Month: October 2018

“But in your hearts set Christ apart as holy [and acknowledge Him] as Lord. Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope that is in you, but do it courteously and respectfully.  [And see to it that] your conscience is entirely clear (unimpaired), so that, when you are falsely accused as evildoers, those who threaten you abusively and revile your right behavior in Christ may come to be ashamed [of slandering your good lives].  For [it is] better to suffer [unjustly] for doing right, if that should be God’s will, than to suffer [justly] for doing wrong.” 1 Peter 3:15-17  ->me:  Today we had the 4th instance of our weekly TALK | EAT | FELLOWSHIP lunch at work and we had 2 new attendees.  We had a wonderful time talking and discussing our mission field -> our offices.  I can’t remember if it was Rob, Jason, or Nick who said it but they referenced these verses when we talking about being bold in our witness.  I had read these verses before but they hit me in a new practical way today.  As I prepare to go to Mexico tomorrow with 15 other men, I am humbled by these verses and reminded of the witness we carry with us whether we are walking through an airport or walking door to evangelizing – ‘in my heart set Christ apart as holy’ – and be ready to have a good answer as to why I have the hope that is in me; do it in a way that I have a clear conscience.  I am challenged to be ready, to carry myself in a nonthreatening and respectful way, and to behave as Christ even if it might mean I might suffer unjustly.

“Then I [looked and I] saw a solitary eagle flying in midheaven, and as it flew I heard it crying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the rest of the trumpet blasts which the three angels are about to sound!” Revelation 8:13 ->me: Ok, I am in the thick of it now…I just got done reading about the first 4 trumpets -> 1) Storm of hail and fire mixed with blood that burns up a third of the earth, trees, and grass. 2) Something resembling a giant mountain being hurled into the sea wiping out a third of the sea life and ships as well as turning a third of the sea to blood. 3) Huge star from heaven (looking like a burning torch) dropping and contaminating a third of the rivers and springs with bitterness (wormwood) where many people die that drink it. 4) A third of the sun, moon, and starlight smitten. To me this sounds like a volcano, followed by an asteroid, followed by an contaminated icy comet, and then light obstructed by fallout from these things blowing up and crashing into the earth. Then, we have this single eagle shouting 3 woes announcing the remaining 3 trumpets. My prayer tonight was not to understand the true meanings of this vision (I am not sure we are supposed to know other than that 7 terrible things will happen), but that the Lord would help me understand what He wants me to take away from this passage. Will surprise you that I see God’s grace here? He could just wipe the whole earth out at once and be done with it and onto establishing His new Kingdom – No, He gives, time and time again, warnings to win more people to Himself as well as execute His justice on the wicked. Isn’t true of our own lives? God could have smote me down after the 6th time I chose an idol over Him, but no He relented and gave me 26 more times before I surrendered to Him. I don’t deserve even the life I have, I should be thankful everyday for the next breath He gives and await the triumphant return of His Son.

“So the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and cast it upon the earth. Then there followed peals of thunder and loud rumblings and blasts and noises, and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.” Revelation 8:5 ->me:  Wow, more on the power prayer today.  The fire came from the very same altar on which the prayers of the saints were offered.  This could mean that our prayers play a part in the ushering in of the judgements of God.  The real and true master-powers behind the world and secrets of our own destiny are the prayers of the saints and the fire of God!  That means that more potent and more powerful, than all the dark and might powers let loose in the world, more powerful than anything else, is the power of prayer set ablaze by the fire of God cast upon the earth.  I can not take this for granted!  I must kneel before the Lord on high with this in mind; that, in the Body of Christ, I likely play a part with bringing in the end times, the time where God brings punishment upon the earth for its wickedness.  I believe this could be in my lifetime so I must also have that be a reminder of the immediacy that I need to execute my witness in bringing all those I can into the Kingdom of Heaven.

“And another angel came and stood over the altar. He had a golden censer, and he was given very much incense (fragrant spices and gums which exhale perfume when burned), that he might mingle it with the prayers of all the people of God (the saints) upon the golden altar before the throne.  And the smoke of the incense (the perfume) arose in the presence of God, with the prayers of the people of God (the saints), from the hand of the angel.” Revelation 8:3-4 ->me:  A lot happens at this altar – the martyred saints rest at the foot of this altar and the prayers of the saints emanate from it.  Here, the angel mixes/offers up incense (which he is given) in conjunction with the prayers of the saints.  As you all know prayer has been an extra focus this month and my 2 commitments in application regarding prayer have been 1) to be deliberate, serious, reverent, respectful, and fearful in my personal prayer…never giving God the leftovers of my time.  2) Use prayer in our Life Group as a means of encouraging the men around me to connect with their Heavenly Father in ways maybe not experienced before.  So, when I have been reading these passages on the prayers of the saints in heaven I cannot help but use these scriptures to help reinforce the importance and gravity of our prayers.  This altar is golden and it is before the throne of God – these stress the importance of our prayers and their place in heaven.  Just the fact that ‘an altar’ is part of this whole picture leads me to believe that there is something sacrificial about prayer…further enforcing that my time with God should supplant those times that I might not otherwise pray…when it may not be convenient, when I might be embarrassed in my prayer posture, or even praying before I eat when I am surrounded by worldly co-workers.

“For this reason they are [now] before the [very] throne of God and serve Him day and night in His sanctuary (temple); and He Who is sitting upon the throne will protect and spread His tabernacle over and shelter them with His presence.  They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun smite them, nor any scorching heat.  For the Lamb Who is in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to the springs of the waters of life; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:15-17 ->me: ‘This reason’ – they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. Look at the benefits of membership!  Access to the throne of God! Ability to serve/worship Him day and night in the Temple, we will be hidden in the shelter of His sacred tent, we will have no need to thirst or be hungry, protected from unbearable circumstances, the Lamb of God will be our Shepherd Who will lead us to living water…we won’t ever cry again. God, I want this time right now!  Please come back Lord!

