Rapture Ready – Reasons to Believe in the Rapture in Revelation Before we continue to Revelation 6, I wanted to pause and study a certain doctrine that is hinted in Revelation, impacts the events in Revelation, but is not directly referenced. It is the doctrine of the rapture. This is a controversial doctrine. Scholars are not in agreement on this issue. I want to share with you the top seven verses about the rapture, the difference between the rapture and... Read more
The Theology of the Book of Revelation by Richard Bauckham Introduction Most interpretations of revelation in contemporary churches are concerned with the chronology of the book of Revelation. While this has benefits it is not the best approach. First because that was not the manner in which revelation was written. Revelation was not written with times and dates said in the text. Many of the Old Testament prophets were given a time oriented prophecy and somewhat given events to describe.... Read more
February 22, 2016 Deuteronomy 1:39 The children who grew up knowing God‘s deliverance from Egypt were young. They were so young that they did not know good from evil. Implied in this statement is the idea that at the beginning of life, we are born with the lack of knowledge between good and evil. Good and evil must be taught. At some point, a person recognizes evil for what it is and chooses it. No one ever exempts themselves from... Read more
February 22, 2016 Year C Exodus 33:1-6 God will still deliver on His promises, even if we act arrogant. Yet, that doesn’t mean He likes it. He can show His disapproval by delivering on His promise, but doing it by proxy. God has delivered the Israelites out of the hands of the Egyptians (He attributes the work to Moses) (Exodus 33:1). He has taken them on a journey and provided them every step of the way. All the while, the... Read more
February 19, 2016 Year C Genesis 14:17-24 When it comes to giving to God, people have their opinions. Many state that it was a practice that derives from the Mosaic law. Therefore, Christians don’t need to give ten percent to the church. The fact is that giving God ten percent (known as the tithe) originated with Abraham, and not Moses. In this account, we see that Abraham made money when his army defeated a group of people in battle (Genesis... Read more
Be On Guard February 17, 2016 Year C Luke 21:34-22:6 Jesus warns us to be on guard. He insists that our minds not be dulled by: Carousing Drunkenness Worries of Life Carousing affects the body. Drunkenness affects the mind. Worries of life affect the spirit (Luke 21:34-35). These activities prevent me from being alert. They can happen to anyone. These activities keep us from being on guard. To be on guard mean to be alert, ready to pay attention to... Read more
February 16, 2016 Year C God hears our cries for protection (Psalm 17:1). He knows when we really need to see Him work in our lives. We need vindication from our enemies (Psalm 17:2). We need God to test, examine, and try our hearts (Psalm 17:3) to show that we desire to follow Him (Psalm 17:4). We call out to God because we know that He will listen and answer us (Psalm 17:5). We beg Him to display the wonders... Read more
Revelation 2:8-11 Suffering for Christ’s Sake When you love someone, you are willing to suffer for them. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: Whenever Christ calls us, his call leads us to death. In the earlier English version of The Cost of Discipleship, Fuller translated this famous aphorism as: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Literally, that says, “Every call of Christ leads into death.”1 Bonhoeffer is reminding us, just as Jesus reminds us that as a church,... Read more
February 15, 2016 Psalm 43:1-5 When someone is depressed, the person has turned to a very sad state. One’s emotions are confused and need an outlet. The psalmist is doing the best he can to “vent upward.” Instead of not expressing, some people hide the emotion. That can be dangerous, and lead to other unhealthy actions. The psalmist expresses his emotion of sadness in a healthy way. The sad emotion of depression can expressed in healthy ways. In this psalm,... Read more
God Provides Freedom God Provides Freedom is a simple thought Lectionary reflection from Exodus 6:1-12 about the way that God provides freedom. February 12, 2016 Year C Exodus 6:1-13 Today is Lincoln’s Birthday, a day we celebrate the life of Abraham Lincoln. As the sixteenth president of the United States, He helped keep the nation together by winning the Civil War. Yet, his most famous accomplishment as President is signing an executive order that promised freedom to black slaves. God... Read more
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