Today’s reading is Revelation 19:1-20:15.

“Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6).

D0 you ever feel like you’re just not going to make it? Like our enemy is too powerful to overcome? Does it ever seem like victory is outside of your grasp? I know the feeling. That’s why I’m glad to be reading Revelation today. What a book of victory. Sure, it seems like the enemy is winning, but in the end God wins. The kings of this world may be reigning, but they reign for only one hour.

If we simply hang on to Jesus, our reign will be as a 1000 years in comparison. We will be victorious in Christ. We will win. Death will have no power over us. We will have life abundantly and eternally. We are the priests of God and of Christ. We can hope and trust in Him. He will lead us to victory. Praise God!

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

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

“And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast” (Revelation 17:12).

It is so easy to look at the world and get discouraged. It seems that sin and Satan reign. Atheists and agnostics have the ear of the media. Islam is touted as a model religion. The arrogant and self-righteous often pose as Christian leaders. Television, radio, and billboards advertise sin for sale. Sometimes it seems like God is losing.

We have nothing to fear. The Lord’s enemies may reign, but their reign is only for an hour. They may make the most of their hour. But, this too shall pass.  We need only hang for a little while, holding on to God. He will win. We will reign with Him. And as their reign passes like an hour, ours will last as a thousand years. Praise God!

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS: What struck you in today’s reading?

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

“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. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:15-17).

He has been a lamb like me. He knows what it is like to submit to the guiding hand of a Shepherd. But He is the Lamb far greater than me. He is Himself the great Shepherd. When I follow Him, He provides, protects, and comforts. He will lead me to springs of living water. He will wipe away my tears. Why would I want to follow anyone else?

Today, I just want to get closer to Him no matter what else is going on around me.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Revelation 5:1-6:17.

“And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals” (Revelation 5:5).

There seem to be numerous reasons to weep. My sins and faults mount up when I begin to count them. What is left to do but mourn in the face of so much failure. Yet, God did not leave me in this state. Rather, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Jesus, God in the flesh, lived the perfect life. He did not fail. He did not sin. He made no mistakes. He is worthy to open the scroll of God. By His worthiness I am saved from myself and from my sins.

There is no need to weep because when God looks for worthiness in me, He will look for Jesus and not for me. Thank you, Lord, for Your sacrifice.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

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

“And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne…” (Revelation 4:9-10).

God is worthy. I’m not. He deserves glory. I don’t.

Whatever I carry and wear that I think represents my own worthiness and glory needs to be cast down in the presence of the almighty God. I must not come into God’s presence trying to impress Him with my supposed royalty. I must come into His presence supremely impressed and humbled by His.

Only when I get this perspective straight can I pray and worship as I need to, humbling myself before and surrendering myself to God, my only hope.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Revelation 1:1-2:29.

“The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength” (Revelation 1:14-16).

There is my Savior. Not meek and mild. Not beaten, battered, bruised and bloodied. But glorified and glorious. A vision like on the Mount of Transfiguration. His snow white hair demonstrating His purity. His eyes of fire that pierce through all darkness. No matter what dark ploys Satan plots, he cannot hide me from those flaming eyes. His burnished feet, tried in the fire. The heel that was bruised by the serpent but came out of the fire to crush the serpent’s head. His powerful voice that overwhelms all other sound. The seven stars held in his hand, angels to the churches. He protects His messengers. A two-edged sword coming from His mouth. His word is sharp, dividing even the soul and the spirit asunder. His word can cut to the heart of the matter and lay everything exposed for examination and purification. Finally, His face shining as if it were the sun itself. What glory.

That is my Savior and I am glad to surrender to Him today.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Ephesians 1:1-2:22.

I love Ephesians. There are so many things that jump out at me as I read this book. These first two chapters are no exception. However, I’m only going to comment on two of them for the sake of your time.

First, I am really struck by Ephesians 1:15-16:

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers…

Paul gave thanks because of their faith in Jesus and their love toward the saints. Today, I need to work on both of those. I need to increase my faith in Jesus. I don’t need to increase His faith in me. I don’t need to spend my time trying to convince Him that He can trust me to always do what is right. I need to increase my faith in Him and through that, I’ll have the righteousness He gives. I also need to work on my love toward the saints. Again, I don’t need to focus on getting them to love me. I don’t need to walk around as a people pleaser trying to get them to like me or appreciate me. Instead, I need to work on genuine love and service. I need to work on treating others the way they want to be treated because it is right, not because they’ll like me for it. 

When I work on my faith in Jesus and my love toward the saints, then I become a person others can be thankful for.

Second, I am also struck by Ephesians 1:17-19:

…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might…

In Paul’s prayer, I learn what I need to be praying for me and for you. Neither of us have all wisdom and insight. Rather, I need to pray that we may be granted wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ. We often wander in darkness and are so blind we don’t even know it. I need to pray that our hearts may be enlightened. Too often, we walk in despair. We get distracted by what is going on in the world and forget what Christ has done for us and what He is planning for us in the next. I need to pray that we may know the hope Christ is offering us that conquers our sadness and despair. We sometimes forget that this life isn’t really about this life. This life is not about having the best job, the biggest house, the nicest cars, the most comfortable clothes. This life is about what comes next. I need to pray that we can keep our eyes focused on the inheritance of true riches that Jesus has waiting for us. Sometimes, we begin to think it is not possible that we’ll make it. We mess up so much we just aren’t sure how God could possibly save us. I need to pray that we be kept by God’s power and also pray that we’ll know God’s power that we might have confidence in Him that we will make it, not because of our strength but because of His power. His power is so immense He raised Jesus from the dead and sat Him in the heavenly places above all things.

This needs to be my prayer today for both you and me. I hope you can join me in this prayer.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Revelation 21:1-22:21.

How is it that I’ve missed how Revelation and therefore, the Bible, actually ends. I’ve turned to the end of Revelation for years to point out that if we add to or take away from the book, then plagues will be added to us or our share will be taken from the tree of life. But that isn’t actually how the book ends. Now don’t misunderstand; those statements are still there and we need to take their warning. However, that isn’t how the book ends.

Go read it again.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.”

Wow!

I just don’t think there is much more to say other than thank Jesus for His grace. May His grace be with you as you enter a new year. Seek to know Him this year. Seek to be in Him this year. Seek to have the righteousness that comes by faith in Him this year (Philippians 3:8-9). 

***Question: What do you plan to do in 2010 to help you grow in Christ and His grace?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. Don’t forget, we’ll be right back here on Monday starting in the book of Luke. I’ve learned a lot this year, reading through the New Testament. I plan to learn more as I keep reading. I hope you will join me.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Today’s reading is Revelation 19:1-20:15.

Sadly, these two chapters are argued about and disagreed upon in many ways. I am decidedly amillennial. But no matter your view, the thing God wants us to see in these chapters is He wins. Glory and power belong to Him. Because of that, we ought to glorify Him and be on His side. God reigns and those who stay on His side will reign with Him.

The beast and the false prophet may think they have the upper hand, but they will be destroyed in the pit. Satan may think he is going to win with his mediocre copies of God’s things, but he will be bound and then ultimately damned. He can gather an unimaginable army, but all his power cannot remotely threaten God. 

GOD WINS!!!

I need to remember that today. Sometimes it seems the battle is just going to keep raging and there is no end. Sometimes it seems that every defense or offense is useless. The enemies of Christ keep pouring forth. Why keep fighting? 

I need to carry a banner to remind me why we keep up the fight. GOD WINS!!! 

Keep working, keep striving, keep fighting the fight of faith. GOD WINS!!! You want to be on His side.

***Question: How do you stay on God’s side every day?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

Today’s reading is Revelation 11:1-12:17.

Many who call themselves Christians today seem to be trying to figure out a way to be Christian but also have the world like them. I can’t help but remember Joel Osteen on Larry King Live trying to agree with a woman who claimed salvation was only in Jesus but still have Larry King (I believe he’s Jewish) and the “non-Christian” viewing population still like him by saying that even though he agreed with the caller who was he to say how God is going to save someone.

This is a losing proposition. Jesus told the truth and ended up on a cross. Do we think we can do much better? Do you think we can teach about Jesus and have the world like us?

Revelation 11:1-14 tells about two witnesses who teach the truth about Jesus. They end up being killed. But note specifically Revelation 11:9-10:

For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.

No doubt, some will believe the message of those who testify of Jesus. For the rest, as amazing as it sounds, the message of Jesus will be a torment. There is no middle ground to avoid this. If we find some middle ground in which the world does not feel tormented by the truth of Jesus, then we aren’t really teaching the truth of Jesus.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying be vicious and hateful in your evangelism. I’m simply saying that no matter how we tell it, if we are telling the truth, those who don’t want to believe will be tormented by what we say. That may even cause them to attack us verbally, emotionally, and perhaps even physically.

But the glorious message of these two messengers is that even though it appeared that the world had defeated them, after three and a half days, God raised them up. They were victorious. That is the message of Revelation. God wins. We want to be on His side no matter how anyone else responds.

***Question: How do you maintain faith in the face of opposition?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC