Today’s reading is Revelation 17:1-18:24.

Two things struck me in today’s reading. First, there is the whore of Babylon. In Revelation 17:3, John was carried away in the Spirit and “I saw a woman…” I can’t help but remember the last woman he saw in Revelation 12:1, “And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun…” The first woman was attacked by a dragon. The second woman sat on a beast. The first woman was pregnant and giving birth. The second woman was sexually immoral. I can’t help but notice how Satan’s side tries to copy and mirror God’s work.

Then again, I noticed the beast described as “it was and is not and is to come” (Revelation 17:8). Who does that remind you of? Alive, dead, and alive again? What a mockery. Of course, the difference is Jesus arose never to die again. The beast arose to go into destruction. Again, I can’t help but notice how Satan strives to copy and mirror God’s work.

Therein lies the warning. Satan doesn’t offer something completely different from God. In fact, it will often look very much like what God offers. The devil, as they say, is in the details. Those few differences that Satan offers lead to destruction. Satan will offer mediocre copies of God’s great blessings, but Satan’s copies will not provide God’s blessings. Satan’s copies lead to destruction. Just ask the whore of Babylon and the beast on which she rode. Neither of them got the great life they had been expecting.

Take care. Follow God’s truth, not Satan’s lies.

***Question: What do you do to stay in God’s truth and not be diverted by Satan’s lies?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

Today’s reading is Revelation 7:1-8:13.

Revelation 7:10 shows a great multitude crying out: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

What a powerful statement. What a directive statement. Think about it. This says salvation does not belong to me. I can’t own salvation in the sense that somehow I get it for myself. Salvation is God’s. Salvation is the Lamb’s. If I want salvation, I have to go to God and the Lamb to get it.

So, what should be my top priority today? Trying to get salvation from me and my effort? Absolutely not. I can’t get it that way. Instead, my top priority should be striving to get close to God and the Lamb. They have salvation. If I am in them, then I’ll have salvation.

***Question: What do you do to get close to God and the Lamb?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

Today’s reading is 1 John 2:1-3:24.

The antichrist is a big money maker today. No, I don’t mean the antichrist is someone alive today making lots of money. I mean writing a book, making a movie, preaching a series about the antichrist is making other people lots of money. However, the very sad part about this is folks are spending all this money to find out about the antichrist from fictional series like Left Behind, but they aren’t actually reading their Bibles to find out about antichrist.

The word “antichrist” is found only four times in the whole New Testament, two of which are in today’s reading: 1 John 2:18, 22. The other two are also found in John’s letters: 1 John 4:3; 2 John 1:7.

What I can’t help but notice is that the text said the antichrist was already there when John wrote his letter. Further, I can’t help but notice he didn’t really speak of a single antichrist. He spoke of many. Further, I can’t help but notice that he didn’t speak of the antichrist as a world ruler who unified the world and then led them to follow the devil. Antichrist is anyone who denies Jesus and God. 

John was actually dealing with the Gnostic heresy that claimed the flesh was bad so God hadn’t come in the flesh. They denied Jesus was the Savior or they denied that He actually died. In any event, John says “antichrist” is not a world leader but anyone who denies Jesus in one way or another.

The “so what” of the matter is we need to get rid of the sensationalism surrounding “antichrist” and start realizing antichrist could be anyone of us who decides to deny Jesus in some way. That is true even if we are still religious. The Gnostics were still religious. They were simply wrong. 

***Question: What do you do to stay pro-Christ?

Keep the faith and keep reading?

ELC

Today’s reading is John 5:1-6:71.

John 5:30 grabbed my attention today. Jesus said, “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

What really gets me is the one saying this was spoken about in John 1:1-5.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

I know this is talking about Jesus because in John 1:14 the text says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”

Here is the one who created all things, but He cannot do anything on His own? Of course, contextually, this doesn’t seem to be saying He can’t do anything by His own power but rather He won’t do anything from His own will. Perhaps both statements are true. But either way it is an amazing statement.

If we want to take it the way it first hits us, that He can’t do anything by His own power, we should be greatly humbled. If God the Son, God in the flesh, Jesus Christ could not do anything on His own but relied on the power of His Father for all His work, who are we to think we can do anything on our own? We must acknowledge God in all our ways (Proverbs 3:6). If He were to remove His grace completely and totally from our lives, we would be dissolved into speechless, powerless, hopeless blobs of matter. He is the one who grants life, breath, and all things (Acts 17:25). So many of us settle for mediocrity in life because we only do what we think we can accomplish on our own. Perhaps if we began to realize we accomplish nothing on our own and therefore fully rely on God, His power might work through us mightily (II Corinthians 12:7-10; Ephesians 3:20). Who knows? We might lead Israel out of Egypt on the heels of 10 amazing plagues, part the Red Sea, kill a giant, bring down walls, withstand lions. Mere people like us do amazing things when they quit relying on their own strength.

