Month: November 2018

“And the beast that I saw resembled a leopard, but his feet were like those of a bear and his mouth was like that of a lion. And to him the dragon gave his [own] might and power and his [own] throne and great dominion.  And one of his heads seemed to have a deadly wound. But his death stroke was healed; and the whole earth went after the beast in amazement and admiration.” Revelation 13:2-3  ->me: Some serious imagery here.  2 things from this passage. The first is a more firm understanding of why I think we see the dragon, beast, etc described the way we do by John.  I am pretty sure this is what he saw and how God knew to show him in a way that we could see the ugliness and horrible evil that is wrapped up in the devil and his henchman.  I am sure that if you were to see the beast (the anti-christ) he is probably a normal looking man the world will follow during his time in the end days…but if you were to describe his internal initiatives and contempt for God, you would put together John’s image of the anti-christ.  The second thing that the Lord impressed upon me through this is that the sin in us can be wounded but cannot die until the end of time.  I believe this is a reminder that I must remain vigilant my entire earthly life against the sin of this world.  Through God’s strength I can overcome in the end but it will be a fight the entire way…I can NEVER let my guard down.

“So then the dragon was furious (enraged) at the woman, and he went away to wage war on the remainder of her descendants—[on those] who obey God’s commandments and who have the testimony of Jesus Christ [and adhere to it and bear witness to Him].” Revelation 12:17 ->me: Today I had the privilege of leading my Life Group men in a devotion and set of commitments to God and each other.  This afternoon while I was on a walk and reading up on what God has laid on my heart, I felt the attack of satan.  I had to stop my walk, turn off Audible, and pray asking for the Lord to give me the strength to resist the flaming arrows of the evil one.  I prayed and quoted my daughter Bella’s life verse (Psalms 27:4-5).  At that moment, my mind became clear and I was able to continue with my walk and preparation.  This verse is a reminder that I am a child of the King.  I can expect to be targeted by the devil because of my faith.  Satan is at war with all Christians.  Although I obviously don’t like the threats, encounters, and punches from the evil one, I am comforted to know that he is only doing that because I am born again and saved by the Grace that is new every morning.  BTW – the time with my men was awesome!  If you are interested in what we did, please reach out to me.  God, thank you for your chastening.  Thank you for allowing me in as an adopted member of your family – for my hope is in You!

“Therefore be glad (exult), O heavens and you that dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in fierce anger (fury), because he knows that he has [only] a short time [left]!” Revelation 12:12 ->me:  Now that satan has been cast down to earth, everyone in heaven is free of hearing satan’s accusations day and night…but the earth and sea now get the full on fury.  The troubles of the persecuted righteous arise not because Satan is too strong, but because he is beaten. He is doing all the harm he can while he can. But he will not be able to do this for much longer.  When I was on my “Building Faithful Men” retreat, one of the gents in my group talked about what sin does when we go after it to slay it.  It acts like a man who is being crucified – imagine, if you were being led up Golgotha and knew what was ahead as you drug your cross up the hill; your mind would be racing with all of the possible outs you might have.  When the soldiers then pinned you down and took your left hand to be nailed, you would fight for your life; you would kick, squirm, spit, and anything else you could do to escape or delay…then that first nail would go in and the searing pain would have you fight even harder.  You would fight even though your one hand has a nail through it (you would be weighing the options of tearing your hand loose).  Then, when that second nail went in your fight would begin to subside you start to accept the inevitable result.  Soon you relent to only staying alive in your predicament, but your time is short.  Our sin reacts no different when we go after it.  When the Lord reveals your sin to you, and in your new creature you begin to remove it from your life, you can be assured that sin will fight back harder than you have ever seen it before…but stay true, don’t let it get away…its time is short if you persevere.

“Then I heard a strong (loud) voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now it has come—the salvation and the power and the kingdom (the dominion, the reign) of our God, and the power (the sovereignty, the authority) of His Christ (the Messiah); for the accuser of our brethren, he who keeps bringing before our God charges against them day and night, has been cast out!  And they have overcome (conquered) him by means of the blood of the Lamb and by the utterance of their testimony, for they did not love and cling to life even when faced with death [holding their lives cheap till they had to die for their witnessing].” Revelation 12:10-11 ->me: These 2 verses come after the dragon has been defeated by the Angel armies and cast out of heaven and down to earth.  There are 2 very impactful statements in these 2 verses that have been on my mind yesterday and today.  1) ‘he who keeps bringing before our God charges against them day and night, has been cast out!’ – What stood out at me is that satan is busy and unrelenting in his pursuit to accuse us of our sin before God.  I have this visual in my mind of satan looking and God and pointing his finger down at me, saying ‘See that sinner Ben down there, strike him down! He chose his pride over You!’.  But then…in the next sentence it says 2) ‘And they have overcome (conquered) him by means of the blood of the Lamb and by the utterance of their testimony’.  How amazing and comforting is this!  By the blood of my Savior Jesus Christ, my witness, and declaring God’s work in my life, I ‘have’ overcome through the power and might of the Almighty God.  This added onto Pastor Jeff’s message today is a confirmation and exhortation to ‘tell my story’ of BEFORE CHRIST I WAS___________, BUT NOW IN CHRIST I AM___________.

