The Book of Revelation

Our "Wrestling With The Word" Bible study group is reading the Book of Revelation.  I have always avoided reading it because of the symbolism and the mysteries associated with it, and the fact that I can't embrace it all and proclaim that "I Get It!"  I avoided it until I read :

Revelation 1: 3...Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophesy, and blessed are those who hear and keep what is written in it; for the time is near.

If God tells me that I will be blessed by this study, then I will not avoid it.  We have read through Chapter 17, so we have not completed the book yet, but a couple of reoccurring things stand out...God's Glory and His Faithfulness and His Desire that we receive Salvation.

Throughout the Book, John gives us glimpses of Heaven...being in the presence of God.  Worship is a major theme in the Book of Revelation and Heaven is a place of worship.  Salvation is the gift God offers and it's magnitude is revealed in the words of Revelation 7: 15-17

15 Therefore, "they are before the throne of God
     and serve him day and night in his temple;
     and he who sits on the throne
    will shelter them with his presence.

16 Never again will they hunger;
     never again will they thirst.
     The sun will not beat down on them,
     nor scorching heat.

17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne   
     will be their shepherd;
     "he will lead them to springs of living waters"
     "and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."  

Another recurring theme is God's faithfulness and His desire for the lost to turn to Him in repentance.  God sends prophets to share His Word and to reveal the truth in the midst of suffering and chaos, yet we see over and over that people "do not repent".  God would not belabor this point, if He did not want us to know that he desires that we be saved by believing the Gospel Message of His Word...Jesus came and died as a sacrifice for our sins so that we may be saved.  He was crucified, buried, and rose from  the dead so that we would not suffer the eternal cost of our sins.  If God places a priority on this message, then we who believe in Jesus, should as well.  We should share in His desire that the lost turn to Christ and we demonstrate that by sharing the Gospel Message.

In this study of Revelation, God challenges unbelief in Him.  It exposes the futility of putting our faith in governments, our own wisdom, our wealth, our possessions, or people.  Hopelessness is the result of living with misplaced beliefs or unbelief.  Living a life with hope, assurance, and promise comes to those who believe in the salvation offered through belief in Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 4: 12 "For the word of God is alive and active."

HEBREWS 4: 12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

God's word, The Bible, is given to us so that believers stand out in the world as different...not conforming to the ways of the world. The reason it is difficult to distinguish between Christians and non-Christians is that believers have stopped reading the Bible. We go to church on Sunday and hear a sermon with some scripture sprinkled through it, but unless we attend a church where the scripture is the sermon, we will walk out inspired by the words of the pastor instead of the words of God.

A good sermon is effective if it inspires us and motivates us to seek the truth that can only be found in the Bible. But if a preacher delivers a sermon that is intended to motivate us to try harder to do better, we will leave church in the same condition we were in when we arrived.

"The word of God is alive and active." When we read the Bible, we are reading words that become active within us and our lives are changed to reflect Him.

"Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." The Bible is not a text book or a self-help guide like so many popular books today...many of them sold as Christian books. The words of God overcome our stubbornness, our pride, our weaknesses, our humanity. The Bible, God's word, makes us aware of our human condition as well as the righteousness of God which is alive in us by His Spirit. When we spend time in His word, He transforms us giving us the human characteristics of Jesus and His Sprit so that we can love and worship in His righteousness.

God...Grabbing the Finger of Humanity Through Jesus

This evening as I was traveling to a Christmas eve service, I received an image of Jesus that brought new significance to the Birth of Christ.  As a parent one of my most precious memories is when my new born child took hold of my finger.  Even when I was a child myself, I was always amazed at the smallness of a newborn's tiny hands and feet and I would offer my finger to the infant with hopes of a tiny clutch.

Tonight as I ponder the birth of Jesus, I love the image of the infant Jesus wrapping His tiny hand around the finger of Mary.  This infant child, God Himself, taking hold of the finger of mankind.  Jesus Christ with His tiny hands and feet was worshiped that night by angels and shepherds, the Star announcing His birth.  Baby Jesus, a gift from God.

Jesus' hands that grabbed His mother's finger were the same hands that would be nailed to a cross.  His tiny feet were the feet nailed to that tree.  The life born that Christmas day, was the life that Jesus surrendered for our sins.

Christmas Day is a day to remember that God came to take hold of the finger of mankind.