Month: November 2018

“And I will grant the power of prophecy to My two witnesses for 1,260 (42 months; three and one-half years), dressed in sackcloth. These [witnesses] are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands which stand before the Lord of the earth.” Revelation 11:3&4 ->me: Verses 1 &2 deal with John being asked to measure the sanctuary, altar, and worshipers but to omit the outer courts of the church for they have been given over to the Gentiles to be trampled.  I think this John separating the Christians from the Gentiles in the end times.  Size of the church as a whole (Sanctuary), the extent of the sacrificial nature of Christian service (altar), and the count of the people of God (worshipers).  The church is being allowed to be oppressed for a limited amount of time (3.5 years).  The distinction between the sanctuary and the outer courts means that there is a limit on which the Gentiles can do their trampling.  There is a lot of debate about who the 2 witnesses are -> the two faithful churches of the 7 lamp stands?  Elijah and Moses because the powerful miracles the witnesses wield are the same as Elijah and Moses were given?  This is hard to discern.  What drew my attention is that they wore ‘sackcloth’; a garment of those in mourning.  They are prophesying doom and their attitude accordingly is sad and sorrowful (penitent).  As a witness for Jesus I must have a heart that aches for the lost, and when I truly think on it, I am not as compassionate as I should be.  As I said in my last QTVOTD, one of my commitments is to be more bold in my witness; well maybe what I am missing a dread for the lost.  My prayer today is that the Lord gives me a heart for the unsaved, a realization that unless I allow myself to be used by Him to reach them, they may be lost for all eternity.

“For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that [are requisite and suited] to life and godliness, through the [full, personal] knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence (virtue). By means of these He has bestowed on us His precious and exceedingly great promises, so that through them you may escape [by flight] from the moral decay (rottenness and corruption) that is in the world because of covetousness (lust and greed), and become sharers (partakers) of the divine nature.” 2 Peter 1:4 ->me:  The last 2 days were a gift to be able to spend some close time with 12 other men focused on supporting each other in purity.  Between devotions, prayer time, worship, hanging out, and deep conversations, we all grew closer to the Lord with renewed vigor to pick up the pace in our race of sanctification.  These 2 verses were part of our morning devotion that was a powerful answer to the transparency, confessions, and discussions of the previous evening.  I came away with 4 commitments – 1) to be an example of grace and peace to my kids moving forward 2) to share with Marianne all that I had shared with the group men on Friday night 3) that I would walk through a similar time with my Life Group men 4) that I would use the gifts God has given me in Prim’s story and my Mexico trip to be more bold and courageous about sharing the Gospel with the unsaved in my circle of influence.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” Psalms 51:10-11 ->me: What an amazing evening with a godly group of men. By God’s grace I have been able to participate in a retreat with some other men from church meeting ‘offsite’ on Whidbey Island for a time of reflection, repentance, renewal, and recommitment to the values of our Lord Jesus Christ in our lives. God is doing something amazing here. What an encouraging time. These two verses were presented as a passage to setup prayer for confession and repentance. I have sang these verses many more times than I have read an consumed them. Tonight they had extra power and conviction for me and will be added to my armory of memory verses.  There really isn’t a need to restate what these 2 verses are saying.  They penetrate without effort.

“Then the voice that I heard from heaven spoke again to me, saying, Go and take the little book (scroll) which is open on the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.  So I went up to the angel and asked him to give me the little book. And he said to me, Take it and eat it. It will embitter your stomach, though in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.” Revelation 10:8-9 ->me: This is the interlude between the 6th and 7th trumpets.  This vision of the mighty angel who is standing with his right foot on the sea and left foot on the land with a little scroll open in his hand.  3 things jump out at me in this passage. 1) The book is open.  2) Both the voice from heaven and the angel tell John to ‘TAKE’ the little book (scroll).  3) Upon eating the book it is bitter as well as sweet.  So lets take them one at a time.  First, what we NEED to know from God is open to us and in His word.  The authority of the bible covers the whole earth both land and sea.  Second, we must ‘take’ His word, it will not be shoved down our throats…we must take for ourselves what His plan is for Redemption.  We must make the contents of His Word completely our own.  Thirdly, when we consume God’s Word it not only refreshes our soul, brings us peace, and comfort but it also becomes a message of judgement and wrath on those who do not accept Jesus as His Son.  Both Jeremiah (Jer 15:16) and Ezekiel (Ezek 3:1-3) are told of the sweetness like Honey God’s Word but those passages are missing the bitterness spoken here.  The bible is concerned with message we must proclaim.  The more my heart is filled with the love of God, the more certain it is that the telling forth of ‘woes’ will be a bitter experience.