai, who he wants to assassinate, will get and is ordered to make it happen.

Just another example of God's sense of humor and God's divine ability to make things happen.

This is a good reminder that we can't and don't have to do everything that God needs. God is perfectly capable of handling all things, It is just our privilege that God uses us and allows us to be a part of God's plan. But of course God can't use us if we do not open ourselves and make ourselves available to God.

Today, I plan to notice God working around me. Not just through other people, but God doing God's work. I invite you to join me and I would love to hear about your observations, so feel free to comment and share your testimony of God moving in the world around you!

Esther 5 - Wooing

So Esther goes to the King after her fast and does find favor with him, She then invites him to a banquet at which he asks to know what she wants and she asks him to come to another banquet in his honor the next day and then she will explain. As I read this, I can see patience...Esther is wooing the King to her wish.

Look around at society today. How often do you see someone take the time to woo somebody over to an idea? Fairly often we are looking to have something accomplished yesterday. We spend all kinds of time pushing things forward as fast as we can so that we can accomplish things and move on to the next thing. What would happen if we slowed things down and really wooed someone to an idea. Took the time to build up our favor with someone, before we proposed an idea to them?

Even if we look at relationships today, how often do people take the time to really woo the other person, to win them over and take time to build the relationship? What can be more precious? If we look at history, hasn't God spent a tremendous amount of time wooing us? The Bible is one long love story between God and the nation of Israel/the church.

I challenge you to pick a situation in your life, whether it be a relationship or an idea that you want to present to someone and slow down the process. Take the time to woo that person and see what the results are. Let's see if we, like Esther, can find favor.

Esther 4 - Seeking God

Have you ever been asked to do something that you were afraid to? This was Esther's situation. Her people were going to be in trouble and she was being asked to risk her life. At first she only sees the danger and points it out but after she decides to risk everything to try and save the Jews. What I like most about her response is that she asks to be prayed for and commits to fast and pray before she takes the risk.

I have to air that sometimes when I walk into risks, I forget to include God and pray. I forget that God has the ultimate control and it will be God's will, not my own that will be done. I wish I had the humility of Esther to seek God first. I hVe a feeling my success rate would go up. What about you? Do you remember to submit to God before you take a risk? Do you, like I need to grow in this area?

Let's pray for each other that we will both submit to God in all things!

Esther 3 - Think Before You Act

After reading this chapter, I have to wonder...is King Xerxes an idiot? incredibly greedy? or what? Just look at verse 9. "If it please the king, issue a decree that they be destroyed, and I will give 10,000 large sacks of silver to the government administrators to be deposited in the royal treasury."

Come on, now...does he not recognize bribery when he sees it? Even worse, when we look at previous verses, we see that Hamen isn't even giving the king all the details, like which race Hamen wants destroyed. Nor does the king ask for any details to understand the situation. It is in this that we can learn some lessons:
1. Don't make uninformed decisions. If you are familiar with this story, you will see that he king later decides this was a mistake. A hasty decision without all the facts rarely works out, unless you have the right advisor...
2. Choose advisors carefully. We don't really know how Herman was chosen, but it seems clear that the king was not aware of his biases. And furthermore, setting a decree for everyone to bow down to him just seems like you are asking for trouble. This kind of attention is going to go to the head of most people. In my opinion, he is lucky Hamen didn't decide he wanted to be king.

As we will see as we read through this book, God uses a serious of foolish actions on the part of the king and acts of obedience on the part of Esther to bless the Jews, but I think along the way we can learn a lot about wise choices verses foolish ones.

God has given us the capacity to think and to seek God's dicernmemt. We should use these gifts to become people of wisdom!

God bless you!

Esther 2 - Taking Advice

Is anyone out there independent like me? When you get into a new situation do you like to figure it out on your own or get the advice of others?

Years ago, when I started teaching, I was assigned a mentor, but I wanted to figure things out on my own and prove that I could do it without help. In the end, I did figure things out but I lost out in learning many things from a master teacher. Yes, we had different styles, but if I had been able to take advice from her, I might have been twice the teacher I became. Pride and stubbornness can be downfall traits. Fortunately Esther did not share those with me. Esther very willingly took the advice of Mordecai (her uncle) and Hegai (the eunuch in charge of the harem). This won her favor in the harem and eventually the pairing of queen.

How many of us could learn a lot from Esther in this. To act in humility and receive the advice of others and follow it. God created us to be in relationship with others and with God. We were not created to be an island unto ourself. Next tome you find yourself in a new situation, take time to hear the advice of those with more knowledge and understanding and benefit from their experience. You will find that you can go farther will a little help from those around you and your pride will not hold you back.

Esther 1 - Rash Decisions

Have you ever made a rash decision that you regretted? The book of Esther starts with a rash decision made by King Xerxes, while he has had too much to drink. His wife Queen Vashti refused to come before him and he banishes her from his presence.

This bring up one of the things that often happens for me when I read a Bible story, and that is the fact that their is information missing that I want to know. In this case, why did Queen Vashti refuse? We could speculate all kinds of reasons, but I guess we have to fall back on the idea that if it was important to God's message, it would be there. So obviously the reason is not important, just the outcome.

Now ultimately we know (for those of you familiar with this book) that the outcome on the king's decision to Banish Queen Vashti is good for the Jews, but let's take a closer look at this decision and see what we can learn from it.

So the circumstances:

• The King is in the middle of a long celebration that he has called to show off his wealth.
• The King allows everyone to drink as much as they want.
• Queen Vashti is holding her own celebration for the women at the same time.
• The King's motive was to show off the beauty of Queen Vashti.

So the King is trying to impress people, is certainly dealing with his pride and is buzzed with alcohol. Sounds like a pretty bad combination. When the Queen refuses, he feels shamed because he looks bad in front of his guests and he is not thinking straight because of the alcohol. Have you ever made a decision in this state of mind? If you have, it probably wasn't one of your finer moments, just as it wasn't the Kings.

I have a 24 hour rule that I try to follow as often as possible. When I have to make a big decision, I always try to sleep on it, give it 24 hours. This gives me time to pray about it and if I still feel like it is the right decision the next day, then I feel like I can make it with more confidence. Imagine if King Xerxes had followed this rule. Aside from the good that came from this situation eventually, a lot of regret and hurt could have been avoided if King Xerxes had taken a little time.

The next time you are walking into a big decision, remember King Xerxes, think about the decision and the circumstances surrounding it. Will a little humility on your part go farther than the consequences of a rash decision? Will time had give you more clarity? The decision will still be there if you give it time. Yes, you may have some people around you upset over the delay, but consider the end outcome!

Philemon - Reconciliation at Jesus' Request

When I read this book, I imagine Jesus writing this to me as he returns someone to my life that has hurt or wronged me, but has changed. Asking me a favor, as if I didn't owe him everything. Giving me the chance to say no, but reminding me that I owe him so much that I couldn't possibly reasonably deny this small request, and willing to take on whatever the cost of the favor.

The problem is, that sometimes I (and maybe others) do say no. I can be so caught up in my hurt that I can't get past that to see that loving this person in Jesus name is a small request from the person who loves me in spite of myself.

If I really think about it, I have wronged many people in my life. But fortunately, God has never left me as that person. God grows me and molds me, showing me where I have gone astray and leads me back to paths of righteousness. So, I too am a changed person. Do I want others to see me as the person I was in the past? Of course not, I want them to see me as who I am now and who God is continually molding me to be. With that said, how can I possible not offer that outlook to others.

In some ways, I find it very easy. When I meet a new person who has a checkered past, I can easily look at their heart today and accept who they are and build our relationship around that. I can even do that with people I have casually known that did thin gs to hurt me in the past. Then why can't I easily do that with those who have been closest to me? Our shared love should result in a greater desire to reconcile with the new person God is creating them to be, but the hurt runs so much deeper.

I feel for Philemon, who was hurt by Onesimus when he ran away. Onesimus had been a part of Philemon's household for years. And, now we have Paul asking Philemon to forgive and treat Onesimus as a brother in Christ. No easy task. But as Paul points out, Philemon owes him everything, just as we owe Christ everything.

Is there someone that Jesus is putting in your life, saying look at how this person has changed. Forgive them and treat them as a brother/sister, because that person is loved by me and is my brother/sister? Consider all that Christ has done for you...while this may seem big in your heart, isn't it really a small thing that Jesus is asking you in light of what he has done for you? Say yes and let God work out the details and take away the hurts!

Revelation 22 -

Well, as we come to the end of this book, I want to talk a little about the message given to John about this book, "The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life. And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book."

Key things I notice:

• All are invited. Any who are thirsty, who want to hear the words of God are invited to drink freely from the water of life. I love reading this, because it reminds me that God is calling all, it is about if you choose to accept the invitation. I am also reminded how important God's word is, that the Word is the key to life.
• The other interesting thing is the references to taking away or adding to the word. God has given the message in its full completeness. In that form it is holy and true. As soon as we start to add or take away from the message, then it because open to the flaws of humanity. For this reason, I think it is important when we read scripture to always be thinking about it from the understanding that we are reading a translation. For this reason, going back to look at the original language and studying the meanings of those words is very valuable. Intentionally or unintentionally, when translating, words and ideas can take on a new shade of meaning. This is another reason for us to always look to scripture to confirm scripture. It should affirm and support itself. If you see messages that contradict each other, it is important to study them more closely, so that you can determine true meaning from the passages. I also recognize that as limited humans we may not fully understand passages so we may think they are in conflict when they are not....but again, this is a reason for further study.

So, my friends, be responsible stewards of the word. Don't take it lightly when God gives you an opportunity to share the word with others, be careful to stick to God's message and be wary of adding your own. Also, remember that God is seeking all, and is inviting all. Be careful that you don't decide who should and should hear God's invitation. Be ready in all times and all places to share with all of God's children!

Revelation 21 - God in Person

Do you know the joy of God living in your heart? Can you imagine how much better it will be to live in God's presence? This is why verse 3 caught my attention. It reads, "I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying,'Look God's home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.'"

Among other thongs, God is my friend and when I read this verse, I imagine walking and talking with God just as I do with other friends. I can see the conversation traveling from topic to topic, sometimes deep and serious and sometimes with some joking around. To me this is the next step from Jesus dwelling here on earth. This allowed us to understand Fod better and relate to God. But seeing God face to face will be the culmination of that. The other thing it reminds me of is the Joan Osborne song, "One of us". Not that I can imagine God as having the flaws that we have, but that at this time, we will be who God has created us to be fully and will be more like God. The intimacy will be amazing and we will feel like we can talk and even joke with God. Are you ready for that intimacy with God? Why not start building it today? God wants to be our all in all, both meeting all our needs and being our best friend. Why not talk to God just as you would your best friend? I tend to point out when I think God is putting humor in my life, through circumstances. Accepting that we are modeled after God, we should expect God to have a sense of humor...and the other character traits we see all around us.

Today, try treating God like your best friend and sharing inside jokes with God. God wants to be and is ready to be that best friend and companion!

Revelation 20 - The Final Chance to Choose

This chapter describes the 1000 year reign of Christ before the final judgement. There are some really interesting things about this time:

• Before this time will be the first resurrection. This will be for those who were martyred for the gospel (In the NLT is specifies those who had their heads cut off). These people will rule with Jesus in this time. This period will be a time where the Light is the influencer. For this reason, using those whose passion for the Lord was so great that they were willing to give their lives for God to rule, means that the leadership will definitely be impassioned for Christ. Those left who are still trying to decide whose side they are on, will be exposed to this. If the passion of the martyred can't speak to them and help them to choose Christ, then, there is probably nothing that will reach them.
• Another interesting thing about this time is that Satan will be imprisoned. For this reason, evil influence will be very low. Only those people who choose to work in darkness will be left. There will not be the powers of darkness and Satan's sly character will not be around to draw people away from Christ. I think this will be interesting because we will truly see, for those people still alive, how strong they can be for good without Satan's distractions. We can certainly claim that Satan influences us/other people in today's world. We might even use Satan as an excuse for our wrongdoing, but in this time, that excuse will be taken away. It will be a time for us to see our true inner strength. I think we will find that even without Satan in the picture, we will be weak to our sin.
• The third interesting thing is that not all the dead will be a part of this first resurrection. Most of the dead will not return until the final judgement. So why won't all the dead return at this time? Certainly that is a good question, that we can't possibly know exactly, but my guess is that is goes back to setting up a kingdom where the influencers are all for the light. Bringing back all the dead, would include a mix of influences. This time, is a last and final effort to get those left to choose God. The deck is stacked (for the first time in history since Eden) toward the light. 

