“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” -Revelation 7:10 Leave it to the last book of the Bible to boast about God’s salvation. Our changed lives are really about him. We think we come to Christ and decide to live a new life based on faith. In reality, God calls us, leads us to him, and provides the faith we use to believe. We would simply never come to salvation unless God made... Read more
“9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the... Read more
11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” 13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the... Read more
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” -Revelation 4:11 Those in heaven rightly recognize who Jesus is and respond properly. We find in their words a pattern worthy of repetition in our lives today. First, they cried, “You are worthy.” They began with stating God’s worth, not their own. Second, they recognized Jesus as “Lord and God.”... Read more
“15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in... Read more
“4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” -Revelation 2:4-5 Falling in love is easy; staying in love is not. There is often an initial attraction in relationships that naturally fizzles out along the way, whether in dating or in relationship with God. Despite the positive aspects of the Church at Ephesus, Jesus criticized them for... Read more
“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.” -Revelation 1:3 Prophecy both scares and fascinates people. We find the Bible’s future judgments frightening, much like a horror film nearing its concluding scene. Yet we also find fascination in the real (and sometimes not so real) connections between the Bible’s future predictions and what we see... Read more
“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.” -Jude 1:3 Jude cared deeply about the spiritual condition of his readers. By the third verse, he is “eager” to write about their common salvation in Jesus. Yet there was one problem. The problem was bad information. Instead of writing about... Read more
“3 It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” -3 John 1:3-4 Joy. Truth. The two work together like a good relay track team or two riders on a tandem bike. John knew well that it was truth and obedience to it that led to lasting... Read more
“4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.” -2... Read more
Holy Writ
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