If we want to take Jesus’ statement in the more contextual sense that He does not do anything from His own will but only as His Father has directed Him, we should still be greatly humbled. Jesus is as much God as the Father is. He is divine in every sense. He has the power of deity. He has the mind of deity. Yet, He doesn’t go His own way. He submits to the Father. He surrenders to the Father. If Jesus will only do what is the Father’s will, how much more should we? We are not to go our own way. We are not to pursue our own will. Rather, we are to sacrifice ourselves to God’s will (Romans 12:1). We are to crucify ourselves and live by faith in Jesus (Galatians 2:20). We are to seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:33). Sadly, many today laugh at the idea of seeking authority for all that we do from God’s word, but Jesus could do nothing from His own will, but only did the will of His Father. We need to be like Jesus and only do what God wills.

However, notice that Jesus didn’t simply say, “I will do nothing of my own.” He said, “I can do nothing of my own.” Why do you think He phrased it that way?

***Question: What do you do to stay within God’s will?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

Today’s reading is 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3:18.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 hit me as poignant in my life today. 

“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

There are some shocking things about God in this passage.

First, He gives us free will. He doesn’t force anyone to believe His truth. We don’t have to believe His truth. However, if we refuse to love His truth, we become targets for Satan, ripe for the picking. 

Second, God lets those who refuse to love the truth be deluded. Of course, the sad thing is, those who are deluded do not realize it. In fact, they may think they are the wise ones. They build argument on top of argument, thinking they are laying a logical foundation. However, it is only a house of cards that will come crashing down in the end. Every delusion will be exposed in the judgment.

Third, when we tie these things together I think we see what others have said. God has given enough evidence for those who are willing to believe to find good reason to believe. But He has left enough unstated that those who wish to doubt can find reason to do so. Why? Because He is not spoon feeding us. He is encouraging us to grow in faith. For the worldly wise, this is foolishness. They simply cannot wrap their minds around a God who would do this. If God won’t fit in their box, they think He must not be there at all. This passage demonstrates God won’t be boxed. He acts as He sees fit.

There is a practical warning here. I must take care that I do not allow myself to be deluded by Satan and the only way to avoid that is to love the truth.

***Question: On a practical level, how do you love the truth?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

Today’s reading is Revelation 3:1-4:11.

Okay, okay, for those who come to the blog everyday, you know this was actually yesterday’s reading. However, I spent the morning getting our Suburban fixed and for some reason couldn’t access the places network even though it said I was on it. Then when I was finally about to be able to go to my office and put up the posts, Ryan, my seven year old, wiped out on his bike and I had to get him to the ER for stitches. He’s good, just swollen. 

Anyway, I wanted to get all the Revelation posts up. I know I’m writing this a day late, but I have scheduled it to show the proper day for when it should have been posted just so it will be in order.

God is Worthy

Remember that we learned Revelation has a message that is to be kept (Revelation 1:3). The message in Revelation 4 is pretty clear. God is worthy of honor. Just as the elders, creatures, angels, and hosts of heaven honored, glorified, and worshipped God. I need to do the same. 

I shouldn’t wait until Sunday to meet with the congregation to worship and glorify God. I need to do this on my own repeatedly, continually, and consistently. I need to prostrate my spirit before God and declare His great worthiness, holiness, justice, mercy, love, etc. 

He was, is and is to come. He created all things. He runs the universe. He saved us through His Son Jesus. He is the great God who is worthy of praise and glory. I must give it to Him today.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What did you get out of today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Mark 7:1-8:38.

Does Mark 8:33 shock you as it does me? Jesus says to one of His most trusted disciples, “Get behind me, Satan!” WOW! I can’t imagine being Peter at that moment. Here Peter was just trying to help; trying, in fact, to display faith. What does he get for it? An amazing accusation. He get’s called Satan.

However, what I notice is he wasn’t called the adversary because he was totally wicked. He wasn’t called the adversary because he was actively pursuing evil. He was called the adversary because he had his mind set on the things of men, not the things of God. He was thinking like a man and not thinking like God.

That is an easy problem to have. After all, we are men (human in this context). We will naturally think like men. But when we think like men, we are actually playing into the hands of the adversary. That is why we need to have renewed minds. That is why we need to live by faith. Instead of trying to figure out Jesus’ potential tricks, Peter needed to simply accept what Jesus said. The problem, what Jesus said simply didn’t fit in with Peter’s preconceived notions about the coming Messiah and Christ. Therefore, he saw a trick.