“His (the dragon’s) tail swept [across the sky] and dragged down a third of the stars and flung them to the earth. And the dragon stationed himself in front of the woman who was about to be delivered, so that he might devour her child as soon as she brought it forth and she brought forth a male Child, One Who is destined to shepherd (rule) all the nations with an iron staff (scepter), and her Child was caught up to God and to His throne.” Revelation 12:4-5 ->me: Here satan’s plight is clear -> to destroy the Son of God.  Satan is depicted with might (horns) and royalty (crowns).  He flexes his muscle by wiping a third of the stars out of the sky.  BUT, time and time again we see God’s will accomplished, His purposes met.  When Paul talks about “neither principalities or powers…can separate us from the love of God” we can use these visions by John to take heart as believers and know that even though God GIVES satan rope, it is only enough to set forth His ultimate plan of redemption and eternal fellowship with the Almighty God and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.  I must not let the actions of the dragon I see in this world get me down.  The God of All has a plan, He reigns over all, and I am part of His purposes.  In this place I have a front row seat to a show I already know the end of, like watching an intense movie you have seen before; you still get worked up and excited for the heart pounding parts of the movie, but you know how all ends perfectly in the end.

“The seventh angel then blew [his] trumpet, and there were mighty voices in heaven, shouting, The dominion (kingdom, sovereignty, rule) of the world has now come into the possession and become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (the Messiah), and He shall reign forever and ever (for the eternities of the eternities)!  Then the twenty-four elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin], who sit on their thrones before God, prostrated themselves before Him and worshiped, exclaiming, To You we give thanks, Lord God Omnipotent, [the One] Who is and [ever] was, for assuming the high sovereignty and the great power that are Yours and for beginning to reign.” Revelation 11:15-17 ->me: The witnesses have been taken up into heaven and there has been a great earthquake…the second woe has passed.  Now the seventh trumpet is blown and we see that in this God (and Jesus) permanently takes back His dominion and rule over the world.  When I surrendered my heart to Jesus there was a great earthquake in my life and He took possession and reign over my soul forever…but my body and mind are still here on earth.  If I take, as reality, the ownership of my life by my Savior to heart then my response should be no different than the 24 elders; I should fall down on my face and worship the One Who is King over my life.  Lord God Almighty, I have accepted your Son and in doing so you have assumed the high sovereignty and great power that are Yours in my life.  Help me to live here on earth in light of Your Majesty in heaven…understanding the power and magnitude of your presence.

“And those who dwell on the earth will gloat and exult over them and rejoice exceedingly, taking their ease and sending presents [in congratulation] to one another, because these two prophets had been such a vexation and trouble and torment to all the dwellers on the earth.” Revelation 11:10 ->me: It is no doubt that these witnesses were God’s own and came to fulfill their purpose.  They did this so well that when they were killed, the masses (every race, tribe, nation, and tongue) rejoiced over the end of their message; to the point of celebrating with gift giving.  Have I shared the gospel and warning about the coming of the Lord in such a way that ‘some’ might rejoice over my death?  Have I lived by the Word of God to the point of persecution?  Now, I understand that the witnesses are in the end times and that the hearts of the world have been hardened (Rev. 9:21), but I still feel like I have it too easy and I take it too easy.  I need to ask myself -> What am I not doing for the Lord because of my fear of rejection from the unsaved who God has put into my life?  I just feel like ever since the trip to Mexico this has been a continuing message I have been hearing from the Lord –>> Exercise boldness in my walk.

“But when they have finished their testimony and their evidence is all in, the beast (monster) that comes up out of the Abyss (bottomless pit) will wage war on them, and conquer them and kill them.” Revelation 11:7 ->me: I have been sitting here for a good while this morning trying to wrap my brain around the scene of the 2 witnesses. I have been praying and asking the Lord for wisdom and discernment; not necessary to understand fully the picture here but to see what He has for me to take away. This is what He has revealed to me. When I am a TRUE follower of Him, there is nothing the enemy can do to veer me off my path of God’s work. It was only when their testimony was finished and the evidence was complete that the Lord removed the witnesses from the scene. I can walk confidently forward in not only my sanctification but in my witness to others. The evil one cannot destroy me before the work of the Lord through me is complete. God gave the witnesses power to defeat their enemies with the fire of their words (Jeremiah 5:14) and I have similarly have the Sword of the Spirit. I must remember that this holds true while I am doing the work of my Savior. Just a couple of verses ago I read about John measuring the sanctuary, altar, and counting the worshipers; I must remain counted (secure in my relationship and effective in my ministry) to have the confidence that I will only be taken when God’s work in and through me is complete. This can sound morbid and comforting at the same time. I am cool with that. 🙂