“My sacrifice [the sacrifice acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart [broken down with sorrow for sin and humbly and thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.” Psalms 51:17 ->me: Today I had another opportunity to spend 2 hours (6am -8am) with a group of 12 other men from church spurring each other on and diving deep into the scripture and theology of our faith.  Today we reviewed our thoughts on the book “A Call to Prayer” by JC Ryle; yes, the same book I have sent several other QT writeups on.   This verse encapsulates the heart of a man of true prayer…not the prayer of being well spoken, or the prayer of a quick “Thank you for this food, Amen”; no, this is prayer that comes from a reverent position and one of awe and worship.  This verse is a great reassurance that the Lord delights in the humbleness of His subjects and desires to listen to such a respectful mindset.  I need to pause for a moment and remember this verse before I start to pray, to get me heart right before the God of the universe.  To cap this off I was able to spend a wonderful time with my brother at lunch dwelling more on the faith of answered prayer when we come in the spirit of this verse.  I sincerely believe that prayer is necessary for gaining sanctification and the waning of prayer brings about backsliding.

“After this I looked and a vast host appeared which no one could count, [gathered out] of every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. These stood before the throne and before the Lamb; they were attired in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” Revelation 7:9 ->me: Recap: The 144,000 are the elect out of Israel followed by the copious harvest from the Gentiles.  I believe this is the throng John sees in his vision here (every nation, tribe, and people represented).  The saved stand before God ‘perfect’ in the righteousness Christ supplies.  White is the color of victory.  Victory comes through the saving work of Jesus; so it is He Who supplies the white robe.  When I am confronted with tyrants, persecution, sickness, pain, and grief, it is good to be reminded that final triumph comes through quiet trust in Christ.  The Palm is a symbol of joy as well as triumph.  The palm branch was used at the Feast of Tabernacles on the 15th day of the 7 month, when the Israelites kept feast to God in thanksgiving for the in-gathered fruits of the harvest.  Here is could be to celebrate the completed gathering in at the harvest of the elect.  Trying to imagine this scene is mind-boggling….the whole Church of Christ (from all time) assembled in one place.  Its great to just bask in the knowledge that this is my future that John is given a glimpse of.

“Saying, Harm neither the earth nor the sea nor the trees, until we have sealed the bond servants of our God upon their foreheads. And [then] I heard how many were sealed (marked) out of every tribe of the sons of Israel: there were 144,000.” Revelation 7:3-4 ->me: For a long time I have struggled to understand how the 144,000 fit in the end times. I now feel reasonably good about my understanding after prayer, study and talking over with Marianne. You really must read chapter 6 and 7 of Revelation to *start* putting this together and additionally many other places in the bible to get a firm grip. The angel speaking the first sentence, of the 2 verses above, is talking about sealing ALL of the bond servants of God. John uses ‘and then’ many times to double-click into a situation with more detail. Here he does it again but focuses in on the sons of Israel as (what I believe to be) a subset of the overall set of chosen people still living during this time of tribulation. Now for my personal take away -> Revelation 7:1 “…I saw four angels stationed at the four corners of the earth firmly holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind should blow on the earth or sea or upon any tree” – This shows the restraint the Lord will use to protect His people. Those who are called His ‘bond servants’ (people utterly devoted) are covered by Lord and the mark they display will cause destruction to pass right by them. Now, as a pre-tribber, I expect to be with the Lord before the 6th seal is opened but what a comfort to know that the Lord will protect His own and seal them with His Name before the worst hits.

“Then the kings of the earth and their noblemen and their magnates and their military chiefs and the wealthy and the strong and [everyone, whether] slave or free hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, and they called to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on (before) us and hide us from the face of Him Who sits on the throne and from the deep-seated indignation and wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of His wrath (vengeance, retribution, indignation) has come, and who is able to stand before it?” Revelation 6:15-17 ->me: These 3 verses follow the opening of the 6th seal which brings the sun turning to sackcloth, the moon turning blood red, and a great earthquake (…and every mountain and island was dislodged from its place)…pretty much mayhem on a level the earth has never seen. John names seven classes (the number of perfection) of people to show that there is no enemy of God, no matter their position in society, who will escape the terrors that will come. The plea to the mountains to fall on them shows that the calamity with which they are confronted is so great that anything is preferable to facing it. However, doesn’t this next passage sound familiar? “For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.” (Isa. 54:10). So, by no means is the Lord trying to scare His saints with this revelation to John…He is using familiar apocalyptic imagery to reassure us. These passages jointly tell me that I will be preserved while He brings justice to the ungodly and ushers in the new heaven and new earth for Him to reign for all eternity and be with Him.

“Then they were each given along and flowing and festive white robe and told to rest and wait patiently a little while longer, until the number should be complete of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed as they themselves had been.” Revelation 6:11 ->me: I’ve pondering this verse for 2 days now, even went to sleep last night thinking about it. White in the Bible represents victory. Even though it might be perceived that these saints lost to the evil in death, God has given them victory in heaven and has set them apart. There are a lot of theories about what the number of saints is that will be martyred -> the number of the fallen angels that fell with satan? An arbitrary number that only the Lord knows? Either way it is again a reason I must be prepared everyday for the return of Jesus. Does my life reflect the follower I desire Him to see when He sees me face to face? Lots of work to do.