I am sure many of you who are reading this, would have difficulty imagining yourself as among the indecisive, but just for a moment, try. Do you think this environment would help you choose God? I am planning to reflect on that today and I encourage you to do the same. What would it take for you to choose God?

Revelation 19 - Growing with Discipline

"Praise the Lord! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God. His judgements are true and just." Revelation 19:1b,2a.

There are many reasons to praise God but I admit that this is one I sometimes struggle with when I am the one being disciplined. It can be hard to receive God's discipline. For us to truly receive it and praise God, we must first humble ourselves, admit our wrongdoing, and then speak the truth that we need the discipline.

Admitting that you have messed up is difficult enough, especially if you must admit it to other people. But, even when we mess up, we all would like to miss out on the consequences....be forgiven with no discipline. One one hand that sounds great, doesn't it? But would we truly learn and change?

God's discipline is not about revenge, but about growth. God knows that we would prefer to avoid unpleasant consequences, but God knows it would also be difficult for us to grow and change if we didn't have a true understanding of the consequences of our actions.

It is right to give God praise in all circumstances! Maybe you can help yourself to reach a place of praise the next time you are being disciplined by the Lord by looking to see how God is growing you!

Revelation 18 - Environments

Have you ever hung out with a crowd of people that you thought was the "wrong crowd"? People, who when you hung out with them, you found yourself doing things that you didn't want to?

Probably most of us have experienced this at some point in our lives. Because we were made to live in community, it is reasonable that the people around us can have influence on us. This is why God warns us in the Bible to be careful of where and with who we spend our time.  Verse 4 and 5 remind us of this again, "Then I heard another voice calling from heaven, "Come away from her, my people. Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her. For her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God is ready to judge her for her evil deeds." This passage is warning God's children to stay away from Babylon (the place where evil rules from during the end times) because God knows that those who live in the midst of evil and immorality will join in. This will lead to getting the same discipline and consequences that those who chose the world will get.


It can be a challenge to stay away from bad environments and people. Sometimes we think that we can effect change in that person or place and we connect ourselves with the best of intentions, but we must remember that just as that environment and person are being influenced by us, we are also being influenced by it. The key here is to protect yourself by keeping yourself surrounded by an environment and people who will push you forward in positive ways on your journey of life. We need to reach out to other people and environments, but not get so caught up in them that we lose our sight of the holiness that God gave us.


P.S. My apologies for missing yesterday. I read this chapter then, but wasn't sure what direction God wanted me to go with it and then the day got away from me. Thank you for your patience!

Revelation 17 - Spiritual Prostitution

What is spiritual prostitution? Well prostitution is selling one's talents, abilities or name for an unworthy reason, with the word spiritual we can adjust that to mean selling the characteristics of your spirit for an unworthy reason. For instance, your holiness. God created us to be holy, but we often trade that in for short-term pleasure, money, power, or status. Sometimes in little ways and sometimes in big ones. For example, yesterday, I was sitting at work with nothing to do. Now I owe my employer my time when I am at work, but in my boredom, I spent about 20 minutes playing Word Warp on my iPod. Now this is a small thing, but it cuts away at my integrity, and I did it all for a little bit of diversion and fun. I certainly could have spent some more time looking up some of the different electrical supplies in the store so that I would better understand the products the company sells, but instead, I chose to give up some of my integrity, for a little bit of diversion.

Revelation 17 talks about the great prostitute and those around her that commit adultery with her. The people of the world with think nothing of this and will allow themselves to become involved with it as well. There will be a time, where prostitution (spiritual) will be abundant. In fact, it already is abundant, but Revelation speaks of a time in the future when other events are coming together as the scripture says. But this is a time for us to examine ourselves and see those areas where we are giving up the characteristics that God gave us for things that will only last in this world. Since we know that God is eternal and God desires for us to spend eternity together, shouldn't we be investing in that future.

My goal is to be better today than I was yesterday. To listen more to God today and consider building my holiness, integrity, and all the other traits that God sowed into me, so that I might be investing in an eternal future, not just for the moment in front of me.

God help me please! And help all those reading this who also desire to focus on eternity!

Revelation 16 -

In this chapter we see the bowl judgements being poured out. The first reads, "So the first angel left the Temple and poured out his bowl over the earth, and horrible, malignant sores broke out on everyone who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue" So this judgement effects those who have the mark of the beast. In subsequent judgements, we keep see the phrase, "They did not repent of their sins and turn to God and give him glory." a couple of times (verses 9 & 11). This made me start to think about whether those who have received the mark of the beast can repent and return to God. Certainly these phrases in verses 9 and 11 imply that they do have that opportunity although it says no one will do it. 


Looking through the book of Revelation where it mentions the mark of the beast, I didn't find anything that says that a person cannot repent and return to God after they have taken the mark of the beast. Now it certainly says that people won't in some places as wee see in verses 9 and 11, but there is no clear cut answer that they can't.


This is yet another reminder to me of God's constant call to us. The Lord whispers love into our hearts and waits for us to turn toward God. God always offers us hope out of the Lord's extravagant love for us! Yes, God loves you extravagantly, in spite of whether you love God back! God's love offers hope and a place of refuge from the storms of life. If you don't yet have a relationship with God, I encourage you to talk to the Lord today and ask God to come and live in your heart. Life can be like an ocean with waves that can cast you all over the place, but God is like a rudder on your boat, helping you find direction and a port in the storms.


If you make this decision today, please let me know about it. You can comment to the post (and I know many other readers will add you to their prayer list as well) or send me an email jimmylang16@yahoo.com. I would love to pray for you and encourage you in your new journey.


God bless you!

Revelation 15 - Ritgheous Deeds Revealed

“Great and marvelous are your works,
      O Lord God, the Almighty.
   Just and true are your ways,
      O King of the nations.
 Who will not fear you, Lord,
      and glorify your name?
      For you alone are holy.
   All nations will come and worship before you,
      for your righteous deeds have been revealed.”

The book of Revelation has so many songs of praise and worship. I love the last phrase, "for your righteous deeds have been revealed." There are many things that are going on around us that we may not notice, especially if we aren't looking for them. The beautiful thing about coming into God's presence is that all will be revealed in the end. Things we didn't notice will be seen and things we didn't understand will become clear. But we can see many of God's deeds right now, if we open our eyes and look for them. If I think about  my day yesterday, I can see God's works. God brought to completion my car purchase, which was all an amazing thing. I was able to get financing without anyone's help, get a car I loved ay a great price, get it within two days, without having to mess around with my bank which is back in CT (I am in MA). God blessed that whole process. Then when I was in Boston, God kept me warm in the cold, and dry in the wet. Provided me with an amazing lunch and the most delicious dessert pizza...and wonderful company to eat it with. I could go on. These are just little things, but some of these little things are a part of a larger tapestry of God is doing in my life and the lives of others. When examined individually they may look like small things, but all great things are built from many small things.

Can you look at your life yesterday and see God's works. Just imagine that what we can see is a fraction of what we will understand at the end of time, when we stand before the Lord. We will see all the ways God has guided and protected us. But don't just wait to find out, search out God's goodness and praise the Lord for those things you discover!

Revelation 14 - Life of Purity

I have to laugh as I read the first verse of this chapter, "Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads", since I talked about that yesterday.


So can you imagine being one of these 144.000? In verse 5 it tells us they have told no lies and they are without blame. And verse 4 tells us they have kept themselves as pure as virgins. This last quality, I interpret as spiritual pureness, likened to virginity. These are a special offering to God! And as a consequence, only they can learn the "wonderful new song". God is reminding us that there is benefit to keeping ourselves spiritually pure and living a righteous life. It is not solely these people who are saved, for God welcomes each child that repents and accepts the gift of salvation, but for those who are like have always kept themselves pure, they will be set aside and receive a special reward/opportunity. 

We know that we can stray and return to the Lord, and it has been thrown out there that you can do what you want and live whatever life you want and then return to the Lord later. These verses remind us that there is consequences for that. While we may be able to do that, it is not the best God has planned for us.


Live a life that is righteous today, in all things! Do not wait for tomorrow. You don't know what tomorrow will bring and you may miss the opportunity to develop, deepen and grow your relationship with Christ. 


Lord, help us all to see the urgency of coming close to you. Help us to recognize that our righteousness is a love offering to you that reaches to the heavens like a sweet perfume. Give us strength to guard and protect out spiritual purity! Amen.

Revelation 13 - Write the Names of God on Your Forehead

So I have to admit I am going to veer off the scripture a little bit, but as I read the first verse, "Then I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And written on each head were names that blasphemed God." I couldn't help it but to turn around the idea and wonder, how we could write the names of God on us. 


What would it be like if when someone looked at us, they saw the names of God...God's character? This is one of our best evangelism tools, to live a life that points to God, so that when someone meets us or gets to know us, they ask about what makes us live as we do. 


So I was thinking that each week it would be good to focus on different names of, one at a timer, and work to represent that characteristic of God more fully. Of course in order to do this, we would need to know the names of God and what they mean. Let's look at a few right now, but here is a link to a more complete list.
 
One of my favorites is Jehovah Rophe - God who heals. This isn't just about physical healing, but emotional and spiritual as well. We too can bear that name when we look to bring healing to those around us. To bring them into reconciled relationships with others in their life or God, to help them work through wounds and release the pain. 

Another is Gaol - God our redeemer. Remember when Boaz redeemed Ruth. He wore this name of God. How can we reflect the redeemer quality of God?

And Jehovah-Jireh - God will provide. Can you be God's provision for someone? Think about their struggles and what they might need. Do they need someone to come offer them a hand with a project? Do they need a little money to overcome a financial slump? Do they need someone to give them a ride somewhere or to just listen?

Now of course we can only reflect characteristics of God. We are not God, but in imitating the Lord, we can give others a glimpse of who God is. I was thinking that when beast (of Revelations) rises out of the sea with the names that blaspheme God, we were all wearing names that point to God, how would this impact those who God is reaching out to and bring into a saving relationship. If just one more person chose God over Satan, it would be all worth it. For each one of us is imminently important to God.

What name of God would you want written on your forehead?

Revelation 12 - Israel

Reading this chapter we reads about the woman with the twelve stars on her head, who is clothed in the sun and will be the mother of a son who will rule all nations. The perfect picture of the nation of Israel, with the twelve stars representing the twelve tribes and the son being Jesus. As you read about the woman, you can see Israel's story. They have many times been in situations where they have had to flee in to the wilderness and they have always been protected. Even today, they are a small nation amidst nations that would do them harm. Satan has continually used other nations to try destroy Israel, but God's protection is faithful.

Now what about us gentile Christians. Recently, I heard that when we accept Jesus as our savior, we become spiritually grafted into the nation of Israel. I think there is truth to that and we see in the Old Testament that people can become a part of the tribes of Israel. Therefore, we can count ourselves among the children of the woman that will be plagued by Satan in His attempt to destroy the woman.

So what to walk away from this with for today? Know that as God's child, you are protected. Understand that Satan will be trying to hurt and destroy you, but that Satan cannot defeat God.

Revelation 11 - Persistent God

Why does God send prophets to speak to a world for 1260 days when the world is filled stubborn and evil people who have proved they aren't listening to God?

Let's consider all that has gone on before this point.  There have been plagues and disasters. God has certainly made an effort to get the attention of the people of the Earth. And now God sends messengers to speak truth about the condition of the world and the love of the Lord. Why does God do this for a stiff-necked people? The answer is love. God loves us, the Lord's created children, so much that God keeps trying. God is persistent and always hopeful that just one more will hear God's voice and choose God.

In spite of the fact that at this point in the end times, people have had many opportunities to repent, God keeps providing chances. Not because God wants to be harsh or make life difficult for people, but because the Lord wants to save then and bring them into God's eternal Kingdom.

Have you ever known someone whose love is so persistent? I often think of my parent's love for me. I don't always make the choices they would wish me to, but their love persists. They have always welcomed me home, no matter what my condition. They have also pointed me to my Lord and Savior and guided my to the greatest gift they could, a saving relationship with Jesus. Many a parent is seen standing by their child even when their child has done wrong and the world is against them. God's love is like that!

Lord, help me that I too will show that love towards others in my life. That I can love with a persistent love and be patient with those you surround me with. Help me to continually show you face to those I meet and care about. Amen

Revelation 10 - Properties of the Word

When you hear the word, how does it taste? Verse 10 reads, "So I took the small scroll from the hand of the angel, and I ate it! It was sweet in my mouth, but when I swallowed it, it turned sour in my stomach."

The word of God is sweet and as Christians in relationship with God, we desire and hunger for God's word. God's word tells us of the Lord's love for us. We read this in so many places in so many different ways. God is the lover of our soul, God love's us with a sacrificial love, God's love is deeper than the deepest ocean. What could be sweeter than words of love. I don't know about you, but I am always thrilled when someone reaches out to me in love and speaks words of love and encouragement.

But this verse also tells us that the word turned sour in John's stomach. This is also true of the word, particularly when we resist the message. God's word also points out our sin and disciplines us. If we are resistant to hearing this, it becomes a negative and sour experience.

So how can we avoid the bitterness of discipline? One way is to be open to hearing what God has to tell us. To receive that word from the Lord, recognizing God's amazing love for us and hearing it through that lens of love. I have a good friend who is an example of that in my life. This friend sometimes is criticized by people because her words are "rough" and they become offended by how she tells them something. She certainly is a straight shooter and I can always count on her to tell me something straight. It won't always be what I want to hear, but it is always truth. I also know that this friend loves me and I have complete trust in that love. When she tells me something, I never hear the "roughness" of her words, I always hear loving truth. I know she wouldn't tell me things I didn't want to hear if she didn't care. Her goal is to help me on the path that Godd has laid before me. How much greater is God's love for us!

The next time God has to discipline you, think about the Lord's incredible love for you and hear that discipline for what it is, a loving word of direction to help us stay on the path that is best for us.

God bless you all today!

Revelation 9 - Desiring Life or Death

As you read this chapter, three plagues are described, the first being locust coming from the smoke of a star that falls to earth. As it describes the plague, verse 6 says, "In those days people will seek death but will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them."

I see a lot of irony in this. If we look at society today, we see people who are trying to cling to life and youth. As people, we will go through a lot to preserve ourselves, even to the point of plastic surgery to preserve our looks. people tend to fear death and do whatever they can to avoid it. But the book of Revelation tells us that during the plagues, unsaved will seek death and not find it. There will be a complete attitude reversal. People will fear life (a life of pain) more than death. Today, many fear the unknown of death more than the known conditions of life, but then, they will fear the known conditions over the unknown. This leads me to believe that this will be a time of great suffering, probably beyond what many of us can imagine or have previously experienced.

As I think about this, I am grateful to be in relationship with God. Life may not always be easy, but it is better knowing that I don't face anything alone. God is present and working towards my good and God's glory. In knowing God and knowing that death will bring me face to face with God, I don't have to fear the unknown, because I love the one who created it and God is good. And I can live, knowing that I will not be faced with that level of suffering that Revelation talks about because authority to harm and destroy is only been given over those who are non-believers. Life will be difficult in that day, but life with God will always be better. Cling to the Lord and fear to not be in relationship with God. This will make all the difference.

Revelation 8 - Prayer

^"3 Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne. ⁴ The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out."

I just love this image of our prayers as an offering to God. As I read this, I was reminded that our prayers which include our hopes and dreams, our deepest sufferings and our greatest joys, are a piece of us and as they are being offered up to the Lord as an offering, so too are we. I think it is important to remember that each day as you pray. Our prayers are not just words, and we shouldn't allow them to become that for us. They are our deepest thoughts and hopes. We should be invested in those prayers and offering them in faith that God does receive them and with the assurance that our prayers will receive a response.

What do you do to make sure that your prayers are personal and a piece of yourself, given to God? One of the things that can make prayers special for me is to mix them with music. This combined prayer and music worship seems to help me become more personal and deeper with the Lord. For me, I allow the words of a song to start my journey and bring me to a place of connection and they become a jumping off point for my more specific prayers. Possibly because I am so effected by music, it is easy for my to feel that God will be effected by my prayers when I combine the too. I don't really know and I am sure that the form of our prayers in not important to God, but I guess sometimes it can be important to us.

So what about you, I would love to here what helps make your prayers deep and personal?

Revelation 7 - Hope

After yesterday's chapter which foretold of the impending suffering the world would suffer, chapter 7 is a wonderful one to read. We hear about the 144,000 who have been marked with the seal of God. While we could take this number literally, I believe that it is symbolic. First, this number is split among the twelve tribes of Israel. This reminds me that all of those that God has chosen and called children, are represented in those that are sealed. God chose to work through the Israelite nation and when those of us who are gentiles, come to know Christ, I believe we become spiritual Israelites. Therefore, I see gentiles as being included in this 144,000 sealed believers.

The other thing I notice about this number is how large it is. I keep reminding myself that in today's world, where there are more people currently alive than have ever lived, we see numbers like 144,000 and they don't seem as large as they would have in a world with less people. When you consider that the ancient Roman Colosseum would hold about 45,000, we are looking at a number that is more than double the largest gatherings of that time. A number that would feel extremely huge and uncountable. And in fact, after referring to this group as 144,000, verse 9 says, "I saw a vast crowd, too great to count..." Beyond those that are sealed, we find this other group that has been cleansed and represents those who have died in the tribulation.

The bottom line is, this chapter speaks of those who will be sealed and those who be cleansed in the tribulation and stand in front of the throne of heaven. While things may get grim during this time, those who remain faithful will be taken under God's wing.

Revelation 6 - White Horseman

This chapter is an example of why I was hesitant to blog on the book of Revelations. We see here four horsemen that come with the opening of the four seals. The first is the one I find most interesting...the white horseman. The other three are clearly bringing war, famine, and death, but this first horseman brings conquest. First, I note that he travels on a white horse, white being a color typically associated with good. But how could we have one good horseman and three bad horsemen? Therefore, we have to conclude that this horseman is also bringing bad things and is a deceiver. Who this horseman is and what he brings may look good, but will not be. From that perspective, we can then see that this horseman is a leader who will bring conquest to the world, that may appear to be for benefit, but will turn out to be for the destruction of all peoples.

So, what does this have to do with me today? What should I take away from this? That is a great question. I certainly spent some time wrestling with that this morning. The obvious is that we need to be forewarned as to what is coming and watchful, but I certainly always like to understand something more tangible, that I can really roll around in my mind. So what is it, you ask? Well...why do you think I am rambling on so...I am still trying to figure it out for myself.

Maybe we need to examine the idea of conquest and look at history to see the results of conquest. It certainly has brought on times of destruction and suffering. We really can't claim that we are at our best as a species when we are in conquest mode. I think of the crusades as a time when conquest appeared to be for good (spreading the gospel message), and yet it was fraught with evil intentions.

Possibly we are supposed to understand that we need to look at the heart, or the fruit of people/events/ideas around us. How often does the fruit look good, but when you bite into it, is has rot inside. Maybe we even need to examine ourselves and see if we are presenting a pure outside when in actuality, we have hidden sins that we are not dealing with. Maybe we need to determine if we, too, share traits with the first horseman and make changes within ourselves.

Maybe all these ideas are a stretch and we just need to focus on the warning and understanding of the future this passage provides. What do you think? I would certainly love to hear your ideas!

Revelation 5 - Worthiness

Who is worthy to open the scroll? cried the angel. Well, none were found worthy but the Lion of Judah. And what made Jesus worthy? We see in the hymns sung by the four beings and the twenty-four elders, “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth.” (verses 9 & 10).

Jesus' worthiness to open the scroll stems from His sacrifice for all of humanity, which made them like priests and able to go directly to God and be in relationship with the Lord. By taking on our sin, Jesus made us clean, while he became a vessel for all our sin.

When we consider this act, and what it means, we too will find Jesus worthy. We know that sin causes separation from God and in our state of sin, we cannot be in direct relationship with God. In the Old Testament, the priesthood was established to develop a relationship between God and the nation of Israel. The priest went through many rituals and ceremonies to become clean in order to interact with God. It was only once a year that the High Priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies and be in the presence of God and this was only after a great deal of purifying and cleansing rituals.

Through Jesus' sacrifice. all those who accept the gift he offers are considered clean and able to interact with God on a daily basis. For a moment, consider what it would be like to not be able to talk to God the way we do and hear from the Lord without going through an intermediary. If I were to remove that relationship from my life, it would never be the same. I would feel an emptiness and a great deal of sadness. Now granted, I would not have experienced it ever without Jesus' sacrifice, but imagine always having a place in you that was never whole and was always crying out for something that it could never have. Would you want to live that way?

Maybe we experienced that before we developed a relationship with God or maybe we only understood we were that way after we developed a relationship with God, but I would never want to go back there. Since I developed a relationship with God, things have never been the same. Not always easy, but always better.

And for that, Jesus IS worthy!

P.S. I apologize for the the lack of reflection yesterday, I was without Internet until late in the day, and I must confess that by that point, I let the business of my life distract me from going back and sharing my reflection on the Word. Please forgive me.