What does this mean? It means when something in the word doesn’t fit with our preconceived notions of how God ought to work, we shouldn’t question God’s word. Rather, we should change our notions. When we change God’s word to fit our notions, we are thinking like men. In those moments, whether we are utterly wicked or merely misguided, we are playing into the hands of the adversary and Jesus says to us, “Get behind me, Satan!”

Once again, we get to that all-encompassing point that we must increase our faith. We must surrender ourselves to God and His way of thought instead of trying to mold Him to ours. That is why what we are doing here is so important. Faith comes by hearing.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What did you get out of today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Mark 1:1-2:28.

I just had a bit of a weird thought as I read Mark 1:11. At Jesus’ baptism, while the Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove, the Father spoke from heaven saying, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” I get that this passage is a reference to Psalm 2:7. I understand that Jesus holds the place of sonship in a way I never will. However, I couldn’t help but ask if I’m a beloved son, well-pleasing to my Father.

On the one hand, I know the answer is yes. I am loved by my Father in heaven. Even despite all the displeasing things I’ve done, my Father in heaven does love me. That is why He sent His only begotten Son to die for me. On the other hand, I know I’m not always pleasing. However, I’m working on that. And, by God’s grace and power working through me, I know I can grow to be one who pleases Him all the time. 

So, right now, while I can say I’m beloved, I have to say, I’m not always well-pleasing. However, that is changing as I continue to grow in Christ, surrendering to Him, because His way is always pleasing to the Father. Let’s work on that together.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What did you get out of today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Acts 27:1-28:31.

Acts 27:43-44 is one of the greatest examples of the providence of God I have ever read. There were 276 people on Paul’s ship that went down and all survived. The Bible says, “He [the centurion] ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land.”

WOW!

This wasn’t coincidence. This was God’s plan. In Acts 27:23-24, an angel told Paul everyone on the ship would survive. However, it wasn’t because of dumb luck or coincidence, but because of God. In God’s foreseeing care and guardianship over Paul, He granted everyone’s life on that ship. However, there is no miraculous work. The hand of God did not reach down from the heavens and lift the ship out of the water and rest it safely on dry land. Rather, those who could swim maintained their strength enough to get to dry land. Those who couldn’t were somehow able to find pieces of wood and float to the shore.

No doubt, the unbelievers were all amazed at their good fortune. How on earth could 276 people all survive a shipwreck? Paul and his fellow believers knew. God did it. He worked providentially.

We can trust God to care for us. I don’t know how He makes everything work, but I know He has promised to make everything work together for good in Romans 8:28. Things may be going smoothly or my life may feel like a shipwreck, but I know God is with me and cares for me. He will see me through. He can maintain my strength to get me to shore or He can find me some flotsam to float on. God will get me through. I just have to trust Him.

Keep the faith and keep reading.

ELC

P.S. One of my shepherds also commented on Romans 8:28 in his brief article this week on the Franklin church’s website. Check it out.

P.P.S. What did you get out of today’s reading.

I love to tell people about the time my wife and I rode a plane with Deborah Harry (lead singer of the 70′s and 80′s band Blondie). Or the time my wife rode a fair ride with Mark Slaughter (lead singer of the 80′s and 90′s band Slaughter). I also like to tell people about my friend Dan Degarmo who went to high school with Brad Paisley. I can’t wait to tell people I shook hands with Ken Starr. And one of my prized possessions is a photo with John Maxwell.

We naturally like to tell people about our connections with famous people. It is almost like a bit of their importance and fame rubs off on us just because we can establish some connection. But, of course, I don’t actually know any of these people. 

However, I can have a relationship with the most important being in existence. Of course, you know where I’m going with this. I can have a relationship with God. I can go beyond just having ridden with him on a plane or a fair ride. I can go beyond just having my picture taken with him. I can actually get to know Him. I Corinthians 2:10-13 explains how.

“For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.” (I Corinthians 2:10-13, ESV).

There is only one way to get to know God. We get to know God by getting into the word He has revealed by the Spirit. That is why what we are doing at Give Attention to Reading is so important. Only through reading, studying and meditating upon God’s word can we come face to face with God while we are still in this life. We can’t know God by watching Oprah or Dr. Phil. We can’t know God by tearing up over “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” We can’t know God by merely talking with our friends about Him. We can only get to know God when we get into the word that the Spirit has revealed about Him. 

Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God…” and the rest of the Bible proceeds to tell us His story. Yes, our story is in there too. But this is His story and if we want to know Him we have to…

…keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC